TOUR OVERVIEW

* ALL ROUNDS PLAYED USING LINKS 2003 v1.07
* ONLY REGISTERED PLAYERS WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE
* CLASSIC, RTS OR POWERSTROKE SWINGS ALONG WITH PRO, CHAMP OR ELITE SKILL LEVELS ALLOWED
* BOTH 'OFFICIAL' HANDICAP AND SCRATCH TOURS AVAILABLE
* EVENTS PLAYED USING DOWNLOADABLE LTS FILES
* ROUNDS SUBMITTED COUNT TOWARDS BOTH THE HANDICAP TOUR AND RELEVANT SCR TOUR ACCORDING TO PLAYER SKILL LEVEL USED
* 24 EVENT SEASON INCLUDING 4 MAJORS AND 3 WGC EVENTS
* OPTIONAL 18 HOLE PRO-AM EVENTS (HANDICAP TOUR ONLY) AVAILABLE AT ALL REGULAR SEASON EVENTS (EXCLUDING MAJORS) WITH MONEY LIST
* ADDITIONAL TEAM TROPHY (HANDICAP TOUR ONLY), CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS, CHALLENGE TROPHY AND FEDEX CUP EVENTS
* BONUS SHOT AWARDS ON HANDICAP AND SCRATCH TOURS IN 72 HOLE EVENTS ONLY (NOT INCLUDING PRO-AM EVENTS)
* MEMBERS SERVING THEIR RESPECTIVE 'Q SCHOOL' PERIOD ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN ON HANDICAP TOUR ALTHOUGH THEY DO COMPETE IN THE RESPECTIVE TOUR EVENTS, BUT ARE PLACED ON FINAL LEADERBOARD INITIALLY IN ORDER OF TOUR STATUS AND THEN 72 HOLE SCORE
AND THUS RECEIVE THE APPROPRIATE EARNINGS FOR THAT POSITION
* FOR RETURNING MEMBERS AND SWING/SKILL CHANGES – PLEASE SEE THE HANDICAPPING SECTION
* 'Q SCHOOL' RULING ONLY APPLIES TO HANDICAP TOUR - 'PRO SCR' & 'CHAMP/ELITE SCR' TOURS ARE EXEMPT FROM THIS RULE
* MEMBERS BECOME INACTIVE ON THE HANDICAP TOUR AFTER NON-COMPLETION OF 5 CONSECUTIVE EVENTS
* THE TOUR REQUESTS NO CHIPPING ON GREENS UNLESS DIRECT LINE TO PIN OBSTRUCTED BY HAZARD, ROUGH ETC.
* PUTTING ASSISTANT NOT ALLOWED

TOURNAMENTS

* PLAYERS USE OFFLINE TOUR CREATED PLAYER ONLY FOR ROUNDS ON THE TOUR, WITH PLAYER STATS RESET FROM START OF EACH NEW SEASON
* PLAYED OVER 4 ROUNDS EVERY 2 WEEKS UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
* EVENTS RUN FOR 14 DAYS FROM MONDAY TO SECOND SUNDAY
* NO HALFWAY CUT APPLIED, PLAYERS ELIGIBLE TO PLAY ALL 4 ROUNDS
* PLAYERS MAY PLAY ROUNDS ONLINE BUT THEY MUST SUBMIT THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL .VER OR SCORE.TXT FILES AFTER EACH ROUND COMPLETED
* BONUS EARNINGS FOR LONG DRIVE, NEAREST THE PIN, LONGEST PUTT AND HOLE-IN-ONE SHOTS ON BOTH HANDICAP AND SCRATCH TOURS
* LTS FILES CONTAIN CUSTOM TEE AND CUSTOM PIN SETTINGS
* .VER FILE REQUIRED UPON COMPLETION OF ROUND ALONG WITH ANY .SHT FILES FOR CONSIDERATION FOR SHOT BONUS CATEGORIES
IF .VER FILE UNAVAILABLE, THE SCORE.TXT WILL BE ACCEPTED (PLUS MOPTOTAL.TXT WHEN PLAYING PRO-AM ROUND)
* VARIABLE WIND SETTINGS USED FOR EACH EVENT WITH VARIABLE' FIRMNESS/SPEED SETTINGS MIXING CHALLENGING AND NON-CHALLENGING CONDITIONS
* TOUR ROUNDS ALLOW 2FT GIMMES AND NO MULLIGANS
* LEADERBOARDS UPDATED WITH RD2 SCORES ADDED FROM 1ST THURSDAY, RD3 SCORES FROM 2ND MONDAY AND RD4 SCORES FROM 2ND FRIDAY
* PLAY-OFF USED TO DETERMINE WINNERS IN THE EVENT OF A TIE, EXCEPT IN PRO-AM WHERE PLACE MONEY IS SHARED
* HANDICAPS ADJUSTED AFTER EACH TOURNAMENT
* EARNINGS APPLIED USING PGA TOUR PERCENTAGE INCREMENT SCALE AS A GUIDE CLICK FOR DETAILS
* WHERE PLAYERS TIED OTHER THAN FOR FIRST PLACE, USUAL SHARED EARNINGS RULE APPLIES
* PLAYERS FORFEIT EARNINGS FOR NON-COMPLETION OF EVENT AND ARE CLASSIFIED AS 'NR' (BUT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR BONUS SHOT AWARDS)
* ALL EARNINGS AND BONUS SHOT AWARDS GO TOWARDS RELEVANT OFFLINE TOUR MONEY LISTS
* SUBMITTED FILES RECEIVED AFTER THE TOURNAMENT CLOSING DATE WILL BE DISREGARDED
* PLAYERS ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THEIR PLAYER .PIN FILE AFTER COMPLETING ALL 4 ROUNDS TO EFFECTIVELY 'SIGN FOR THEIR SCORES'.
* HANDICAP TOURNAMENT VICTORIES AND HANDICAP COURSE RECORDS CAN ONLY BE AWARDED WHERE MEMBERS HAVE 100% ACTIVE TOUR STATUS
* TOUR STATUS RULES ARE NOT APPLIED TO EITHER OF THE 'SCR' TOURS AS NO HANDICAPS ARE IN PLAY

