Sorting out the professional golf organizations

Do you know the difference between the PGA of America and the PGA Tour?

From June 9 to 22, at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, the 114th USA Men’s Open and the US Women’s Open will play consecutive tournaments on the same golf course. That has never happened before. 

The US Open is a tournament sponsored by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the governing body of golf, and is open to all amateurs and professionals from around the world. Any golfer can enter and successfully make his or her way through local and sectional qualifying tournaments. There were 10,127 men and 1,702 women who entered the 2014 US Open. It will likely be a touring pros who will win the Open, like last year's winners Inbee Park and Justin Rose, but anything is possible.

The PGA in the United States

On any given weekend, it is possible to watch the best golfers in the world compete on the PGA and LPGA tours. What television viewers may be watching, however, may have little to do with the Professional Golf Association or even the PGA Tour in the United States.

In 1968 the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) split into the PGA of America and the PGA Tour. The PGA of America has become an association of 28,000 teaching pros or club professionals, men and women who promote the game through instruction and tournaments for its members. The PGA of America continues to control the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup tournaments.

The PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is responsible for operating 44 tournaments each year, including the Players Championship, the FedEx Cup and the biennial Presidents Cup. The PGA Tour is also responsible for the Champions Tour, the Web.com Tour, the PGA Tour of Canada, the PGA Tour of China and the PGA Tour of Latin America.

What the PGA Tour is not responsible for includes the four majors. The four biggest tournaments in the world include the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, the British Open and the US Open. Winning any of the four majors is considered to be a major accomplishment. Jack Nicklaus holds the record with 18 majors.

The PGA Tour is also not responsible for the four World Golf Championships (WGC) tournaments, which are under the direction of the International Federation of PGA Tours, although the PGA Tour is a participating member. The objective of the WGC is to have the top-ranked golfers from around the world compete in four tournaments, including the Accenture Match Play in Tucson, Arizona; the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Florida; the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio; and the HSBC Championship in Shanghai, China.

It is interesting to note that when it comes to the eight biggest golf tournaments in the world, the PGA Tour has little to no organizational involvement.

The LPGA

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) also has nothing to do with the PGA Tour. They are a completely independent organization.The LPGA in 2014 will operate 33 tour events with a total of $56 million in prize money. Most of the tournaments are held in the United States, but a few are held in Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Japan, among others. Some of the more famous female golfers include Se Ri Pak, Inbee Park, Stacey Lewis, Michelle Wei, Na Yeon Choi, Paula Creamer and Karrie Webb.

The Symetra Tour

Previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour, this is the official development tour of the LPGA. Tour membership is open to professional and amateur females, with 20 tournaments held across the United States. The top ten money winners receive their LPGA Touring card for the following year. Successful LPGA golfers like Grace Park, Lorena Ochoa and Christie Kerr started their careers on this tour.

Regardless of the type of tour or the tournament, the next two weeks of the US Open should provide some good golf.