‘Needs to Be Fired’: Jay Monahan & Co. Slammed for Ditching Decades-Old Tradition as Pro’s Inspiring Story Emerges

A line from Brad Pitt’s “Moneyball” resonates well with every sports lover. It goes, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” It is a deep reflection of human beings, and why sports (in the movie’s case – baseball) forms a huge part of our society. It has this insane ability to inspire people and make the impossible possible.

Ryan French launched the Monday Q Info along similar lines. To tell the stories that we do not know, about the sacrifices it takes and the obstacles one faces while dedicating yourself to sports. Monday Qualifying is where such stories take place, where golfers work behind the spotlights through a stroke-play competition for their big break. A system, the PGA Tour is getting rid of.

The main reason why the PGA tour is getting rid of the Qualifiers is to reduce field size. Reduced field sizes mean there is less risk of scheduling delays or postponements due to darkness. There is some sense in that, but the elimination of Monday Qualifiers also means that stories like Andre Chi’s will never make it to the light of the day.

Andre Chi’s stark reminder to Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour

Chi, a graduate of Methodist University had to grind his way to the Valspar Championship. Despite having ambitions of being a pro-golfer, Chi never had the financial means to follow up on it. He missed Q-School last year but refused to give up.

Chi continued to play section events and finally went to the Valspar Pre-qualifying on his credit card. With purpose, he played through the holes one by one, carding 66 on day 1 and then a brilliant 67 on day 2 to ensure qualification. He was too broke to stay in Florida. Chi had reached out to French, who helped him out.

The golfer, struggling to make ends meet pursuing his dream, now stands a chance to make a mark in the world of professional golf thanks to the Monday Qualifying format. Andre Chi’s story resonated well with fans on social media who criticized the PGA Tour for putting an end to inspiring stories similar to Chi’s. Come Thursday, there will be a huge section of golf fans around the world cheering for the Methodist University grad.

Jay Monahan and the PGA Tour bashed for eliminating Monday Qualifiers

Golf fans could aptly relate with Chi’s struggle as many would have gone through the same only to opt out. These struggles will stop having results once the Monday Qualifiers are eliminated from the PGA Tour schedule. “Everyone associated with eliminating Monday qualifiers needs to be fired. In fact, if you spent a bit of money on em and televised them Or put them on YouTube you would do well. What a stupid greedy idea,” exclaimed one furious fan. Another fan felt that the format needs to be unchanged. “Awesome. Need Monday Q forever.”

The journey, the setbacks, the upliftment all these constitute to the greatness of the sport. Monday Qualifiers are a prime example of that. “Golf is so beautiful… we have to save the Monday Q,” one netizen shared his thoughts on the whole ordeal.

So far there have been four instances in the PGA Tour when a Monday Qualifier went on to win the tournament. Two such instances happened in 1986 at the Honda Classic and the Southern Open with Kenny Knox and Fred Wadsworth claiming victories. In 2010, Indian golfer Arjun Atwal claimed the Wyndham Championship after having to go through a single round of golf on Monday. And the most recent example is Corey Conners, who won the 2019 Valero Texas Open in a similar way. “Forever Monday Qualifiers. Life-changing stories week by week.”

The Valspar Championship will have reduced entries from the Monday Qualifiers starting from 2026. Two qualifiers will be allowed instead of four, which means Kevin Tway and Adrien Dumont de Chassart, who qualified third and fourth respectively, would not feature in the tournament if it were held two years later. “The PGA Tour should be embarrassed that they are destroying stories just like this one by ending Monday Qualifiers.”

What do you think of the PGA Tour’s decision? Do you think they are moving away from the core ethos of the sport by eliminating Monday Qualifiers? Or is it the need of the hour to do so?