PGA Tour starts its FedEx Cup Fall with a reduction in prize money and a new event in Utah

The numbers alone indicate a FedEx Cup Fall season worth $58.7 million in prize money as players try to secure their PGA Tour cards by finishing in the top 125, or perhaps qualify for two signature events if they finish in the top 60.

But there's a reason for the increase in prize money from $56.6 million last year — there's one additional tournament, the Black Desert Championship in Utah. Five of the seven tournaments in the fall have reduced the purse, some rather substantially.

While not unprecedented, a reduction in prize money is rare on the PGA Tour.

It starts this week with the Procore Championship at Silverado in Napa, California, a new title sponsor with a purse of $6 million, down from $8.4 million a year ago. Part of that is due to Procore signing on just two months before the tournament.

The Sanderson Farms Championship purse is $7.6 million, down from $8.2 million last year. The Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas also has a significant drop in prize money to $7 million, compared with $8.4 million in 2023.

The World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico is down $1 million to $7.2 million, while the RSM Classic at Sea Island is $8 million, down by $400,000 from a year ago.

The Zozo Championship in Japan is the same at $8.5 million, though it was $11 million two years ago. The one increase was the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at $6.9 million, up from $6.5 million last year.

It's to be expected with the top 50 in the FedEx Cup locked in and playing only sparingly the rest of the year, if at all. Scottie Scheffler isn't likely to play until his title defense in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. Rory McIlroy is playing only on the European tour.

The tour said in a statement there is “more to play for than ever” in the fall in terms of prize money, access, eligibility and a chance to build momentum. Three winners last fall — Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala — reached the Tour Championship.

“And while there have been adjustments to purse sizes at a some FedEx Cup Fall events, both playing opportunities and overall prize money have seen an increase,” the tour said.

Luke Clanton is taking a break from his junior year at Florida State to resume what appears to be a rapid march to a PGA Tour card.

Clanton already has won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the No. 1 amateur in the world, earning him a spot in the U.S. Open and British Open if he stays an amateur. He also has 14 points, needing only six more points to earn a PGA Tour card through the “PGA Tour University Accelerated” program for underclassmen.

Points are accumulated based on PGA Tour, amateur golf and college tournaments. Clanton has three top 10s — including a runner-up finish at the John Deere Classic — in his six PGA Tour starts this summer. He is playing on an exemption this week in the Procore Championship.

Players get one point for making the cut on the PGA Tour, an additional point if it's a top 10.

How long he stays in school is still to be determined, but the 20-year-old Clanton said his main goal for now is atoning for the Seminoles' runner-up finish in the NCAA championship.

The final LIV Golf League event of the year comes down to Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann competing for the individual title outside Chicago.

Equally compelling is what happens well below them.

Anyone finishing outside the top 48 is in the “Drop Zone,” meaning they could face relegation out of the league and would have to play their way back in through LIV’s promotions event. That list includes Branden Grace and wild-card players Hudson Swafford and Anthony Kim.

Players from Nos. 25 through 48 who do not have contract become free agents, with no guarantee of being picked up by a team. LIV has not disclosed which players have contracts. That list includes players like Harold Varner III and Pat Perez, who could fall into the “Drop Zone.”

If they fall out of the top 48, there is no clear path back to the PGA Tour. They would have to sit out at least one year before trying to go to Q-school, or opportunities to play would be the Asian Tour.

The PGA Tour has a habit of referring to tournaments with a long history by their current name. The best example was in 2016 when Dean & DeLuca was title sponsor at Colonial. Ben Hogan was referred to as a five-time winner of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, even though his last win was 18 years before Dean & DeLuca opened its first upscale grocery store.

And now there is a reference to Tiger Woods.

According to the year-end statistics the tour produced, Scottie Scheffler had 41 consecutive rounds at par or better. That was the longest streak since Woods, whose 47 in a row began with the second round of the Byron Nelson Classic and ended with the final round of the WGC-American Express Championship at Valderrama.

American Express ended its title sponsorship of that World Golf Championship after 2006. It became the CA Championship, then the Cadillac Championship, the Mexico Championship and then went to Florida one year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the tour, the streak ended at the “WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession.” That would have been in November 2000.

Workday Inc. was not founded until 2005. The Concession did not open until 2006.

Justin Thomas and his wife, Jill, are expecting their first child in late November. That much was obvious for anyone who saw his wife in the gallery during the PGA Tour postseason.

But what to say? Thomas doesn’t have a history of posting personal matters on social media. They weren’t hiding anything. He just wasn't sure how to let people know.

The perfect avenue came amid disappointment of being left off the Presidents Cup team, his first time missing a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup since 2016.

Thomas wrote in an Instagram post that he was happy with some improvement, and getting to East Lake for the Tour Championship was important (plus it gets him back to Kapalua). He congratulated Scottie Scheffler. He understood not being picked for the Presidents Cup and said it will motivate him.

And then this: “It will be nice to have some time to work on things, foundation event, some R&R, and even become a dad at the end of November!”

He also said he would be getting ready for Maui. Still to be determined is how much or whether he plays in the fall.

“I’ll have to figure out what I’m going to do with my time. I’ll probably add an event somewhere this fall,” he said at East Lake. “So it’s just trying to stay somewhat competitively in it and not get too rusty.”

