PGA Tour giving in to pressure from LIV Golf ?
The PGA Tour board recently announced radical changes to its schedule including events with no 36 hole cuts and limited fields.
Fields in designated events will be reduced to between 70 and 78 players from the usual 130 to 140 players, and no halfway cut. Only majors, the Players Championship and the FedEx Cup playoff tournaments will be unaffected.
Designated events were launched this year in an effort to guarantee the presence of the game’s top stars on the weekends and to ensure they are paid more, with minimum purses of $20 million in each event. Due to the haste with which the designated events came about — a direct response to the threat posed by LIV Golf — no changes were made to field sizes for 2023.
Fields at designated events will comprise the top 50 players who qualify for the Fedex playoffs, plus the top 10 players not otherwise eligible on the current FedEx Cup points race. There will also be five places earned through performance in non-designated events.
A year ago, everyone at PGA Tour criticised the no cut events on the LIV Golf Tour and now they have given in and are looking to do the same. Ian Poulter & Lee Westwood, LIV golfers took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
Oh my my my…. When will the penny drop with so many of what’s actually happened here. ♂️ It really doesn’t take a to work out. And sounds very similar to another product that’s been spoken so badly about by Media and commentators. I’m all ears now I’m waiting https://t.co/lxYg6B8goy
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) March 1, 2023
While, Max Homa, a member of the Player Advisory Council responsible for drafting the new schedule, quickly came to the Tour’s defense.
Speaking at a pre-tournament press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the heels of the announcement Wednesday, the American backed the new schedule, claiming it will benefit the fan experience, not just the players.
Here’s Max Homa on the Tour’s changes and reduction to the field size of designated events. pic.twitter.com/jPXEtdojtt
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) March 1, 2023
‘It is more opportunity for the top players to battle it out late on Sundays,’ Homa said. ‘Which, you look back at times of Phil and Tiger, the two best players growing up for me watching, and they had like maybe two real battles. So we’re going to have more of that.’
Credits:-
Photo – PGA TOUR