The initial reports of a massive overhaul in the PGA Tour were proven true. A letter from Camilo Villegas corroborated what was heard in whispers. That the PGA Tour will have a reduced field size in 2026. That the number of Monday qualifiers will be cut down and the number of PGA Tour cards on offer will also be fewer. Needless to say, Jay Monahan’s decision wasn’t well received among fans. 

But Billy Horschel believes that it was necessary and long overdue. In a conversation with Ryan French of MondayQInfo, who first broke the report of the upcoming changes, the eight-time PGA Tour winner dove deeper into the unpopular changes. 

Horschel admits it will have a ripple effect, and the bottom-rung players will bear the brunt. According to Ryan French’s estimate, KFT players have averaged two fewer tournaments this year because of the introduction of smaller-field Signature events. Nevertheless, Horschel believes these no-cut, higher-purse elevated events were needed to fulfill one of the many goals of the PGA Tour: how to put more money into the players’ pockets. 

Horschel, a Ponte Vedra resident himself, has seen the decision-making process up close. In 2022, the 37-year-old was selected as a member of the Players Advisory Council. Which has sprung a greater appreciation for those working behind the scenes at the PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra. 

Billy Horschel said, “You know, it’s not just because of Jay Monahan and all the executives it’s because I know a lot of the people behind the scenes that are working their b***s off trying to do a better job for everyone involved with PGA Tour. And so that’s why I’m so such a, you know, hardened supporter of the PGA Tour, and will always be.”

Regardless, the upcoming changes in the Tour will make the competition more cutthroat. Seen another way, it will make it tougher for the rookies and PGA Tour aspirants. The regular tournament field is expected to be reduced to 144 from 156. Apparently, to improve the pace of play and finish tournaments on time. 

Moreover, only 90-100 players might get a full exemption on Tour instead of 125 now. Villegas’s letter to the players, first reported by Sports Business Journal, also hints that the FedEx Cup points structure will likely be revamped. The number of Monday Qualifiers will be reduced to 2 from 4. Per PGA Tour sources, as quoted by Ryan French, it’s likely because only 29% of Monday qualifiers make the cut.

Per Horschel, this was an expected fallout of the first set of changes that created Signature events. And there likely is another (possibly final) step. “We’ve done that because of all these changes, yes, it’s had a ripple down effect, and it’s affected the bottom half of the of the membership. And now the tour is trying to, I and I think they knew, they knew what was going to happen in this, and they knew there was another step to this.”

That another step, Billy Horschel believes, is pumping more money into the Korn Ferry Tour. And that’s for a good reason too. Although Horschel doesn’t spell it out, making the PGA Tour lane narrower comes with a known threat. LIV Golf.

Billy Horschel’s KFT hopes misplaced?

This year’s top Korn Ferry Tour player, Matt McCarty, earned $1,001,602 as per Golf Monthly. The 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship had a purse of $1.5 million with $270,000 earmarked for the champion. Comparably, Matt McCarty earned $1.35M for winning the Black Desert Championship, a FedEx Fall Series event. The allure of a Tour card is not hard to understand from a financial standpoint.

Currently, 30 players from the KFT earn PGA Tour cards. The PGA Tour purse size has undergone a dramatic overhaul since LIV’s inception. Of course, there was no such threat to KFT and no such massive spike in its purses. Horschel hopes it will change in the coming years.

“You know, hopefully with all the changes that come forward, going forward, you know, in the future, the Korn Ferry Tour, get to a place where they’re playing for three, $4 million on average, where, you know, the if you finish top 75 in the Korn Ferry Tour, you’re just not breaking even at the end of the day, or maybe possibly losing, you’re actually able to put something in the bank and actually reinvest in yourself.”

There is little doubt that KFT purses need to go through a shakeup as well. Especially if the Tour goes ahead with the proposal of reducing the number of cards. With LIV Golf offering an alternate route for playing decent golf and getting rich, there can be a scenario where those players missing out on Tour cards opt to join LIV as contracted players or even reserves. 

However, the bigger question is, will sponsors be willing to cough up more for players who are not stars? Jay Monahan & Co. had a hard time convincing sponsors to inject more in tournaments that see big names teeing up. The Tour has lost a handful of long-time sponsors this year. So, Billy Horschel’s hopes for an ideal KFT world might take some time. Or, years.