How To Qualify For PGA Tour Signature Events

Since arriving onto the scene in 2024 following a year of Designated Events, PGA Tour Signature Events have offered smaller fields the chance to earn more prize money and FedEx Cup points than a regular tournament on the top US circuit.

The group of eight tournaments - which do not include the four Major championships, FedEx Cup Playoff events or The Players Championship - features a minimum of 72 players in all but one and $20 million prize money purses in each.

As far as the all-important FedEx Cup points go, Signature Event winners collect 700 as opposed to the 500 which a regular PGA Tour event puts up.

Five of the eight weeks do not feature a cut and therefore offer guaranteed money, with $3.6 million to the winner - much like the LIV Golf League - while three Signature Events say goodbye to those not inside the top-50 or within 10 strokes of the leader and give out $4 million to the champion.

The three with a cut are hosted by three legends of the game - Jack Nicklaus (the Memorial Tournament), Arnold Palmer (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and Tiger Woods (the Genesis Invitational).

In terms of qualification, there are six over-arching routes for players to take to ensure they play in a Signature Event. The first way is to finish inside the top-50 of the FedEx Cup standings at the culmination of the Tour Championship.

Only the top-50 make it through to the penultimate event of the regular season anyway - the BMW Championship - so teeing it up there effectively means a player has booked their spot in each of the big-money tournament the following year.

Although not the easiest way of qualifying for the Signature Events, another path players can take is by winning a PGA Tour event with a full compliment of FedEx Cup points (i.e. not opposite-field events). Should they do so, a player would be eligible for all remaining Signature Events that season plus The Sentry at the start of the following term.

Another simple qualification process involves being inside the top-30 of the Official World Golf Ranking at the end of the tournament which precedes the relevant Signature Event. This is quite rare, but should a pro not qualify via any of the other categories, they would earn a spot in a Signature Event this way.

For those not in the upper echelons of the PGA Tour rankings, it is possible to qualify for Signature Events on a one-off basis through consistently good play over a short period.

The Aon Swing 5 offers the leading five pros with the most FedEx Cup points at events in between the cash-rich competitions, who are not exempt otherwise, a tee time. From there, a player's aim is to finish as high up as possible and secure their place at the next Signature Event via a different category.

On a similar note, the Aon Next 10 rewards the leading group of 10 golfers in the current FedEx Cup standings who are not eligible via another category and did not finish inside the top-50 at the end of the previous campaign with a Signature Event start.

This category does not apply until the third Signature Event of the year, with golfers who finished between 51st and 60th in the FedEx Cup standings at the culmination of the Fall series winning spots at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational. The Sentry field is made up purely of PGA Tour event winners from the year before as well as the FedEx Cup top-50 from the season prior.

The final way to qualify for a start in a Signature Event is via a sponsor's exemption. Each tournament offers four exemption spots to players, with the three player-hosted competitions allowing an extra place.

Plus, since the start of the 2025 season, the PGA Tour announced Tiger Woods had been awarded an exemption into all eight Signature Events based on his 82-win career on the top US circuit.

SIGNATURE EVENT QUALIFICATION ROUTES

• Finish inside the FedEx Cup top-50 the season prior
• Win a PGA Tour event with full FedEx Cup points on offer
• Sit inside the OWGR top-30 on the Monday before a Signature Event
• Aon Swing 5
• Aon Next 10
• Sponsor exemption

PGA TOUR SIGNATURE EVENTS

• The Sentry
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
• Genesis Invitational
• Arnold Palmer Invitational
• RBC Heritage
• Truist Championship
• The Memorial Tournament
• Travelers Championship