PGA Tour reveals proposal for decreasing area sizes, altering eligibility starting in 2026

The PGA Tour is poised to chop the variety of totally exempt gamers by roughly 20%, starting in 2026, in accordance with a 17-page memo that was despatched to the membership Tuesday.

The proposed adjustments are a part of an ongoing overview by the circuit’s Participant Advisory Council that started this summer season to look at taking part in privileges, circulate of play and the present FedExCup level construction with a deal with “excellent area sizes.”

In response to the memo which was obtained by GolfChannel.com, 28% of tournaments this yr had not less than one spherical that wasn’t accomplished due to darkness.

With daylight and tempo of play being the first causes rounds should not accomplished as scheduled, the proposal would scale back area sizes for many full-field occasions earlier than daylight saving time to 120 gamers and cap all area sizes at 144 gamers (with one exception: the American Categorical, which is performed on three programs and stays at 156).

The Sony Open, WM Phoenix Open and Cognizant Traditional, that are all 144-player fields, can be decreased to 120 gamers and occasions throughout the summer season months — such because the RBC Canadian Open, Rocket Mortgage Traditional and Genesis Scottish Open — can be decreased from 156- to 144-player fields.

The adjustments would additionally cut back the sphere dimension for The Gamers Championship from 144 to 120 gamers (proposed event-by-event breakdown at backside of article).

Some members of the PAC had instructed the Tour may offset the misplaced taking part in alternatives in full-field occasions by increasing fields at signature occasions, which have a minimal area dimension of 72 gamers.

“Any modifications at this stage can be disruptive and will enhance fan confusion,” the memo learn. “No adjustments to the sphere sizes of signature occasions have been advisable.”

Below the plan, the discount of area sizes would require the Tour to regulate the variety of totally exempt gamers to the highest 100 from the earlier season’s (2025) FedExCup factors listing, down from the present cutoff of prime 125. The variety of full playing cards supplied to Korn Ferry Tour gamers would even be decreased underneath the proposed plan from 30 to twenty.

Q-Faculty would award membership to the highest 5 finishers, down from the present top-5-and-ties mannequin, and the plan would additionally cut back or remove the variety of spots accessible into open occasions through Monday qualifying and sponsor exemptions.

The adjusted precedence rankings would now slot the Korn Ferry Tour, Q-Faculty and DP World Tour (prime 10) members forward of gamers ending 101^st by means of 125^th on the earlier yr’s factors listing within the conditional standing class.

The plan, which should be authorized by the Tour’s coverage board on the yr’s ultimate assembly subsequent month on the RSM Traditional, would additionally barely modify the factors awarded at signature occasions.

“It was decided that the center of the factors distribution for signature occasions is barely misaligned with participant efficiency. Subsequently, there’s additionally a proposal for a minor adjustment to the FedExCup factors distribution desk,” the memo learn.

The adjustment to factors distribution would lower the variety of FedExCup factors accessible for middle-of-the-pack finishes (seventh place and past). A seventh-place end at a serious, for instance, would stay 250 factors however the allocation can be decreased 25 factors at a signature occasion.

If authorized by the coverage board, the adjustments would start with the 2026 season.