And the winner is… Joe Highsmith. Highsmith just added his first PGA Tour title to his resume, winning the 2025 Cognizant Classic. The 24-year-old American carded back-to-back seven-under-par 64s over the weekend to set the clubhouse target at 19-under. Not only did he pull off the lowest final 36-hole score in tournament history, but he also locked in a two-shot victory and secured invites to The Masters, the PGA Championship, and all the PGA Tour Signature Events.

Understandably, Highsmith was over the moon, calling his bogey-free final round “probably the best of my life.” And with four birdies in five holes from the ninth, it’s easy to see why. But if you think this win was just part of a smooth-sailing career, think again.

So far, Highsmith has played in six events this season, and it hasn’t exactly been a fairy tale. He missed the cut in his season debut at the Sony Open. At the American Express, he made the cut but finished way down at T66. Then came the Farmers Insurance Open and Phoenix Open—both ended in missed cuts.

At this point, things weren’t looking great. But then came the Mexico Open, where he turned things around with a T17 finish. And from there? Boom. Cognizant Classic champion. A rollercoaster journey, no doubt. But here’s the thing—if this were 2026, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have even been in the field.

The PGA Tour won’t be as smooth for the next Highsmith

Highsmith made the most of his opportunity this season, but with the changes coming in 2026, opportunities for players like him could become scarce. The Tour is set to shrink in 2026, with field sizes getting smaller to “adjust for limited daylight” and “improve scheduling.” These changes will also come with tweaks to the FedExCup points structure, some of which will take effect this season. Basically, there will be fewer chances for rising players to break through. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan put it like this: “Today’s announced changes build on the competitive and schedule enhancements incorporated over the last six years in seeking the best version of the PGA Tour for our fans, players, tournaments and partners. This was a true collaborative effort, and I’m extremely proud of the PAC for the time and effort they put into evaluating how we build a stronger PGA Tour.”

But what do these changes actually mean? For starters, the cutoff for fully exempt status will shift from the top 125 to the top 100 in the FedExCup standings. Players finishing between 101-125 will only have conditional status, making it much harder for them to plan their schedules.

The Korn Ferry Tour will also see adjustments. Only the top 20 players will receive PGA Tour cards instead of 30, while the DP World Tour will continue to provide 10 spots. Q-School will shrink as well—only five players (rather than five and ties) will earn cards. And let’s talk about Monday qualifiers—they’re getting hit hard too. For 144-player fields, only four spots will be available. That number drops to two for 132-player events, and for 120-player fields, Monday qualifiers will be eliminated entirely.

And sponsor exemptions that used to go to Korn Ferry, DP World Tour, and Q-School players are all gone. They’ll now be reallocated to the next eligible PGA Tour members in priority ranking. Yeah, that’s brutal.

For Highsmith, this season gave him a shot, and he ran with it. But the upcoming changes could make similar journeys much harder. Monday Q Info summed it up in a blunt reality check, posting on X:

And, of course, golf fans had plenty to say about it.

Fans don’t see a great future ahead with the PGA Tour’s “pathetic” new policies

While the PGA Tour insists these changes will strengthen the competition, what do the fans think? Well, let’s just say, they’re not so convinced. If anything, many believe the Tour is about to lose exactly what makes professional golf exciting—the underdog stories, the unexpected breakthroughs, and the fight for survival that keeps things interesting. One fan summed up their frustration, saying: “Sad, and this is why I have less passion for professional golf overall. Seeing passionate guys fight for their cards, their next paycheck, that’s intriguing. Seeing a multimillionaire greedily line their pocket by blocking guys like this, pathetic.”

And they aren’t alone in that sentiment. Many fans love when leaderboards are filled with fresh faces—whether it’s young talent or veteran grinders finally getting their moment. One fan put it simply: “I like when the top of the leader board is filled with young guys or vets that aren’t big names that don’t have any or maybe couple of wins .. it’s fun“

That excitement? It’s exactly what the PGA Tour’s 2026 changes might kill. Take Brian Campbell, for example. He just won the Mexico Open and followed it up with a solid T48 finish at the Cognizant Classic. Rising stars like him are exactly what makes the Tour dynamic. But with smaller fields and tougher qualification rules, players like Campbell might not even get a chance to compete in the future. “*whispers* Brian Campbell wouldn’t have been in the field last week either. It’s almost like the PGA Tour made a mistake…,” a fan wrote.

Another fan echoed the concern: “Neither would have Campbell last week I don’t think. But they don’t care, they don’t want people like them winning they want big names.”

Many players also raised concerns about the field size reductions earlier. Lucas Glover called the policy changes “terrible”. He believes there’s a better way to improve competition without shutting players out: “I don’t like the idea at all. It’s selfish and it’s a money grab,” Glover said. Even PGA Tour Advisory Council (PAC) member Maverick McNealy voiced his dissatisfaction, pointing out a major flaw in the logic behind the changes: “Where I can’t defend 120 if you are only letting 72 players into Signature Events. That’s 400 playing opportunities over the year. You can’t tell me that 72 is a better product than 120.”

And then there’s the bigger picture—what these policies could mean for golf as a whole. One fan hit the nail on the head: “And what a loss that would/will be. We’ll never know what great golf stories we’re missing. All because the leadership at PGAT stupidly think they can only be saved by promoting “the stars”. That’s the real legacy of the impact of LIV.”

The PGA Tour has defended the changes as necessary for efficiency and competitiveness. But if the pace of play is truly an issue, fans argue that there are plenty of other ways to fix it without taking away opportunities from deserving players. And let’s be honest—if players keep getting shut out, how long before they start looking elsewhere? Maybe, just maybe, the PGA Tour is creating the very problem they’re trying to avoid.