PGA Tour players propose adjusted field sizes, fewer Tour cards - ESPN

The PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council is recommending sweeping changes to field sizes, exemption status, the number of PGA Tour cards that can be obtained each season through the Korn Ferry Tour and Q-School, and a slight adjustment to the FedEx Cup points allocations for major championships, Players Championship and signature events.

The changes, which wouldn't take effect until the 2026 season, must be approved by the PGA Tour policy board at its next meeting on Nov. 18.

The PGA Tour Player Advisory Council unveiled the proposed changes to golfers in a 23-page executive summary, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN on Tuesday.

Among the proposed changes:

The PGA Tour would adjust the maximum number of players in a starting field of an open one-course, full-field tournament from 156 to 144, with a further reduction from 132 to 120 as required by circumstances such as darkness.

In the executive summary, the PAC noted that 28% of tournaments in 2024 (12 of 43) had at least one round that wasn't completed on the scheduled day due to darkness.

«Field sizes that are too large make it difficult to finish the competition on schedule each day and cause delays in the overall pace of play, increasing the average round times on tour,» the executive summary said.

Under the proposed plan, for instance, the field for The Players Championship would be reduced from 144 players to 120 and the RBC Canadian Open and Genesis Scottish Open would go from 156 to 144.

Tournaments played on multiple courses, such as The American Express, would maintain fields of 156 golfers.

The PAC said it considered adjusting the smaller limited fields of the tour's lucrative signature events, such as the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament,