The ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is making both sides use different strategies that give them the upper hand. The PGA has constantly portrayed supremacy with its illustrious list of high-quality players. On the other hand, LIV Golf presents itself as the promised land, for golfers who have shown dissatisfaction towards their counterparts.

This time around, Jay Monahan & co. have proposed an interesting plan that may help them achieve a lot more success. It comes in the form of new rules & regulations to enhance the player and viewer experience of the PGA Tour.

The master plan proposed to the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour has struggled with major delays across many events towards the end of the season. This has led to rounds not getting completed and players not being able to make the cut for the prize money. One of the major reasons behind such obstructions has been bad light.

To tackle these issues, the PGA Tour has proposed a lucrative plan. This will ensure that all the pros play maximum holes throughout the events. The plan is reliant on changes in the field size of every event.

As the proposal goes, the maximum field size for any event will be dropped from 156 to 144. When daylight becomes a factor, the maximum field size will be reduced from 132 to 120. The change in the exempt list of top pros will also reduce from 125 to 100. However, there will be a new condition added to the priority rankings where players from 101-125 can also have the opportunity to qualify for the events.

The total number of cards promoted from the Korn Ferry Tour will also be reduced from 30 to 20. There is no change in the entries from the DP World Tour, which will remain at 10. However, qualifications from the Q-School have been capped at 5. Of course, the numbers will decrease further for fields that host fewer than 144 players during the FedExCup Regular Season. This change is not applicable to events in the FedExCup Fall Season.

The spots allocated to the restricted sponsor exemptions will be reallocated to those who are next in line on the priority rankings. The proposal also states that the distribution of points on the points allocation table will also change. Second-place finishers will get more points from the majors and the Players. This will impact the pros ranked at 11 and higher as the points allocated to them will be reduced. In the signature events, the points distribution reduction will start from pros finishing at 7th place or higher instead of 11th place.

These are a lot of changes to take in. If this proposal is approved, these regulations will be applied from the 2026 season. But how will the PGA Tour benefit from them?

In the grand scheme of things

With the drastic growth professional golf has seen over the past few years, any major league will try to get the maximum viewership by improving their quality. This is exactly the reason behind the introduction of such a proposal. The change in the field size will encourage players to perform better consistently. That ensures that the PGA Tour will become a more competitive and compelling league in professional golf. This is also an attractive prospect for players who dream of performing at the highest level. The increase in the competitiveness of the Tour will also attract better viewership.

The change in format will also ensure that there are fewer chances of loss of play. With fewer pros on the field, rounds can be concluded quickly before any concerns of bad light come into play. Moreover, if players know that the possibility of getting cut is low, they will be more eager to keep pushing themselves to enter the ranks of the prize money. This will benefit their strokeplay greatly while also making the events more exciting.

It is worth noting that these changes were proposed after Jay Monahan & co. received extensive feedback from the pros. The comments always included concerns about the field size and pace of play. If and when the changes are implemented, the PGA Tour will definitely attract more players, viewers, sponsors, and stakeholders. What do you think about the proposal? Let us know in the comments section.