Web.com Tour Finals
The Web.com Tour Finals is a series of four golf tournaments that, beginning in 2013, replaced the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament as a means of earning PGA Tour membership for the following season ("Tour cards").
Prior to 2013, the main ways to earn a PGA Tour card, other than by winning a PGA Tour event or finishing in the top-125 on the PGA Tour money list, were to finish on the top-25 of the Web.com Tour money list or to finish in the top 25 of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. Fifty PGA Tour cards are available during the Finals.
Tournaments
The Finals are the final four tournaments of the Web.com Tour season. For 2013–15 they were:
- Hotel Fitness Championship in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Small Business Connection Championship in Davidson, North Carolina
- Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Columbus, Ohio
- Web.com Tour Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
In 2016, the DAP Championship[1] replaced the Hotel Fitness Championship and the Albertsons Boise Open replaced the Small Business Connection Championship.
Each event has a purse of US$1,000,000[2] (the 2013 purses for other tournaments range from $550,000 to $800,000 with a median purse of $650,000).[3] They feature a 36-hole cut of the top-60 and ties (standard Web.com Tour cut).[2] The events are worth a minimum of 16 points for the Official World Golf Ranking, up from 14 points for regular season Web.com Tour events. The Web.com Tour Championship is worth a minimum of 20 points as the Tour's flagship event, as in the past.[4]
Qualification
There are four ways to qualify for the Finals:[2]
- Finish in the top-75 on the Web.com Tour's regular season money list.
- Finish the PGA Tour's regular season ranked 126–200 on the FedEx Cup points list. Not all players with this criterion will compete, as some are already exempt through other means.
- As a non-member of the PGA Tour, earn enough FedExCup points to place 126–200 on the points list.
- Special medical exemptions.[5]
Tour cards
In 2013, the top-25 on the regular season Web.com Tour money list were guaranteed PGA Tour cards regardless of their performance in the Finals and the Finals determine their priority ranking. Money earned in the four Finals events determined the remaining 25 PGA Tour cards. The leading money winners on the regular season Web.com Tour money list and the Finals money list were fully exempt on the PGA Tour; the remaining 48 players were ranked for PGA Tour priority purposes based on their Finals earnings.[2] In addition, the money leaders in both the regular season and the Finals received places in the following year's Players Championship.
In 2014 the determination of the priority ranking changed. The top 25 from the regular season money list carried their earnings to the Finals, competing among themselves for priority. The top 25 earners in the Finals only, not including the top 25 from the regular season, again earned PGA Tour cards. The priority rankings were then determined be a "zipper method" with the top 25 in combined regular and Finals earnings taking rankings 1, 3, 5, ... and the top 25 from the Finals taking rankings 2, 4, 6, ...[6][7]
Those who win their third event of the season during the finals are also fully exempt on the PGA Tour. Players who finish in the top 50 on the Finals list and Top 75 on the regular season money list also are guaranteed full Web.com Tour status for the next season. The remainder will either attempt to regain their cards through Web.com Tour Qualifying School or make use of limited PGA Tour status if available.
Criticism
One unintended consequence of the change in Q school is that more amateurs are turning professional earlier in the year (June instead of August) in order to have a better chance at earning a PGA Tour card through high finishes via sponsors' exemptions.[8]
Winners
| Year | Regular season money winner | First tournament^ | Second tournament^ | Nationwide Children's Hosp. Ch. | Web.com Tour Championship | Finals winner | Overall money winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 |  Wesley Bryan | Bryson DeChambeau | Michael Thompson | Grayson Murray | Canceled * | Grayson Murray | Wesley Bryan |
| 2015 | Patton Kizzire |  Henrik Norlander | Chez Reavie | Andrew Loupe |  Emiliano Grillo | Chez Reavie | Patton Kizzire |
| 2014 |  Carlos Ortiz | Bud Cauley |  Adam Hadwin | Justin Thomas | Derek Fathauer | Derek Fathauer | Adam Hadwin |
| 2013 | Michael Putnam |  Trevor Immelman | Andrew Svoboda |  Noh Seung-yul | Chesson Hadley | John Peterson | Chesson Hadley |
^ For 2013–15, the first tournament was the Hotel Fitness Championship and the second tournament was the Chiquita Classic/Small Business Connection Championship. In 2016 they were the DAP Championship and Albertsons Boise Open, respectively.
Bolded golfers received full exemptions for the PGA Tour not subject to re-order. In 2013, golfers who led the regular season money list and the Finals money list received full exemptions.[9] Since 2014, golfers who led the overall money list and the Finals money list received full exemptions.[10]
* Tournament was canceled due to Hurricane Matthew
References
- ↑ Warsinskey, Tim (December 7, 2015). "Web.com Tour championship coming to Canterbury, affiliated with LeBron James charity". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 "Eligibility for the 2013 Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ↑ "2013 Web.com Tour – Tournament Schedule". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Official World Golf Ranking Board Announces Adjustments To Ranking System". OWGR. August 20, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Field study: Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ↑ "Eligibility for the 2014 Web.com Tour Finals". PGA Tour. June 1, 2014.
- ↑ Hoggard, Rex (May 30, 2014). "Major Web.com Tour Finals changes midway through season". Golf Channel.
- ↑ Herrington, Ryan (June 18, 2014). "Why so many top amateurs are turning pro this week – and the unintended consequence". Golf Digest.
- ↑ "Meet the graduates: 2013 Web.com Tour Finals top 50". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ↑ "Meet The 50: Who's headed to the PGA Tour for the 2014-15 season?". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.