The PGA and the touring pros divorced at Whitemarsh Valley CC in 1968!

“Did You Know”
The PGA and the touring pros divorced at Whitemarsh Valley CC in 1968!

With the Great Depression and World War II in the past, the United States was prospering and so was golf. For the first time a golf professional could make a living on the PGA Tour without needing a second job in golf.

In November 1946 Ben Hogan made an unannounced appearance at the PGA’s national meeting in Chicago. At the PGA’s annual meeting any PGA member can present themselves and speak from the floor on any subject during what is called “Open Forum”. Hogan was representing an unofficial group of disgruntled players. For many years the touring pros had been at odds with the PGA of America over prize money, money breakdown, the size of fields, scheduling, field staff, tournament promotion and more. The PGA wanted the leading players to support the PGA Tour by entering more tournaments. The PGA officers agreed to meet with Hogan and the players at the Orlando Open later that month.

After meeting with Hogan and his committee in Orlando, the PGA and Hogan made a joint announcement.  PGA fields would be limited to 150 players. (There had been 210 at Orlando.) The minimum purse on the PGA Tour would be $10,000, up from $7,500 in 1946. The number of tournaments would be reduced from 42 in 1946 to 37 in 1947. The PGA would open an office in Chicago in conjunction with its national office to promote the PGA Tour events. When Hogan was asked about his committee the following week at the Miami Open, Hogan said his committee was dormant.

Then in early April 1950, 25 touring pros threatened to leave the PGA Tour and form their own organization. That included Ben Hogan and all the major tournament winners. There were several evening meetings at the Masters, some lasting three hours. As a result, the players were given the power to elect four players to a committee that included the three officers of the PGA. The committee would represent the players in tournament negotiations, but the officers did have veto power, which they used only once. In 1966 the PGA had vetoed holding a $200,000 Frank Sinatra tournament in Palm Springs because it would have been in the same month as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, also in Palm Springs. 

For years the PGA Tour lost money, but by the late 1960s the television industry was televising more than the majors. Money was finding its way to the PGA Tour. In the third week of August 1968, the PGA Tour was at the Whitemarsh Valley Country Club for the Philadelphia Golf Classic. First played in 1963 its $125,000 purse was the largest in the history of the PGA Tour. Now, five years later in 1968, its $100,000 payout was in the bottom half on the PGA Tour. Some of the big names like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus did not enter. Only 50 of the 70 players who made the cut earned a check, with last money $100.

The touring pros thought the current $5.8 million in prize money for 1968 should be more, and under their control and management it would be. The PGA officers knew the situation needed their attention. To put out the fire, PGA President Max Elbin arrived on Sunday from Bethesda, Maryland where he was the professional at the Burning Tree Golf Club. Elbin was in the tournament office when the players were filing their entries.

The top 60 from the 1967 money list, along with players from the two Q-Schools were exempt. 30 had earned playing cards in October and another 15 in June. Also, any player who had made the cut the previous week on the tour was in. The tournament sponsor could invite six also. PGA members and amateurs with low handicaps could pay an entry fee and attempt to qualify.

On Monday there was qualifying for the remaining spots in the 150 players starting field at Whitemarsh, with 232 players competing for 40 spots. For those who are interested in speed of play, the players were paired in fours, and they all completed their rounds that day. A playoff to break the ties for the last spots was held on Tuesday morning.

After Wednesday’s pro-am the players gathered in the clubhouse for an open meeting. The 150 players, who would be teeing off the next day, and some who failed to qualify were there. Elbin presented the case for the PGA to the players. The players said they did not want to leave the PGA. That evening they voted to form their own association within the PGA. A name for their organization was announced, American Professional Golfers. The officers were: Gardner Dickinson President, Jack Nicklaus Vice President and Billy Casper Treasurer. The attendees were informed that a lawyer had been hired. The committee announced that all tournament commitments for 1968 would be honored. The players had already begun negotiating for tournaments and television contracts for the next year.

As a result of this, the PGA and the APG both began putting together tournament schedules for 1969. In September the PGA Tour Sponsors Association held a meeting in Houston to talk about their future. Both organizations, the PGA and APG, held eight-round Q-Schools in October. 30 player-cards were given out by the PGA at PGA National Golf Club and 21 were given out at Doral Golf Resort by the APG.

In December Leo Fraser, Atlantic City CC owner and professional, was elected president of the PGA of America. After the election Fraser said he would do everything possible to make peace with the APG.

A settlement with the players was made on December 13. The tour players would be an arm of the PGA called the Tournament Division to be managed by a ten-man Tournament Policy Board. The board would consist of the three PGA officers, four players and three independent directors. The board would make all decisions concerning the PGA Tour. The separation was not totally amicable. The PGA did not name a PGA Player of the Year that year, 1968.   

In 1975 the divorce became complete with the tournament players separating from the PGA, taking the name PGA Tour. The PGA of America kept the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and 4-man World Series of Golf. PGA club professionals could still enter Monday qualifying until 1983 when the PGA Tour instituted the “All Exempt Tour”. With that there were 125 fully exempt players on the PGA Tour each year along with 25 more earning PGA Tour status at Q-School. Other players had a limited number of exemptions based on previous years and there were still sponsor’s exemptions.

There was peace, but not total peace. In 1974 the PGA Tour created the Players Championship to compete with the PGA Championship. Then in 1994 they created the Presidents Cup to compete with the Ryder Cup. Players on the Ryder Cup team began demanding compensation. To keep the name PGA and still be PGA members, the PGA Tour players pay dues to the PGA.

The PGA Tour, managed by the players, still has many of the regulations like earlier times under the PGA of America. Full time tour members have to enter a certain number of events each year. There are only three releases each year to play somewhere else like the South African Open or the Australian Open. Nonmembers, like foreign professionals, are limited to five tournaments a year.

In 2024 Scottie Scheffler won $29,228,357 plus a $25 million bonus for winning the Tour Championship. That year the 100th player won $2,930,385. Even with that not all PGA Tour players were content.