Keita Nakajima took a break after looking at all the menu options at a cafe down the street from the Royal Liverpool and started thinking about his next move in golf.
More options.
Nakajima, who broke Jon Rahm’s record for most weeks (87) as the world’s No. 1 amateur, is in a tight race for the Japan Golf Tour money title with Takumi Kanaya. The top three receive European tour cards. The leading player can advance to the final stage of Q-school on the PGA Tour, which ensures at least Korn Ferry Tour level status.
His question that July day: “Is it better to play the DP World Tour or the Korn Ferry Tour?” he said. Nakajima wants to follow in Hideki Matsuyama’s footsteps, except he considers conversational English a priority.
The money is better on the European Tour – about three times as much, including Rolex Series events – the travel is more extensive and the variety of golf is much greater on a tour that spans two dozen countries . Only the top 10 players in the Race to Dubai who are not already exempt can earn PGA Tour cards. This is where Nakajima ultimately wants to be.
Travel is easier and the fields aren’t as large on the Korn Ferry Tour, even though the top 30 players go straight to the PGA Tour.
It’s like that all over the golf world, with most paths — but not all — pointing toward the PGA Tour, even if it’s not exactly in a straight line.
Where to go? How to get there?
The answers will start coming in after the season ends, sometime next month.
Two events remain on the European Tour to determine the top 10 players with access to PGA Tour cards for 2024.
Adrian Meronk and Ryan Fox are among the participants. The Japanese Ryo Hisatsune occupies 10th place. He declined his place on the PGA Tour in Mexico this week so as not to jeopardize his chances of securing a full card.
The real choices face PGA Tour players who still have three tournaments to play to ensure they finish in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup and keep their full cards.
Chesson Hadley seems to be living on that bubble, and he’s at #122. On the outside are Patton Kizzire and Russell Knox. Those above number 150 don’t even get conditional status. This is where Jason Dufner and Ryan Palmer currently reside.
Typically, they were playing every PGA Tour event that had room for them (usually the ones the stars don’t play) or trying to battle it out on the Korn Ferry Tour with strong, power-seeking flat bellies. ‘pins.
Now there is another option. The European Tour offers membership to any PGA Tour player who finishes 126th through 200th, with one caveat: No more than five of those players can play in any given week on the European Tour.
But for the former, it is an interesting prospect because it would offer a complete and coherent calendar. Also interesting is the long-standing debate about the strength of touring. Ten players receive cards. If Europe is so easy, this would be the time for some Americans to prove it.
Not to be overlooked is the LIV Golf option.
The Saudi-funded league is already making plans for 2024 and beyond and it remains unclear how the PGA Tour’s proposed business venture with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund will affect that, if the The agreement is even concluded.
But first there’s “LIV Golf Promotions,” a 72-hole qualifying event – yes, 72 holes! — for three days, from December 8 to 10 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. This will decide which three players can join the LIV Golf League in 2024 and be drafted by the likes of Iron Heads, Smash or HyFlyers.
Qualifying is open to anyone interested, from elite amateurs (such as Walker Cup players) to Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players over the past five years. Yes, that even makes Tiger Woods eligible.
Who actually wants to play is another story.
LIV Golf frontman Greg Norman says he’s had several conversations with players interested in joining LIV, although he said so a year ago and has only gotten the best. List B. And a top player is unlikely to join the group given the PGA Tour’s $20 million purses and lack of world ranking points (and access to major tournaments) on LIV.
For those who are out of cards, or who might be unhappy with a PGA Tour increasingly divided between the stars and those who must play for just $8 million in prize money, this is an option to consider.
This option worked well for Talor Gooch early in LIV. Gooch took a win against a weak field in the fall and had just cracked the top 50 in the world. He has now collected more than $45 million in two short seasons.
And it worked for Eugenio Chacarra, who left Oklahoma State for LIV and has one win on the LIV Golf Tour, one on the Asian Tour and more than $10 million in two seasons.
Neither will compete in majors next year unless they qualify for the Opens. That’s the trade-off for playing in a league that guarantees more than $1.5 million for finishing last every week.
For players who struggle to get on the Korn Ferry Tour, for those just out of college, for PGA Tour players who work every year just to keep their cards, is it worth going to Abu Dhabi in December for a chance to join the LIV?
The PGA Tour is unlikely to suspend anyone who tries, as a qualifying tournament would not be the same as an official LIV event (although it would still need a press release).
These are the options to sort. Cross Europe. Roll the dice on a limited schedule. Spend a year in what amounts to the minor leagues. Seek guaranteed liquidity with LIV. The options have rarely been so varied. The game only gets more difficult.
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