The PGA Tour has faced a lot of issues in the past years. Particularly concerning major stars who are regularly moving to LIV Golf to make bank. The Saudi-based promotion has a lot more to offer to attract every pro. This includes personal benefits, luxuries, security, better experiences, and much larger remunerations. This is also driving the fans towards LIV Golf as they get to see many of their favorite golfers play regularly.

All-time PGA loyalist and visionary, Billy Horschel was questioned about the same during a recent interview. He was asked about whether the PGA Tour can be made more lucrative for the pros and fans. Let’s see what he had to say about the future of the tour.

Billy Horschel’s honest opinion

Legendary golf host Gary Williams interviewed Billy Horschel for Five Clubs. The pair had a lot to discuss over the 1 and a half hour podcast. One particular conversation caught everyone’s attention. Williams asked Horschel, “Do you think real relegation in men’s professional golf would be attractive to fans?”

Speaking from his own experience and connection with the PGA Tour, Horschel said, “I do believe so, and I think I talked about this at Dunhill a month ago in my press conference.” Horschel expressed that he deeply cares about the tour and is always looking for ways to improve it. He specifically said, “I’ve always looked at the PGA Tour and said, ‘How can we make it better?’.”

It’s evident that Horschel is extremely passionate about golf, and the PGA Tour holds a special place in his heart. He said that for about 6-7 years, he had started thinking of ways that they could take the US-based promotion ahead. During the podcast, he talked about one of the ideas that came to his mind: “I always felt like during my time, we would create a global tour.”

He also recalled the instance when he heard Adam Scott talk about it. Self-admittedly, Horschel went on to discuss with Scott. He laid out the specifications of his plan and wanted to know Adam Scott’s opinion about it.

As Horschel went on to elaborate on the idea, he said, “The best way to look at it is sort of like a pyramid where you have this global tour at the top.” He explained how there will be different tiers in the pyramid. The PGA Tour and the DP World Tour will be right below the top tier of the global tour. There was also a place set for the other tournaments in Horschel’s pyramid format. “The Korn Ferry Tour and Challenge Tours would be below those,” indicating a third tier.

While it is an interesting idea, it’s still not clear how the format will function. Well, Horschel did share details about the relegation and promotion aspects of the plan. Let’s get a better understanding of it.

How would the pyramid format work?

“At the top, you have 120 guys, 100 guys on this global tour at the top of the pyramid,” explained Billy Horschel. Just like in any other league format, the pyramid will rotate players at the end of the season based on their performance. Horschel further added that about 20-30 players who have performed the worst will be relegated. They will be moved to the second tier where they will play the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Relegations will not be limited to only the top-tier players as the worse players from the second tier can also be relegated. They will be pushed back to the third tier to participate in the Korn Ferry Tour and the Challenge Tours. We can see something similar being played out in soccer leagues like the English Premier League or the La Liga.

And just like leagues from other sports, the golf pyramid will also have promotions for players. The top 20-30 players from the lower leagues will get the opportunity to get promoted to a higher tier. They would replace the players that were relegated that season.

This is not something that the PGA Tour has proposed. Horschel said that these are only the views he has had over the past 6-8 years as he believes they will benefit the future of the sport. The fact is, he does not know if Jay Monahan and Co. had any such plans in mind. But the question still remains, can such a pyramid format be implemented in golf? What do you think about it? You can share your views about it in the comments section.