PGA Tour Announces Huge Changes
Earlier today, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem announced sweeping changes regarding the tour schedule and the Q-school, through which players were previously able to qualify for the PGA Tour. Finchem stressed, however, that the details still must be agreed upon by the Policy Board, but the framework has been established.
The Q-school, which has been in place since the 1960’s, was previously the vehicle by which up and coming players (and those looking to resurrect their careers) could earn a spot on the Tour. The Nationwide Tour, which is currently the “minor league” version of the PGA Tour, will more or less take over in place of the Q-school to form a qualifying system whereby players can earn a spot on the PGA Tour. This can be accomplished by a one year stint on the Nationwide Tour before joining the big leagues. The new system will be set up so that the players ranked 125-200 on the PGA Tour earnings and in the top 75 of the Nationwide Tour earnings will compete in a three series event, with the cumulative top 50 subsequently earning their PGA Tour cards. The Q-school has been a staple of the PGA Tour for over 5 decades, which means that this decision is sure to be met with a great deal of opposition.
The other huge changed announced by Finchem today is a complete overhaul of the Tour schedule. As it stands right now, the PGA Tour season ends in September with its finale, the FedEx Cup championship. This is admittedly to avoid direct competition on Sunday’s with the start of the NFL season, which is a battle the PGA will lose every time. After the FedEx Cup championship, however, there are still 6 events that encompass the “Fall Series” that obviously do not count towards FedEx Cup points since they take place after the championship. These 6 events will now take place at the start of the season and count towards the FedEx Cup standings; their worth has yet to be decided, however.
This is a bold move on the part of Finchem, the Policy Board and the entire PGA Tour. Considering the behemoth that the NFL has become, now might not necessarily be the best time to take it on head to head for ratings. Somehow, I don’t think NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is losing much sleep over this development. If these changes don’t pan out, however, Tim Finchem will probably have a great deal of trouble getting to sleep at night.
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