PLAY-OFF RULES

* A 9 HOLE LTS FILE IS USED AND PLAYERS ARE REQUIRED TO PLAY THE FULL 9 HOLES AND SUBMIT .VER AND SCORE.TXT
* IN THE EVENT OF A TIE THE WINNER WILL BE DETERMINED BY A 4 HOLE PLAYOFF (PLAYED OFFLINE) OVER HOLES 10-13 USING CONDITIONS/TEES/PINS AS THEY WERE DURING RD4 OF THE RELEVANT EVENT. HANDICAPS ARE ADJUSTED (WHERE REQUIRED) FOR THE 4 HOLES.
* IF PLAYERS STILL TIED AFTER 4 HOLE MINI ROUND PLAY-OFF WILL CONTINUE AS SUDDEN DEATH OFF SCRATCH FROM HOLE 14.
* IF PLAYERS ARE STILL UNABLE TO BE SEPARATED AFTER 9 HOLES A FURTHER LTS WILL BE SUPPLIED FOR SUDDEN DEATH TO CONTINUE FROM HOLE 1

HANDICAPPING (FOR HANDICAP TOUR ONLY)

* NEW MEMBERS COMMENCE WITH A HANDICAP OF +5 AND SERVE A 3 EVENT 'Q-SCHOOL' PERIOD
* CHANGING TO MORE DIFFICULT SKILL MEMBERS START WITH HANDICAP OF +5 AND SERVE A 3 EVENT 'Q-SCHOOL' PERIOD
* CHANGING TO LESS DIFFICULT SKILL MEMBERS START WITH HANDICAP OF +5 AND SERVE A 3 EVENT 'Q-SCHOOL' PERIOD
* WHERE A MEMBER MOVES TO A MORE DIFFICULT SKILL AND HAS A HANDICAP > +5, THEY MAY OPT TO CARRY THAT HANDICAP FORWARD IN WHICH CASE THEY ARE ONLY REQUIRED TO SERVE A 2 EVENT ‘Q-SCHOOL’ PERIOD
* WHERE A MEMBER CHANGES SWING BUT RETAINS THE SAME SKILL THEY ARE REQUIRED TO SERVE A 2 EVENT ‘Q-SCHOOL’ PERIOD
* ANY MEMBERS REVERTING BACK TO A PREVIOUSLY USED SKILL ON TOUR RESUMES AT THE HANDICAP AS IT WAS AT TIME OF LAST CHANGE AND IS REQUIRED TO SERVE A 1 EVENT ‘Q-SCHOOL’
* ANY MEMBERS RETURNING TO THE TOUR AFTER A PERIOD OF INACTIVITY OF 5 CONSECUTIVE EVENTS OR MORE ARE REQUIRED TO SERVE A 1 EVENT 'Q-SCHOOL’ PERIOD
* HANDICAPS ADJUSTED USING OFFLINE TOUR HANDICAPPING SYSTEM (SEE TOUR MEMBERS & HANDICAPS)

