PGA Tour gives Tiger Woods ‘lifetime achievement’ exemption

The move will give Woods access to the tour’s eight signature tournaments, all of which award large prize money and extra points in the FedEx Cup standings despite possessing smaller fields than standard events.

Tiger Woods wipes his face on the 16th hole during weather warnings in the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Friday, June 14, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Tiger Woods will be able to gain entry to all PGA Tour signature events moving forward after the circuit’s policy board voted Tuesday to grant him a special exemption due to “exceptional lifetime achievement.”

The move will give Woods access to the tour’s eight signature tournaments, all of which award large prize money and extra points in the FedEx Cup standings despite possessing smaller fields than standard events.

The exemption was approved when the policy board met alongside the PGA Tour Enterprises board in Hartford, Conn., according to ESPN.

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The tour’s memo on the decision read, per ESPN, “An additional sponsor exemption will be created to recognise Tiger Woods in his own category as a player who has reached an exceptional lifetime achievement threshold of 80-plus career wins.”

Woods owns 82 victories overall, tied with Sam Snead for the most in PGA Tour history, and 15 wins in major events, the second-best total ever behind Jack Nicklaus’ 18.

Woods, 48, has played few tournaments since a car crash in February 2021 that caused major leg injuries.

Last year, he tied for 45th at the Genesis Invitational -- where he is the host -- and withdrew after making the cut at the Masters in his only two starts of the season.

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Woods has played just four times this year. He withdrew in the middle of the Genesis Invitational and missed the cut at the PGA Championship and last week’s U.S. Open. In the one event he completed, he finished 60th at the Masters. He is scheduled to tee it up at the Open Championship in Scotland in mid-July.

The last of the year’s eight signature events on the PGA Tour, the Travelers Championship, is scheduled for this week in Cromwell, Conn. The others are The Sentry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and the Memorial.

The Genesis, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial feature 36-hole cuts, while the other signature events don’t. However, ESPN reported that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said at the Tuesday meeting that discussions are underway about possibly implementing cuts at each of the signature tournaments.