The PGA Tour sent a memo to players Thursday informing them that the league is expanding its player equity program. All golfers who finish in the top 50 in the 2026 FedEx Cup standings (qualifying for the BMW Championship) will receive regular equity grants to PGA Tour Enterprises. This grant will be awarded in April 2027.
The decision was made in response to feedback from the players’ meeting at last summer’s Rocket Classic, which was brought to the Board of Directors’ meeting in November and ultimately approved.
Approximately 200 PGA Tour members currently own equity in the program, which is valued at more than $1 billion. Current stockholders, regardless of their equity, will continue to be eligible to earn stock through the expanded program.
“As the sports industry continues to evolve and attract significant investment, ownership of the PGA Tour is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolup wrote in a memo. “The PGA Tour’s player ownership model stands out as a breakthrough approach, offering you the opportunity to benefit from the growth and success of the PGA Tour in ways that go beyond weekly wallet returns. In other words, when the PGA Tour improves, so do you.”
The Player Equity Program was announced in 2024 when Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of North American sports owners, invested $1.5 billion in the tour’s newly formed for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, with the ability to invest an additional $1.5 billion in the future.
Equity grants were initially awarded to players based on career performance, recent performance, and Player Impact Program metrics. Individuals who contributed to the development of the PGA Tour received stock, and additional stock was also set aside for future PGA Tour players.
