Tour plan shake-up for eligibility and field sizes

The PGA Tour are considering sweeping changes that would eliminate 25 cards through the FedEx Cup and shrink the size of fields, part of a broad plan to make golf's biggest circuit even more competitive for the top players while making tournaments easier to watch.

The proposal also would cut by 10 the number of Tour cards awarded to Korn Ferry Tour players and do away with Monday qualifying for fields smaller than 144 players.

The proposal sent to players on Tuesday, and obtained by The Associated Press, was developed by the 16-member Player Advisory Council who have been crafting the changes since May.

The Tour currently give priority to tournament winners and the top 125 in the FedEx Cup, with greater perks depending on a player's ranking.

The proposal would give full status to the top 100 in the FedEx Cup, the 10 players from the European Tour who earn cards, the top 20 from the Korn Ferry Tour and five from Q-school.

There would be an additional category lower down the priority list for players ranked 101 to 125.

One reason for the change is a bloated membership, which at times keeps younger players coming off the Korn Ferry Tour from having a reasonable chance at succeeding. Players who earned cards through various avenues still could not get into a number of tournaments.

There also was the ongoing problem of slow play, which rules officials for years have argued was due primarily to too many players on the course. The field sizes would be 120 players before Daylight Savings Time, then up to 132 players and a maximum of 144 in the summer.

That's for regular tournaments. The eight signature events with the $A30.5 million ($20 million) purses would remain capped at 72 players.

The proposal also suggested changes to the FedEx Cup points distribution.

The PGA Tour policy board will vote on the changes at their November 18 meeting. If approved, the changes would not start until 2026