Last year, the PGA Tour announced new norms set to be implemented in 2026. These will be aimed at increasing both viewer engagement and improving the experience for participants. Ironically, the 2025 season is not shaping up as desired for Jay Monahan and his team, with a significant decline in viewership for its first tournament of the year. Coming to the Sony Open, the Tour is facing another crisis—unexpected withdrawals.

The Sentry, despite Hideki Matsuyama breaking the all-time PGA Tour record for the lowest under-par score, saw an almost 35% decrease in viewership compared to 2024. Moreover, the fans called out the frequent commercial breaks during the event and even questioned the course’s layout. But if Jay Monahan thought that the $8.7 million Sony Open would have offered him some reprieve, he was mistaken.

Before the second round of the event, the PGA Tour announced on X that 27-year-old Tom Widing withdrew from the event due to an unspecified illness. Widing secured his membership on the USA tour this season through a successful 2024 on the Korn Ferry sub-tour and was four strokes over par after a 74-round on Thursday. If this wasn’t enough, two hours later another update dropped.

Again the Tour took to X to announce that Brian Campbell, who carded a decent score of 67 in round 1, had withdrawn with the illness not detailed. For golf fans, this would’ve been a déjà vu moment having seen a series of golfers withdraw at the Zozo Championship and  Sanderson Farms Championship last year because of being sick. Back then as well, no specific illness was mentioned as the reason.

The recent WDs could also affect the viewership numbers for a tournament that has been suffering from withdrawals even before it got underway.

Michael Thorbjornsen withdrew without providing a reason, allowing Lanto Griffin to step in. Before that, Davis Riley withdrew on Sunday, and as a replacement, Trevor Cone joined the field. The list does not stop here.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout too stepped out providing Danny Walker the field position. And if you thought it couldn’t get worse, Jake Knapp also WD because of a back injury. before the first round on Thursday. He appeared in The Sentry last week and finished at T56.

With dwindling viewership, these withdrawals do little to help Jay Monhana’s cause.

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Psalm 1, we are the first three verses as golf fans, Monahan represents verses 4-6. This is the most succinct...more

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This comes at a time when the Tour is already reeling with some big names already missing at the start of the year.

The world no. 1, Scottie Scheffler—who captivated fans with his skills and charm last season—announced that he would not be playing the first few events of the opening events due to a “puncture wound to the palm of his right hand from a broken glass.” He is set to make his return at the Pebble Beach.

Rory McIlroy is not a fan of playing in Hawaii: “I’m not a huge Hawaii guy, so I’ll probably skip it.” He will start his PGA Tour season with AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-AM, just like Scheffler. But he will start his DPWT season early, with Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where he’d return as the defending champion.

In another key development, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy-backed TGL indoor golf league drew nearly a million viewers on ESPN. Its Tuesday night debut broadcast attracted an average of 919,000 viewers without its co-owners in action. Comparatively, this number was way more than almost the d better than the PGA Tour season opener’s final round broadcast at 461,000 per Nielsen.

With so much turmoil surrounding the PGA Tour events this season, the big question is –  What steps will Jay Monahan take to elevate its viewership and excitement for the upcoming events? The PGA Tour has gone about making sweeping changes for the next season. But will it help them?

Will the PGA Tour’s changes help them in the long run?

In November last year, the Tour announced a few changes for the 2026 season that “will provide equitable playing opportunities for new young talent to be showcased, and positively refine the playing experience for our members.”  These changes will alter field sizes, membership structure, priority ranking, and the FedEx Cup points system.

Starting in 2026, only the top 100 in the FedEx Cup are assured full status the following year, a reduction from the previous number of 125. The 125-exempt system had been in place since 1983, but now the field is narrowed.

This will in turn create smaller field sizes and fewer membership opportunities. The maximum field size for a one-course tournament will be reduced from 156 players to 144 players for most events, and 120 players for tournaments played before daylight savings.  PGA Tour cards given to Korn Ferry Tour graduates will also go down from 30 to 20 annually.

Meanwhile, changes to the FedEx points system will be implemented this year. More points will be awarded to second place and decreasing points from 11th place and down. For signature events, the decrease starts after seventh place.

While all this will excite the fans, but withdrawals and poor viewership numbers mean, headaches for Jay Monahan are far from over.