Tiger Woods may soon be given a permanent exemption into every PGA Tour Signature event, clearing the way for what amounts to a career achievement exemption into all of the $20 million tournaments.
According to a Golf.com report, the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council (PAC) -- a body of 16 players who represent their fellow players at a level short of the PGA Tour Policy Board -- is recommending the creation of a special, permanent sponsor's exemption category specifically for Tiger Woods. He would be able to compete in any Signature event if this were to move forward, and typically PAC recommendations do get the green light from the Policy Board, of which players now have majority control.
The exemption would apply specifically to Woods or have language that would effectively only allow Woods to qualify for it.
Woods said last year at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas that he hoped to compete once per month during the season. After playing in his Genesis Invitational -- a Signature event he hosts -- in February and withdrawing with flu-like symptoms, Woods didn't compete in March after choosing not to play in The Players. He made the cut at Augusta National to finish T-60 at the Masters in April and missed the cut at the PGA Championship in May.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner Woods has thrived at two Signature events in particular, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational eight times and the Memorial Tournament five times. By creating this sponsor exemption category particular to Woods, it would ensure him the opportunity to compete in these events if he wished and were healthy enough to play. Currently, Woods does not qualify for these events, which are limited to the top 50 in the FedEx Cup from the prior season, the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking and current-season winners and high-performers. Woods simply doesn't play enough to meet these criteria, though any tournament would be thrilled to have him play their event.
This exemption category, if approved by the Policy Board, would start in 2025. Woods, a Policy Board member, would abstain from that vote.
There are other measures on the table as well that would shape the Signature events for next year, including the possibility of eliminating cuts from any Signature event (or instituting them at all of them), as well as maintaining an alternate list for the Signature tournaments to guarantee a 72-player starting field.
