PGA Tour to shake up tournament structure – Golf News

Smaller, higher-quality fields look set to be part of a major overhaul of the PGA Tour schedule as the US circuit bids to make tournaments more attractive to players, TV viewers. travel destinations and sponsors.

A recent meeting of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council (PAC) outlined a number of changes to the status quo that, if implemented, would result in the tour becoming more competitive, with fields of reduced size, fewer exemptions and fewer players being promoted. from low-level travel.

This analysis follows extensive feedback from PGA Tour members regarding tournament field sizes and pace of play, as well as playing rights and the FedExCup scoring system. The proposed PAC-backed changes will be voted on by the PGA Tour Policy Board at its meeting next month.

The following items will be presented to the Policy Board for a vote on November 18. If approved, they will go into effect for the 2026 season.

• Adjusted the maximum number of players on the field from 156 to 144, reducing it to 120 or 132 as required by conditions such as limited daylight.
• Change the exemption status from the top 125 players to the top 100 in the FedExCup and add a conditional category for those who finish 101-125.
• Reduce the number of PGA Tour cards from the Korn Ferry Tour from 30 to 20, while keeping 10 from the DP World Tour and adding five Qualifying School cards.
• Reduces open qualifying positions in fields with fewer than 144 players during the FedExCup Regular Season.
• Adjust the FedExCup points distribution table with a slight increase to second place in Majors and The Players Championship and a slight decrease to points for those who finish 11th and above and a slight decrease to Signature Event points for those who finish 7th and above.

The proposed changes come after the PGA Tour has faced steep declines in TV viewing figures for its regular-season tournaments over the past two years in the face of increased competition from other sports and the arrival of LIV Golf in 2022.

Several long-time headline sponsors, including Wells Fargo, Sanderson Farms, Honda, RBC and the Shriners, have yet to renew their contracts, while many events face a lack of star power, some without top 20 players in the world.