PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says that giving Tiger Woods a special exemption into all Signature Events was a move that officials and players all wanted to make to celebrate his achievements.
Monahan revealed the move in a memo to players ahead of the Travelers Championship – saying a special exemption category just for Woods would let him play in all eight Signature Events from next season onwards.
The decision, taken by the PGA Tour board and Players Advisory Council, is to recognise Woods’ incredible achievements including 82 victories over his career.
In the memo, the PGA Tour said: “An additional sponsor exemption will be created to recognize Tiger Woods in his own category as a player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement threshold of 80+ career wins.”
The 48-year-old can play in three of the four Majors by right, but needed a special exemption into the US Open this year – which may continue in the same way Jack Nicklaus received eight towards the end of his career.
He does not qualify for the eight Signature Events though, and with all the attention and publicity he brings whenever he tees it up, that’s something the PGA Tour wanted to fix.
“I think it was important to our membership, it’s something we talked about with the PAC, it was important to our player directors, it was important to our board, it’s important to me because, you know, the man, as the exemption says, has won more than 80 events,” Monahan said about the Woods exemption at a press conference.
“And I think being able to give him the opportunity to compete in these events – any event he’s ever played in he’s made it bigger, he’s made it better, he’s drawn more eyeballs to it, and I think just as an organization we wanted to celebrate his exceptionalism in that manner.”
Woods stated that his goal for this year was to play once a month, but after he withdrew from the Genesis Invitational in round two due to illness he’s been reduced to appearing just in the Majors.
He finished bottom of the leaderboard from those that completed The Masters, but did set a new record for making 24 consecutive cuts at Augusta National.
Although he’s shown he can still play all the shots, mobility and sharpness remain big issues – and Woods says he’s caught between trying to play more but risking injury…
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