Board ratifies PGA Tour changes for '26
Significant exemption and field limits get approval; Stray Shots peeks at pay and politics
Even the Players Championship at Sawgrass (though not the clubhouse) will downsize (Daily Drive)
As expected, the PGA Tour will implement changes in 2026 that will see a reduction in the number of fully exempt members and the size of fields.
The PGA Tour Policy Board approved the changes on Monday in a scheduled meeting at the RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia.
Three weeks ago, the PGA Tour sent a 23-page deck outlining the recommendations of the Player Advisory Committee (PAC) and various subcommittees that spent four months studying the issue of reducing field sizes and thus cutting back on the number of exemptions.
The changes will alter significantly what has been known as the all-exempt tour, which dates to 1983 and has annually seen 125 players earn full status based on the previous year’s FedEx Cup points list.
That category will drop to 100 players instead of 125, meaning those who are fully exempt for the 2025 season will be fighting for a smaller pool of spots the following year.
Also reduced is the number of full cards granted from the developmental Korn Ferry Tour, which will shrink from 30 to 20.
Staying the same will be the 10 players who advance from the DP World Tour and five playing cards can be earned (down from five and ties) at the annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.
Also, changes are being made to the FedEx Cup points structure, which will begin in 2025.
“The PAC discussions were based on a number of guiding principles, including our belief that PGA Tour membership is the pinnacle of achievement in men’s professional golf,” said Adam Scott, a player director on the Policy Board, in a statement. “The player representatives of the PGA Tour recognize the need to be continually improving its offerings to enhance the golf fan experience. The changes approved today will provide equitable playing opportunities for new young talent to be showcased, and positively refine the playing experience for our members.”
Among the benefits of the new system will be that players who graduate to the PGA Tour from the Korn Ferry will get into most if not all regular (not signature) events. The category of players from 101 to 125 — conditional status members — should also see a fair number of playing opportunities, based on various reshuffles of their category throughout the year.
With fewer exempt players, the tour is maintaining that it can reduce field sizes and have a cleaner, perhaps faster, system. The Players Championship field, for example, will be reduced from 144 to 120 players. Several 156-player fields will be reduced to either 144 or 132 players, typically depending on available daylight. At the smaller fields, there will be a reduction in weekly Monday qualifiers, from four to two at 132-player events and to zero at 120-player events.
“These field size adjustments, which also promote a better flow of play, improve the chances of rounds being completed each day with a greater ability to make the 36-hole cut on schedule under normal weather conditions,” said Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour’s chief competitions officer. “For our fans, this certainty sets up weekend storylines much more effectively and will make the PGA Tour easier and more enjoyable to follow.”
The changes to the FedEx Cup points will see the major championships and the Players get a slight increase in second-place points and a slight decrease for positions 11 and lower; and the signature events will see a slight decrease in points for positions seven and beyond.
Stray Shots: Greed, grit and grievances
By Peter Kaufman
1. Ryder Cup pay. So it’s reliably been reported that Team USA Ryder Cuppers will be paid $400,000 per player in 2025 at Bethpage Black. European players, on the hand, are eschewing payment. It’s not an optimal look for the Americans — especially because our Ryder Cup stalwarts can turn over their couch cushions to find $400,000. It just looks grubby, no?
Plus that’s nearly $5 million less that the PGA of America could push down to its member organizations for purposes of, say, junior golf development.
The best comparable here is the Olympics. The U.S. Olympic Committees pay our athletes $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze. So yes there is some modest payment for performance, but for merit and not just for showing up.
Said Rory McIlroy: “I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup. I’ve talked about this a lot. The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics. Both have purity because no money is involved.
“I don’t want to say being paid would taint the match, but it would give it a different feel. What we’ve done a really good job of is being this really cohesive group over the past decade. We wouldn’t want anything to change that.”
Returning European captain Luke Donald to The Telegraph: “It’s one week where you play for more than yourself. It’s ... not about money or points, it’s about coming together as a team and the fans feed off that — it’s all passion. I don’t think we should ever get paid.”
Since 2012 Europe has won four times and the Unites States twice. But at least we have more mercenary players, that has to count for something.
Stray Shots stands between no player and his/her ability to max out compensation. But we also believe in occasionally playing for country — and volunteering to do so. We regularly get waxed by a group that represents a continent, for crying out loud, and they continue to proudly do so for no compensation.
2. Nelly Korda v. Charley Hull. Well that did not take long. Fresh off her first win in a couple years, England’s Hull went toe to toe with America’s Korda at the Annika event at Pelican in Florida. World No. 1 Korda prevailed, annexing her seventh title in 2024. That’s an awfully impressive haul, the most since Yani Tseng did it in 2011 and not achieved by an American since 1990 when Beth Daniel did it. Rarefied air, indeed.