The PGA Tour Champions has as many South Korean winners this year (K.J. Choi, Y.E. Yang) as the LPGA Tour (Amy Yang, Haeran Ryu). ... Viktor Hovland picked up one win this year. He teamed with former Oklahoma State golfer Ian Davis to defend their title in the Oak Tree National Pro-Scratch Invitational in Edmond, Oklahoma. Hovland picked up $20,000 for the win. Talor Gooch and his amateur partner finished second. ... Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and CBS analyst Tony Romo is trying PGA Tour qualifying again. He has signed up for the Q-school pre-qualifier — the first of four stages — in Newton, Kansas, on Sept. 18-20. ... St. Louis-based Stifel Financial Corp. is taking over as title sponsor for the PGA Tour Champions event in St. Louis with a three-year deal that starts next year.

The U.S. Solheim Cup team has three players from the top 10 in the world with an average ranking of 25.8. Europe has one player from the top 10 with an average world ranking of 42.

“I play better when people are against me, because I want to prove them wrong.” — Charley Hull to Golf.com on why she likes playing the Solheim Cup in America.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Justin Thomas speaks during a news conference ahead of a practice round for the Tour Championship golf tournament, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Collin Morikawa reacts to his chip up to the 18th green during the final round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Sahith Theegala lines up his putt on the third green during the final round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) — Milton increased to a Category 2 hurricane early Monday as Florida gears up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years as the storm heads toward major population centers including Tampa and Orlando.

Hurricane Milton was strengthening over the southern Gulf of Mexico as storm surge and hurricane watches for parts of Florida and a hurricane warning for the Mexican coast were issued, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm-ravaged Gulf Coast in Florida was expected to hit again.

While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to at least 230 people.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane warning for the Yucatan Peninsula from Celestun to Rio Lagartos, the center said.

About 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida in 2017 as Hurricane Irma bore down on the state. The exodus jammed freeways, led to hourslong lines at gas stations that still had fuel and left evacuees frustrated and, in some cases, vowing never to evacuate again.

Building on lessons learned during Irma and other previous storms, Florida is staging emergency fuel for gas vehicles and charging stations for electric vehicles along evacuation routes, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said at a Sunday briefing.

“We are looking at every potential, possible location that can potentially house someone, as what we refer to in emergency management, as a refuge of last resort,” Guthrie added.

The storm, which the center said was likely to become a major hurricane Monday, was centered about 195 miles (314 kilometers) west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 750 miles (1,207 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (161 kph) while moving east-southeast at 8 mph (12.8 kph), the hurricane center said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that while it remains to be seen where Milton will strike, it’s clear the state is going to be hit hard.

“I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have major impacts at this point," he said.

“You have time to prepare — all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,” DeSantis said. “If you’re on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you’ll be asked to leave.”

With Milton achieving hurricane status, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three simultaneous hurricanes after September, according to Colorado State University hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach. There have been four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September.

The St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene and its powerful storm surge. Twelve people perished as Helene swamped the coast, with the worst damage along the narrow, 20-mile (32-kilometer) string of barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration Sunday to 51 counties and said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week’s worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road.

“We are preparing ... for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma," Guthrie said.

People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened codes in 2004, who don’t depend on constant electricity and who aren’t in evacuation zones should probably avoid the roads, Guthrie said.

All classes and school activities in St. Petersburg’s Pinellas County preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached. Officials in Tampa opened all city garages free of charge to residents hoping to protect their cars from floodwaters, including electric vehicles. The vehicles must be left on the third floor or higher in each garage.

As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove debris, DeSantis said, and he directed Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene’s aftermath to return in preparation for Milton.

“All available state assets ... are being marshaled to help remove debris,” DeSantis said. “We’re going 24-7 ... it’s all hands on deck.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency’s response to Hurricane’s destruction after Republicans’ false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, created a frenzy of misinformation across devastated communities.

“This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it’s really a shame we’re putting politics ahead of helping people,” Criswell told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. It has created fear and mistrust among residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground across the southeast, she said.

Despite this, Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton, well before it’s clear exactly where the storm will move across the Florida peninsula.

Federal disaster assistance has surpassed $137 million since Helene struck more than a week ago, one of the largest mobilizations of personnel and resources in recent history, FEMA said Sunday.

Some 1,500 active-duty troops, more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and nearly 7,000 federal workers have been deployed, shipping more than 14.9 million meals, 13.9 million liters (3.6 million gallons) of water, 157 generators and 505,000 tarps, along with approving more than $30 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 27,000 households, according to FEMA, the White House and the Department of Defense.

More than 800 people unable to return home are staying in lodging provided through FEMA and 22 shelters are still housing nearly 1,000 people as mobile feeding operations continue to help survivors. The response to Helene won’t let up during Milton and its aftermath, because FEMA has the capacity to address multiple disasters simultaneously, the agency said.

“My Administration is sparing no resource to support families as they begin their road to rebuilding,” President Joe Biden said. “We will continue working hand-in-hand with local and state leaders — regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.”

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration taken at 11:36pm ET on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, shows Hurricane Milton. (NOAA via AP)