The PGA Tour is eyeing some serious shake-ups, as The Player Advisory Council has put together a proposal to reshape the landscape, with adjustments that could redefine field sizes, player exemptions, and the hard-to-come-by PGA Tour cards.
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Now, it's all up to the policy board's November meeting for final approval.
At the heart of it, the proposal looks to trim field sizes across several major events. For typical, one-course tournaments, maximum fields would drop from 156 players to 144, with some possibly down to 120 if daylight becomes a factor. The thinking here is that smaller fields will help tournaments wrap up on time—especially since 28% of events in 2024 had rounds delayed by darkness.
Then there's the big one: player retention and qualification. Under this proposal, the top 100 in FedEx Cup points (down from the traditional 125) would keep full status on the Tour. The rest—players finishing 101 through 125—would slip into a conditional status category.
Meanwhile, players coming up through the Korn Ferry Tour would see only 20 PGA Tour cards available (down from 30). And for Q-school hopefuls? The cap would be five cards, making an already difficult path even tougher.
Monday qualifiers are also on the chopping block. The PAC wants to either reduce or remove these for tournaments with fields smaller than 144. That's a major change for the grinders looking to break in through open qualifiers.
In terms of FedEx Cup points, a small tweak would reward second-place finishes at the Players Championship and majors with 100 additional points. However, players who place 11th or lower in signature events would see a small dip in points.
As PAC chair Camilo Villegas put it, the changes are about fine-tuning to ensure "the highest level of competition." But let's be real—these adjustments are also about making the path to the PGA Tour even steeper for those on the outside looking in. For those on the golf bubble, it could be a whole new world.