GENERAL RULES

* WHERE A .VER FILE CANNOT BE PROVIDED, A SCORE.TXT FILE WILL BE ACCEPTED IN ITS PLACE
* ANY PLAYERS ABSENT THROUGH HOLIDAYS CAN REQUEST EARLY FILES FOR AN UPCOMING EVENT SO AS NOT TO MISS ANY TOURNAMENTS
* FOR BONUS SHOTS TO BE CONSIDERED, SAVED SHOT NEEDS TO BE MAILED ALONG WITH ROUND SCORE DETAILS
* EARNINGS ARE INCREASED BY 12½% FOR WGC EVENTS AND BY 25% FOR MAJOR EVENTS

OFFLINE TOUR TEAM TROPHY (HANDICAP TOUR ONLY)

* THIS EVENT IS PLAYED DURING THE MEMBERS TROPHY (WITH SCORES SUBMITTED FOR REGULAR EVENT USED TOWARDS TEAM TROPHY SCORES)
* EVENT IS BETWEEN TEAMS MADE OF PLAYERS FROM GB, IRE AND EUR (TEAM EUROPE) AND PLAYERS FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD (TEAM PACIFIC)
* TEAMS CONSIST OF 12 PLAYERS PER SQUAD DECIDED BY QUALIFYING THROUGH EVENTS 1-20
* THE TOP 15 PLAYERS IN EACH REGULAR EVENT FROM EACH TEAM RECEIVE QUALIFICATION POINTS
* QUALIFYING POINTS RANGING FROM 100PTS FOR FIRST DOWN TO 5PTS FOR FIFTEENTH (POINTS SHARED WHERE TIES)
* SCORES TOWARDS THE TEAM TROPHY WILL BE DISREGARDED SHOULD A QUALIFIED TEAM MEMBER NOT COMPLETE ALL 4 ROUNDS
* SHOULD ANY PLAYER WHO HAS QUALIFIED TO REPRESENT A TEAM NOT PLAY OR FAIL TO COMPLETE ALL 4 ROUNDS,
THEIR PLACE WILL BE TAKEN BY NEXT BEST PLACED RESERVE 
* TEAMS CONSIST OF TOP 12 'FULLY ACTIVE' PLAYERS PLUS 3 'FULLY ACTIVE' RESERVES FROM THE RESPECTIVE QUALIFYING TABLES
* 1 PT AWARDED FOR A WIN AND ½ PT AWARDED FOR A HALVED MATCH
* MATCHES PLAYED AS HEAD-TO-HEAD STROKEPLAY OVER 4 ROUNDS, CONSISTING OF 2 ROUNDS OF SINGLES MATCHES AND 2 ROUNDS OF DOUBLES
(36 MATCHES IN TOTAL)
* 18½ PTS REQUIRED TO WIN THE TROPHY.
IN THE EVENT OF A TIE THE TROPHY WILL BE SHARED IN THE INAUGRAL MATCH OR RETAINED BY HOLDERS IN SUBSEQUENT MATCHES
* DOUBLES MATCHES TAKE THE COMBINED NET SCORE OF EACH PAIR COMPARED AGAINST THEIR OPPONENTS
* FIXTURES AND PAIRINGS HAVE BEEN RANDOMLY SET OUT USING QUALIFIYING TABLE POSITIONS 1-12.
PLAYERS ON EACH TEAM THEN TAKE THEIR RESPECTIVE PLACE IN EACH MATCH DEPENDENT ON WHERE THEY FINISHED IN QUALIFYING. CLICK FOR DETAILS

FEDEX CUP

* FEDEX CUP POINTS GAINED DURING EVENTS 1-23 CLICK FOR DETAILS
* POINTS RESET AFTER EVENT 'WLS TRIBUTE CLASSIC' TO DETERMINE SEEDING (SEE FEDEX CUP POINTS TABLE)
* SEASON ENDING TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP TO DECIDE CHAMPION
* TOP 20 PLAYERS IN FEDEX CUP POINTS LIST AFTER 'WLS TRIBUTE CLASSIC' ARE ELIGIBLE TO WIN FEDEX CUP
* IN THE EVENT OF TWO OR MORE PLAYERS ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE FEDEX CUP TYING FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN 1ST PLACE IN THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
   (WHERE NORMAL TOUR PLAY-OFF RULES WOULD TAKE EFFECT) A COUNTBACK USING RD4, THEN RD3, THEN RD2 AND FINALLY RD1 WILL BE USED AS REQUIRED
   TO ASCERTAIN APPROPRIATE FEDEX CUP POINTS ALLOCATION FOR THE FINAL EVENT
* IN THE EVENT OF A TIE FOR FEDEX CUP, PLAYER WITH HIGHEST FINISHING POSITION IN TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP WILL BE DECLARED WINNER
* IF STILL TIED COUNTBACK USING RD4, THEN RD3, THEN RD2 AND FINALLY RD1. IF STILL TIED THEN DECLARED JOINT WINNERS

