The PGA Tour is changing in 2024. It all depends on who you ask.
The Tour voted to reduce the field size and eliminate the cut at many of its designated events. The tournaments with the largest fields and highest purses will be promoted through this route. Sponsors and TV executives will love the moves. They can rest assured that all the top names will play in the four rounds. The Tour may be perceived as more closed-door.
Rory McIlroy said, “I love it,” as a Tour player director. “Obviously, I’ve been involved in it and been part of a lot of discussions. It makes the Tour more competitive. We were probably going this way anyway. The (FedEx Cup playoffs) used to be 125, 70, 30, 30. They have gone 70, 50 and 30 this year. I believe that I am all about rewarding good play. This is not what I am about. I want everyone to have a chance at it. This is what I believe this structure has done. There are many ways to get involved. It’s about attracting the best guys against the most popular. That makes it a compelling product. You don’t need to wait a year to see the results of your hard work. This opportunity is available immediately. After playing well for two to three weeks, you are in the designated event. If you play well, you’ll stay in the designated events. For example, Chris Kirk won Honda last week and is now set.
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Photos
It is also a major change for the Tour. The Tour has created designated events that cross the World Golf Championships and LIV Golf. These events have smaller fields and are not cut. The Tour’s rank and file will not like it, as they will have fewer opportunities to play. The appeal of the Tour is that it is a meritocracy. If a player fails to make the 36-hole cut, he will go home empty-handed.
“It’s easy to see these changes as a way of putting more money in top players’ pockets. It has been designed to make it more enjoyable for fans,” stated Max Homa from the Tour’s player advisory board. It’s not easy to see the value in this, but it is a way to make it more enjoyable for fans. It’s a guarantee that someone will be there, more or less. We can rely more on them.
McIlroy noted that no-cut events were not new to the Tour. He cited the World Golf Championships and the FedEx Cup playoffs events, as well as fall events like the CJ Cup or Zozo Championship.
“Is there going be more of them?” Maybe. McIlroy stated that it’s still to be determined. “But, if we do follow that path, there is precedent to support for no-cut events. The stars are there for four days. Mastercard, or anyone else who pays $20 million for a tournament of golf, wants to see the stars at the event. They want to be certain that the stars will be there. If that’s what you want, that’s what will happen.
Scottie Scheffler, the reigning Masters champion, and Homa both pointed out that the bigger fields at big-money events this year has had a side effect of diluting the fields at regular events like last week’s Honda Classic.
“If we increased the fields in designated events, it would destroy non-designated events that have been staples on the PGA Tour that go to cities where people love watching these events together with their families. They would be destroyed,” Homa stated. “No one would be able to play in half of them, because it wouldn’t fit into your schedule.”
Scheffler used Scheffler’s dilemma of the 100 highest ranked player in the World to show that Scheffler is right. A player of this caliber will play in the $20m events and not in events like Honda.
He said, “It’s twice the money and all those things.” Now, suddenly you have 50 guys who aren’t going to play in the next event. This event will suffer and we could lose events due to that. The math isn’t always so simple.
Scheffler said, “Purses don’t go down out there.” Scheffler said that the purses won’t be dropping for those guys who may not be able get in to the 70-man fields. It’s going to be a benefit for the entire membership.
McIlroy said, “At the end the day we’re selling product to people.” It’s important for people to have a clear understanding of the product and what they are buying. It is crucial for the Tour. This solves that problem, I believe.”
