Most of the PGA Tour’s top players are at this week’s RBC Heritage and it “may be the end point of a grueling stretch of tournaments, causing them to play more events than they might otherwise” because of their "mandated appearances in the designated events," according to Ron Green Jr. of GLOBAL GOLF POST. This will be defending champion Jordan Spieth’s ninth start in the past 11 weeks and it is a “byproduct of the one-year rule requiring the top 20 players in last year’s Player Impact Program to play 12 of the 13 designated events” or "lose a percentage of the money they earned from the program." Spieth: “This is a year that’s a bridge year for us on the PGA Tour. So I want to keep playing the elevated events as well as the other events that I really love to play." Green notes starting next year, players "won't be required to play all but one designated event.” There may be a "minimum requirement," but players will have "more flexibility in their schedule.” Spieth faces “another scheduling challenge” next month if he plays the Wells Fargo Championship, another designated event, as that would mean him playing five tournaments in a row. Jon Rahm is currently playing his seventh event in nine weeks at an event he “typically bypasses.” The scheduling situation “came into sharper focus” this week when Rory McIlroy, who "already had skipped the Sentry Tournament of Champions, withdrew from the RBC Heritage." In doing so, McIlroy will “forfeit 25 percent” of his $12M bonus from the PIP last year because he “won’t play the required number of designated events unless Commissioner Jay Monahan essentially pardons him” (GLOBAL GOLF POST, 4/12).
Defending champion Jordan Spieth is making his ninth start in 11 weeks at the RBC HeritageGetty Images
