Player Impact Program (PIP) funding is to be doubled, there is a commitment from top players to compete in at least 20 PGA Tour events per year and guaranteed league-minimum earnings for full PGA Tour members will be introduced.

The changes come as the PGA Tour tries to fend off the advances of LIV Golf, which has already poached dozens of leading players.

The PGA Tour has suspended all players who have taken part in events staged by the Saudi-backed rival and has refused to negotiate with LIV Golf.

"Our top players are firmly behind the Tour, helping us deliver an unmatched product to our fans, who will be all but guaranteed to see the best players competing against each other in 20 events or more throughout the season," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan declared.

"Today is a culmination of a strengthened partnership between the Tour and the players, and amongst the players themselves.

"It’s unprecedented for our Tour and a testament to who these guys are and what they believe in."

The 20-event pledge should see elite players play in 12 elevated events, the four majors, Players Championship and three more PGA Tour events of their choosing.

Four elevated events, each with purses of at least $20 million (£17 million/€20 million), are being added to the schedule. 

The Players Championship, frequently marketed as men's golf's fifth major, will boast a $25 million (£21 million/€25 million) prize pool.

Meanwhile the total PIP bonus pool has doubled from what was previously announced to $100 million (£85 million/€100 million) and 20 players in total will be beneficiaries, rather than 10.

Changes to PIP will come into effect from 2022.

The secretive PIP formula will be used to define what the PGA Tour classes as a "top player".

PIP rewards "players who resonate the most with fans and media", the PGA Tour says, with new metrics promised to be incorporated into the new criteria.

Meanwhile, all Korn Ferry Tour graduates and players above them in the PGA Tour priority ranking who compete in at least 15 events will earn no less than $500,000 (£425,000/€500,000) per year under the new guaranteed minimum earnings. 

These wholesale changes to the PGA Tour come on the eve of the season-ending Tour Championship in Georgia.

It has been reported by Firepit Collective that at least seven high-profile players are poised to depart the PGA Tour for LIV Golf after its conclusion.

Australian Cam Smith, the reigning Open champion, is widely reported to be on the verge of joining LIV.

LIV Golf has offered players large signing bonuses, increased prize money and guaranteed earnings, something the PGA Tour's announcement today mirrors.

One thing LIV events do not currently offer which their PGA Tour counterparts do is Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

The OWGR is used to determine qualification for the Olympics, as well as major championships, although certain exemptions exist for the latter.

In addition to these changes, the PGA Tour also announced today that it is partnering with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods' company TMRW Sports to launch a "tech-infused golf league" which will feature team competition and be played on Mondays.

Branded as TGL, the league is set to combine virtual golf with the real thing, being played at a purpose-built venue boasting a "data-rich, virtual course complete with a tech-infused, short-game complex".

Six teams, each containing three PGA Tour players, are due to play 15 matches in the regular season followed by semi-final and final contests.

Northern Irishman McIlroy has been among LIV's most fierce critics while American icon Woods turned down between $700 million (£576 million/€684 million) and $800 million (£659 million/€782 million) to join LIV Golf, according to chief executive Greg Norman.