When a sponsor of a PGA tournament pays the entry fee for a player
In PGA Tour events for example the title sponsor of the tournament is allowed to give several players a sponsors exemption,which allows these players into the tournament.
Once he won his first PGA Tour event in 1996 he got a two year PGA Tour exemption.
If you win a major championship you get a 5 year exemption. If you win a PGA Tour event you get a 2 year exemption. You can finish in the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list, and this allows you to keep your status for a further year.
They get a life time exemption to The Masters, a 5 year exemption on the PGA Tour and a 5 year exemption to the other 3 majors.
A two year exemption on the tour, an exemption to the following year's Masters and obviously, anywhere from $800,000 to $1.3 million in winnings.
Exemption means that you are not required to qualify from previous games to enter a golf tournament. Exemptions can be sponsor exemptions or lifetime exemptions.
In 2009 Angel Cabrera got $1,350,000, the green jacket, a life time exemption to The Masters and a five year exemption on the PGA Tour.
125. But it's a lot more complicated than that. See link to the PGA Tour exemption process.
Sponsors start unlocking as you progress through career mode. You can only have 1 sponsor active at a time, and if you switch sponsors before completing level 4, your sponsor progress will reset.
If you have earned your LPGA Tour card, then your do not need a sponsors exemption. Sponsors exemptions are for players who do not have the fully exempy status that card holders enjoy. Sponsors exeptions are usually given to local professionals, or notable local amatuers, as well as marquise names that are no longer exempt. They are a way for tournament directors to increase interest in their event.
A PGA Tour player earns a 2 year exemption for winning a regular event, and a 5 year exemption if they win a major. If they win again during that time, the clock is simply reset.
Sponsors start unlocking as you progress through career mode. You can only have 1 sponsor active at a time, and if you switch sponsors before completing level 4, your sponsor progress will reset.