A lot is altering on the PGA Tour, and but there stays a lot potential.
Because the PGA Tour negotiates a take care of Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund, it has used the chance to make vital alterations to its aggressive panorama, together with including big-money, limited-field signature occasions this previous season and decreasing the variety of totally exempt gamers from 125 to 100 beginning subsequent 12 months.
It shouldn’t cease there, both.
Whereas preexisting contracts possible restrict a few of what the PGA Tour can do, no less than within the brief time period, the PGA Tour can’t be shy in evolving additional, particularly with the latest infusion of private-equity cash – and probably extra from the PIF’s coffers.
Need some concepts? Within the spirit of Christmas, listed here are 4 extra huge PGA Tour modifications I’m asking Santa for:
1. Reunite the celebrities
What occurs to LIV Golf and its members if a deal is reached?
That could be a huge query, and the hypothetical solutions which have been offered up to now create some messy issues.
For one, LIV isn’t going away. The Saudis love workforce golf, and it’s unlikely they view LIV as a failure, particularly since they’ve been capable of lure the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm to their tour. It’s additionally unreasonable to count on the PGA Tour to let these huge LIV names cherry-pick a number of of its occasions to play in annually, and it will be a mammoth activity for a man to play full schedules on each excursions of their present states, although I wouldn’t put that previous Patrick Reed.
My imaginative and prescient to combine the 2 excursions into one cohesive golf calendar is to show LIV into a global workforce sequence that sits above the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Gamers would compete on a type of two excursions, and the highest gamers from every would earn the best to compete within the profitable and unique workforce occasions.
To do that, LIV must scale back its variety of occasions to eight or so, which shouldn’t be a difficulty for the Saudis in the event that they merely desire a outstanding seat on the desk.
These workforce competitions would nonetheless mannequin LIV’s present format – 54 holes, shotgun begins, four-person groups, particular person and workforce leaderboards – however with PGA Tour gamers now with the ability to compete with out penalty, there’s alternative to develop the variety of groups and get inventive with how gamers qualify. Groups may be crammed by exemptions (i.e. a number of years for profitable a serious), qualifying avenues (i.e. prime FedExCup finishers) and even restricted free company. Groups might even have reserves that may step in ought to a starter get injured or select to not compete, although the latter resolution could be unlikely contemplating these occasions would provide large purses. The ultimate workforce occasion, a world championship, would solely characteristic the highest groups from the 12 months and borrow the match-play format that LIV presently makes use of for its workforce finale.
With the most effective gamers on the planet getting closely compensated by means of these workforce occasions, there could be no need for signature occasions, which brings me to my subsequent want…
2. Eliminate signature occasions
By including a lineup of workforce occasions, there may be much less purpose to make sure all the most effective gamers converge on locations reminiscent of Pebble Seashore and Riviera. They’ll already be squaring off no less than 13 instances if you add within the majors and The Gamers – and it’s possible the favored PGA Tour stops will nonetheless garner a lot star energy.
Many gamers and followers have expressed they don’t like restricted fields and no cuts (or small cuts), and I don’t blame them. The signature-event mannequin marks the opposite occasions as less-important whereas giving practically half the PGA Tour an inherent benefit over their counterparts not in these restricted fields. Increasing the signature occasions again to full fields with cuts will create a extra constant tour, the place all members, apart from the majors and The Gamers, could have entry to roughly the identical variety of begins and factors. And by including taking part in alternatives, the PGA Tour might give 10 playing cards again to the Korn Ferry Tour and spots again to Monday qualifiers, arguably the 2 greatest complaints of the 2026 modifications introduced earlier this 12 months.
Patrick Cantlay may not like this, however because the PGA Tour has mentioned just lately, when you’ve got a card, it ought to imply one thing; there shouldn’t be a number of courses of PGA Tour participant.
Wish to play for much more cash? Then qualify for the workforce occasions.
3. Make Tour Championship match play
I’ve been asking for this for years.
In case your greatest participant thinks the present format is foolish, then it’s in all probability foolish – and Scottie Scheffler isn’t the one one. The staggered begin at East Lake has grow to be a parody of kinds. In no different sport is the deck stacked in a championship finale to supply the most effective participant or workforce all season with a head begin. When the Patriots had been undefeated coming into the 2007 Tremendous Bowl, they didn’t kick off with a 10-0 lead over the Giants.
The most effective factor the PGA Tour can do is blow it up and swap to match play.
Match play may not be a participant favourite, both, however it’s the most enjoyable for followers, creating not solely drama on Sunday however each different day as properly, with win-or-go-home eventualities in each match. The thought ought to be that if a participant makes it to the 30-man Tour Championship, he’s worthy of profitable the season-long FedExCup.
Give the highest two gamers in factors after the BMW Championship byes into the second spherical after which play single elimination till a champion is topped.
Don’t need stars packing their baggage after the primary day? Make use of a comfort bracket, too. With that a lot cash of the road, even a fifth-place match may very well be compelling – or no less than extra compelling than a star teeing off Sunday trailing by 15 photographs in stroke play and simply coasting into his offseason.
4. Transfer playoff occasions round
The PGA Tour presently doesn’t have common stops in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and now Las Vegas. If that’s not altering, then I might love for the PGA Tour to offer itself flexibility with its playoff stops, particularly the Tour Championship.
With solely 30 gamers, the FedExCup finale isn’t an enormous endeavor for a golf membership, so why not maintain it on some prime West Coast venues?
Los Angeles Nation Membership.
Cypress Level.
Pasatiempo.
These are only a few choices – or goals.
A man can dream, proper? Right here’s to unwrapping a few of these sooner or later.
