Justin Thomas defends sponsor exemptions: ‘You going to tell Tiger he can’t play?’

In the world of professional golf, which has a long history of operating as a meritocracy in which hand-outs are few and benefits are earned, sponsor exemptions can be a thorny topic — especially since the advent of limited-field, no-cut Signature Events, which boast $20 million purses.

Signature Events now make up a significant portion of the Tour calendar, and breaking into the field can be a difficult prospect. Unless, of course, you’re awarded a sponsor exemption.

At typical PGA Tour events, sponsor exemptions (usually four) are generally awarded to anyone the tournament sponsor deems worthy of entry. That could be a “deserving” pro who is not otherwise qualified for the field, an area local or tour-aspiring amateur, or even a celebrity. PGA Tour Signature Events can also designate four sponsor’s exemptions, but they must be PGA Tour members. Otherwise, there is no set criteria for selection. This stipulation — or perhaps lack thereof — has caused a bit of controversy over the last couple of years. At the 2024 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, players were peeved that three of the four sponsor exemptions — Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson and Adam Scott — were members of the PGA Tour’s board. At the time, Malnati and Simpson’s world ranking was 245 and 225, respectively.

At its core, sponsor exemptions are intended to give a leg up to up-and-comers or a playing opportunity to otherwise deserving pros. There have been many players over the years who have used sponsor’s exemptions as a launchpad for their professional careers, including Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. In October, Michael Brennan won the Bank of Utah Championship as a sponsor exemption in only his third PGA Tour start. President Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, was given a sponsor exemption into the Annika field last fall, although her inclusion resulted in a barrage of additional media coverage, interest and viewership for the tournament, which is what tournament organizers and sponsors often hope for with these invites.

So which players are most deserving of these coveted exemptions? That conversation is ongoing, with plenty of reasonable arguments on every side. And at this week’s Valspar Championship, two-time major champion Justin Thomas became the latest voice to wade into the fray.

Thomas has been one of the world’s top players for more than a decade, but a slump in 2023 pushed him outside of the FedEx Cup top 70 for the first time in his career, and his World Ranking plummeted outside of the top 30 for several weeks. Suddenly, he said, he found himself on the outside looking in at events for which he had previously been exempt.

“It was extremely stressful,” Thomas said Wednesday in Florida. “But also I’m extremely proud of the fact that I, it was a big deal for me that I didn’t have to rely on one exemption that year. I played my way into all of them. That was a big goal of mine. Because, first off, I hated having to ask, but I did ask. It’s like I’m not shameful or like above that. I mean, I want to be playing in these tournaments. And, you know, the majority of tournaments, they were graceful and saying that, yes, if you need it, we’ll have one. But I didn’t get exemptions into some. So knowing that I needed to play into them was comforting, but also good for me.”

While Thomas expressed pride in his ability to not have to resort to using an exemption to gain entry into the field, he said he can also see both sides of the issue.

“It’s tough, man, because I understand the argument of, you know, giving it to the same guys, whatever. But how are you going to tell the company that’s putting up 15, 20 million dollars that they can’t have someone in the tournament because they feel like it’s better for the ratings and better for their ticket sales and better for the event in general. That’s a hard one for me to — I see both sides a hundred percent on that.

“But I just think that sponsor exemptions are part of — I mean, it’s a massive part,” he continued. “What, are you going to tell Tiger Woods he can’t play if he wants to play? Like, I’m sorry, but you’re an idiot if that’s what you think. Like, he needs to play in whatever he wants to play in, and that’s better for the golf tournament and the game of golf. So it’s a tough one to perfect, but we’re working on it, I guess.”

Luckily for Thomas, his ranking is back to No. 14, and he found his way back to the winner’s circle at last year’s RBC Heritage, a Signature Event.