No Friday Cuts and Dramatically Reduced Fields for Some PGA TOUR Events Next Year
The PGA TOUR is introducing a new approach for next season’s designated events in what is being seen by many as its continued direct response to LIV Golf.
“I think, in general, if a company or a product doesn’t have competition, the incentive to innovate is low. So now, with competition, everyone wants to look inside to see how they could improve their product and do things better”, said 2021 FedEx Cup Champion Patrick Cantlay.
Things will be radically different in 2024, with reduced fields to between 70 and 78 players and removing a 36-hole cut in some regular-season events with elevated status.
Patrick Cantlay in a pre-tournament media appearance
Things will be radically different in 2024, with reduced fields to between 70 and 78 players and removing a 36-hole cut in some regular-season events with elevated status.
Designated events began this year in an effort to guarantee the presence of the game’s biggest stars. Case in point, last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, presented by Mastercard, offered a $12 million dollar purse when Scottie Scheffler won, and this year’s prize money increased to $20 million.
Not coincidently, 44 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings are here to tee it up at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Tomorrow will mark Cantlay’s first professional start here, and he says the changes planned for next year will serve the fans very well.
“The biggest advantage of it is locking in the stars that play those events into four days. So, if you’re a little kid in whatever city that a tournament, one of these tournaments is going on, L.A., for example, and you can only go on Sunday, for sports or that’s when your mom or dad can take you, you know that if Tiger Woods enters the tournament on Sunday, you can go watch him. Rory, you can go watch him. I think that’s really powerful,” added Cantley.
This is an invitational with 120 players in the field, so you’d think these dramatic changes will not apply to all the elevated events, according to World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, whose been in all the discussions.
“You look at this event, you look at the Memorial, you look at Tiger’s event in L.A. They have got a ton of history behind them. So is there an argument to say that because of that historical context we try to keep a cut in those events. Maybe. Like, who knows. Again, that’s all to be decided. But, again, I will say there’s precedent for no-cut events on this TOUR”, said McIlroy.
The PGA TOUR did announce that golf’s majors, as well as the Players Championship and FedEx Cup playoff tournaments, will not be affected. And nothing changes until the Tour returns to a calendar year schedule in 2024.
