By Doug Ferguson, AP Golf Writer
The 50 players who earn PGA Tour cards from the Korn Ferry Tour — either the regular season or the three-event finals series — can expect a $500,000 deposit to start the year.
It’s one of the new programs Commissioner Jay Monahan announced last week. Everyone with a full card gets $500,000 that counts against their earnings so they don’t lose money.
That’s a benefit for the bottom. This season, the PGA Tour had 163 players who made $500,000 or more. That compares with 42 players who made under $500,000 while playing at least 15 tournaments.
For players who had 15 or more starts, Joshua Creel made only four cuts in 22 tournaments in his rookie season and earned $115,976.
Kyle Stanley was not a returning member (he was top 125 the previous year). Stanley made $188,048 in 18 tournaments. At the end of the season, the tour would have paid him $311,952 under this program.
