PGA Tour golfer plans to fly more than 56,000 km in 7 weeks

Frenchman Martin Trainer will tour four tournament systems, six countries and territories across three continents, for seven weeks.

Trainer's seven-week tour in the new year begins on February 9 and ends on April 7. Accordingly, he will participate in the International Series in Oman and Macau (both Asian Tour), the Singapore Classic and Hero Indian Open (DP World Tour), the Argentina Open and Club Car Championship in the US (Korn Ferry Tour), and the Puerto Rico Open (PGA Tour) on the island of the same name. Accordingly, Trainer is expected to fly about 56,330 km.

Martin Trainer competes at the Bermuda Championship 2022. Photo: AFP — Martin Trainer competes at the Bermuda Championship 2022. Photo: *AFP*

Trainer planned to do so to increase his earnings through tournament slots that arose during a precarious time on the PGA Tour in mid-last month. Trainer was competing in the RSM Classic in Georgia with the goal of finishing in the top 150 of the FedEx Cup standings, a position that would guarantee him at least a spot for the majority of the 2024 season on the U.S. Open.

After the RSM Classic, Trainer finished 163rd in the FedEx Cup. Therefore, he was limited in competition as a reserve in the new season.

But in that situation, thanks to the agreement between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, Trainer was granted a new season card to compete in the European golf tournament system. This arena organizes tournaments in 20 countries and territories, which suits his traveling hobby. The prize fund for each stage fluctuates between 1.5 - 2 million USD.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour’s governing body is allowing members to compete in a three-player LIV Golf League from December 8-10 in Abu Dhabi. This arena opens at least 14 tournaments each season, packaged in the calendar year.

In the LIV Golf League, the last-place golfer in each tournament will receive $120,000, while the individual cup winner will receive four million dollars. This is the financial attraction that makes Trainer compete in Abu Dhabi despite the possibility of being suspended by the PGA Tour - a disciplinary measure that is still in effect even though the two owners have acknowledged each other as partners.

In the end, Trainer was not allowed to enter the LIV Golf League, but received a spot in seven International Series tournaments on the Asian Tour due to a separate agreement between the two parties. That group of tournaments is a special category in the top-tier Asian arena, with a prize fund of three million USD for each tournament.

Adding the freedom to play on the Korn Ferry Tour, with an average prize fund of $1 million, Trainer has outlined a seven-week tour schedule, from February 9 to April 7, 2023.

Trainer is 32 years old this year, has been playing professional golf since 2013, and only joined the PGA Tour in 2018. In this tournament system, he has played 131 tournaments with a total prize money of over two million USD, only winning once, at the Puerto Rico Open 2019. Thanks to that victory, he has secured a place in the next tournament, from March 7 to 10, 2024. Trainer is currently ranked 611th in the world's professional men's golf rankings.

National Emblem

Source link