PGA Tour, PGA of America announce new joint initiatives

SEA ISLAND, Ga. (November 6, 2013) -- PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem and PGA of America President Ted Bishop today announced a significant expansion in cooperative initiatives that benefit the membership of both organizations and help grow the game of golf.

Among them, Bishop said, is The PGA of America's intention to increase the PGA Championship's purse to $10 million, which will equal that of The Players Championship as the highest in professional golf. This represents a $2 million increase over last season's PGA Championship, while Finchem said The Players' purse will increase by $500,000 over 2013. In addition, the PGA Tour will increase its longstanding support of the PGA Professional National Championship and various PGA Section Championships.

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Appearing at a press conference during The McGladrey Classic at Sea Island Resort, Finchem and Bishop outlined a program aimed at highlighting the vital role of PGA of America Professionals in teaching and growing the game of golf:

- A PR campaign that will include PSAs during PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Web.com Tour telecasts; exposure on PGATour.com; and features on Sirius/XM Radio's PGA TOUR channel, and will focus on the efforts of PGA professionals in teaching and growing the game of golf.

- A weekly segment on "Inside the PGA TOUR" shown on Golf Channel, featuring the host PGA Professional's knowledge of the competitive aspects of the tournament course.

- PGA Professional presence at selected PGA Tour events, commencing in 2014 with The Players, the three domestic World Golf Championships, The Barclays, the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola, the Northern Trust Open and The Presidents Cup, in which PGA Professionals will interact with fans in various ways, such as providing mini lessons and distributing information about golf instruction.

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"We have always believed that working together with The PGA of America enhances efforts to grow the game and benefits the membership of both organizations," Finchem said. "Today's announcement reflects what regular communication between our organizations can accomplish, and we look forward to continuing discussions with Ted and The PGA of America regarding further opportunities."

"The relationship between The PGA of America and the PGA TOUR has never been stronger for a variety of reasons," said Bishop, 38th president of The PGA of America. "There have been a series of cooperative efforts and today's announcement is a further reflection that the essence of our relationship has been our ability to jointly do what is best for golf and our respective memberships. After all, PGA Tour players are also members of The PGA of America."