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Understanding latest PGA Tour Policy Board changes: Necessary or pointless?

Fewer 2026 PGA Tour cards are up for grabs.

By Ron Stromeyer II

The PGA Tour is hoping that fewer players save enough time to finish before dark.
The PGA Tour is hoping that fewer players save enough time to finish before dark. / Patrick Smith/GettyImages
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Downsizing. That is one of the words being used to describe some of the changes planned for the PGA Tour starting in 2026.  The ideas were first proposed in late October 2024, and then sent out to the PGA Tour membership by the Player Advisory Council for a notice-and-comment period. Earlier this week though, the changes were ratified. 

The changes, listed below, can be a bit confusing to follow but, long story short, here it is: each PGA Tour event will get smaller in varying increments of 12 players each. Since the number of players who are able to play in each event will shrink, the Tour membership as a whole must shrink. 

Why the Tour has really decided to make these changes is a mystery – perhaps competition from LIV, SSG, and other investor groups, sponsor-related, etc. – but the original memo stated that 28% of events had a least one round that did not finish due to darkness. It also stated that 26 rounds in 2023 and 31 rounds in 2024 had players warming up prior to sunrise and under portable lights.

Taking the Tour at its word that the changes are due to not finishing due to darkness, let’s dive into its announced fixes. Specifically announced are reductions to fields by 12 players at a time. Why 12?  Why not 8 or 10 or 15?

Let’s look at the structure of a typical PGA Tour event.

With 144 or 156 players and played on one golf course, whether a Tour event, State Amateur, State Open, Club Invitational, etc, players are paired for the First Round into threesomes and are split into four groups: starting on #1 in the morning, starting on #10 in the morning, starting on #1 in the afternoon, and starting on #10 in the afternoon. For the Second Round, players stay in the same threesomes but then begin play starting on #10 in the afternoon, starting on #1 in the afternoon, starting on #10 in the morning, and starting on #1 in the morning respectively. 

If I were to add or remove one threesome to the end of each of those four groups, that’s 12 players. If you assume that all PGA Tour tee times are 10 minutes apart, that would mean the morning half and the afternoon half is adding 20 minutes to each day’s play.

Yes, all of this is because of 20 minutes a day! 

Let’s say they start 10 minutes later and finish 10 minutes earlier.  That would mean six fewer players in the morning – the first tee times on #1 and #10.  Are those players really going to arrive 10 minutes later? That would also mean six fewer players in the afternoon – the last tee times on #1 and #10. Are those players really now going to not finish their rounds but the second-to-last groups will?

The announcement did mention a “reimagining” of its pace of play policy. I will likely discuss pace of play sometime in the future, but it does help having fewer players on the course to create fewer logjams. 

In the end though, the players, sponsors, TV partners, and competition – not just from LIV, the DP World Tour, the NFL and others – drive the Tour’s decisions. Unless you are a card-carrying member of the PGA Tour, getting into a PGA Tour event was already tough, it is about to get a bit tougher.

The key changes are here:

  • The top 100 in FedEx Cup retain full status for the following year – was top 125.
  • Korn Ferry Tour Graduates decrease from 30 to 20.
  • Top 5 finishers at Q-School qualify for the PGA Tour – was top 5 and ties.
  • Open Qualifying for events with 120 players and fewer eliminated.
  • Open Qualifying for events with 144 and 132 players reduced to two players – was four players.
  • FedEx Cup points distribution adjusted.

Field sizes:

  • 160 player fields reduced to 144 player fields: Zurich
  • 156 player fields reduced to 144 player fields: Farmers Insurance, CJ Cup Byron Nelson, RBC Canadian, Rocket Mortgage, John Deere, Genesis Scottish, ISCO, 3M, Wyndham, RSM
  • 144 player fields reduced to 132 player fields: Valspar, TX Children’s Hospital Houston, Valero
  • 144 player fields reduced to 120 player fields: Sony, Cognizant
  • 132 player fields reduced to 120 player fields: WM Phoenix, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Players, Corales Puntacana, Myrtle Beach, Sanderson Farms, Black Desert
  • 78 player fields reduced to 72 player fields: Zozo
  • Stays the same: American Express (stays at 156), Charles Schwab (stays at 132), Procore (stays at 144), WWT (stays at 120), Butterfield Bermuda (stays at 120)

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