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

* 72 HOLE EVENT FOR ALL TOURNAMENT WINNERS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON
* ONLY THOSE  WHO HAVE 'ACTIVE' STATUS UPON COMPLETION OF TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP ARE ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE EVENT
* PLAYERS WHO HAVE QUALIFIED ARE NOT OBLIGED TO PARTICIPATE
* REGULAR OFFLINE TOURNAMENT RULES APPLY TO THE EVENT
* EVENT DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE ORDER OF MERIT
* EVENT RUNS ALONGSIDE THE CHALLENGE TROPHY EVENT
* HANDICAP ADJUSTMENTS ARE APPLIED TO ALL PLAYERS WHO PARTICIPATE

CHALLENGE TROPHY

* 72 HOLE EVENT FOR ALL NON-TOURNAMENT WINNERS
* ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE 'ACTIVE' STATUS UPON COMPLETION OF TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP ARE ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE EVENT
* PLAYERS ARE NOT OBLIGED TO PARTICIPATE
* REGULAR OFFLINE TOURNAMENT RULES APPLY TO THE EVENT
* EVENT DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS THE ORDER OF MERIT
* EVENT RUNS ALONGSIDE THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS EVENT
* HANDICAP ADJUSTMENTS ARE APPLIED TO ALL PLAYERS WHO PARTICIPATE

PRO-AM EVENTS

* 18 HOLE EVENT PLAYED WITH A CPU PLAYING PARTNER
* PLAYERS CREATE AND NAME THEIR OWN CPU PLAYING PARTNER WHO MUST NOT EXCEED A TOTAL OF 80 SKILL POINTS
   (CPU PLAYERS SKILL SETTINGS MAY BE TWEAKED FROM PRO-AM TO PRO-AM BUT MUST NOT EXCEED THE 80 PTS LIMIT)
* PLAYERS ARE NOT OBLIGED TO PARTICIPATE
* PLAYED USING ALT-SHOT MOP AND STABLEFORD SCORING SYSTEM
* FOR HANDICAP EVENT, CURRENT PLAYER HANDICAP WILL BE HALVED AND THEN ADDED/DEDUCTED FROM TOTAL 18 HOLE POINTS SCORE TO GIVE NET TOTAL
* THERE ARE NO HANDICAP ADJUSTMENTS BASED UPON SCORES SUBMITTED FOR PRO-AM EVENTS
* EVENTS WILL HAVE OWN SEPARATE MONEY LIST AND DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS REGULAR TOUR MONEY LISTS, FEDEX CUP OR TOUR RANKINGS
* IN THE EVENT OF A TIE THERE WILL BE NO PLAY-OFF AND EARNINGS WILL BE SHARED EQUALLY
* MEMBERS SERVING THEIR RESPECTIVE 'Q SCHOOL' PERIOD ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO WIN ON HANDICAP PRO-AM TOUR ALTHOUGH THEY DO COMPETE IN THE RESPECTIVE TOUR EVENT, BUT ARE PLACED ON FINAL LEADERBOARD INITIALLY IN ORDER OF TOUR STATUS AND THEN 18 HOLE PRO-AM SCORE AND THUS RECEIVE THE APPROPRIATE EARNINGS FOR THAT POSITION

ADDITIONAL BONUS SHOT AWARDS (NOT APPLICABLE FOR PRO-AM EVENTS)

* THE 24 REGULAR SEASON EVENTS ALL INCLUDE BONUS SHOT AWARDS FOR LONG DRIVE, LONGEST PUTT, NEAREST THE HOLE AND HOLE-IN-ONE
* LONG DRIVE BONUS IS FOR LONGEST TEE SHOT SITTING IN FAIRWAY OR ON THE GREEN
* NEAREST THE PIN BONUS IS FOR TEE SHOT SITTING NEAREST TO THE PIN ON THE GREEN
* LONGEST PUTT IS FOR ANY PUTT HOLED DURING A TOURNAMENT
* HOLE-IN-ONE BONUS IS FOR ANY HOLE-IN-ONE ACHIEVED DURING A TOURNAMENT
* TO BE CONSIDERED SAVED SHOT MUST BE MAILED ALONG WITH ROUND SCORE DETAILS
* LONG DRIVE AND NEAREST THE PIN BONUS IS £7500
* LONG PUTT BONUS IS £5000
* HOLE-IN-ONE BONUS £10000
* WHERE MORE THAN ONE PLAYER TIED FOR LONGEST DRIVE, NEAREST THE HOLE OR LONGEST PUTT EACH RECEIVE THE RELEVANT BONUS AWARD