Will the PGA Tour turn players back into 'rabbit' qualifiers? It seems likely

Back successful nan 1970s and nan early 1980s, a afloat exemption for nan PGA Tour meant a subordinate had vanished successful nan apical 60 of nan money winners nan erstwhile year. Not nan apical 125 arsenic it is today, but conscionable nan apical 60.

That meant a subordinate who was, say, 70th connected nan money database 1 twelvemonth would walk nan pursuing twelvemonth chasing qualifying tournaments – for illustration a rabbit, they utilized to opportunity – conscionable to get successful tournaments week to week.

Then came 1983 and what has since been called nan all-exempt tour. The number of afloat exemptions for nan adjacent twelvemonth much than doubled, and nan chances for rabbits to suffice connected a play ground was drastically reduced.

That’s been nan measurement nan PGA Tour has filled its fields for nan astir portion for much than 40 years. But if you judge nan talk and moreover words from a subordinate connected nan PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Board, changes mightiness beryllium coming to nan all-exempt circuit and events for illustration The American Express arena successful La Quinta arsenic early arsenic 2026.

Websites for illustration Monday Q, which tracks Monday qualifying events for various tours among different things, person been talking astir changes being considered by nan tour. Then past week, a missive from Camilo Villegas, nan president of nan PAC, to circuit players confirmed that nan circuit has been engaged successful talks that could nonstop nan circuit backmost to nan days of rabbit qualifying, though not each nan measurement backmost to a 60-player exempt list.

Here’s a look astatine what are believed to beryllium nan proposals and really they mightiness effect events for illustration The American Express:

Fewer exemptions

Details are sketchy, but nan gist of this is to person less afloat exempt players some connected nan PGA Tour and coming to nan circuit from nan Korn Ferry improvement circuit. Likely nan exemption database will shrink from 125 connected nan FedEx Cup points database to thing for illustration 90 aliases 100 players. On nan surface, that doesn’t alteration overmuch astatine The American Express, which is simply a tourney that relies connected younger players aliases caller graduates from nan Korn Ferry Tour to capable its field. But a simplification successful nan number of cards handed retired to Korn Ferry players is besides apparently connected nan table, and that could mean less disposable players there.

“We look to redefine what it intends to person a PGA Tour ‘card’ and erstwhile you gain that card, really that translates to certainty of schedule,” Villegas said successful his missive to players.

The elemental translator present is that younger players will person a tougher clip making it to nan circuit for nan first clip and past person a tougher clip staying connected tour. There will beryllium different exemptions, of course, for winning tournaments. This each could lead to greater title and play to make nan caller exempt number, but it could slow nan advancement of immoderate younger imaginable stars.

Smaller tourney fields

This is wherever it could get tricky for tournaments for illustration The American Express. Currently, nan La Quinta tourney has a section of 156, a number that has existed since 2012 erstwhile nan tourney jumped from 128 players, a number it had been connected for six decades. So if nan PGA Tour decides its section starting successful 2026 will beryllium person to 120 players, it wouldn’t beryllium a immense displacement for The American Express. What would beryllium a alteration is that 156 pro players intends 156 amateur players paying large money to play pinch different amateur and 2 pros successful a foursome for nan first 3 days of nan event. If that number was reduced, moreover to nan aged 128-player field, it could mean a alteration successful revenues for nan tournament, money that would person to beryllium made location other to support existent levels of kindness distributions.

Villegas’ missive says this is astir gait of play and determining nan correct number of golfers to support play flowing and finishing tournaments connected time. That’s thing everyone would like. But again, nan connection could make things overmuch tougher for journeymen players and younger players to get a changeable astatine tourney berths, thing that is already reliable capable for players pinch constricted exemptions aliases caller from nan Korn Ferry Tour.

A refined points system

No 1 knows conscionable what this means, but Villegas’ missive indicates nan distribution of FedEx Cup points could make nan mediate of nan battalion “more equitable based connected performance.” Could this mean that less players will get points successful tournaments, but players who gain points could get much points to equilibrium retired nan FedEx Cup playoffs?

Certainly, nan all-exempt circuit has done things for nan PGA Tour that weren’t happening erstwhile nan exempt database only went to 60. The existent circuit is much unchangeable and has much stars and much players who tin triumph a tourney immoderate fixed week that was existent successful nan 1970s aliases early 1980s.

The play of players chasing exemptions is evident successful nan autumn events connected nan PGA Tour nan past fewer weeks. Fewer exemptions for nan large circuit mightiness bring a small much of that play to nan PGA Tour week to week. But nan circuit has to beryllium observant erstwhile it to comes to reducing nan size of fields aliases reducing nan number of Korn Ferry players who summation PGA Tour status. Cutting down nan lanes for caller players and caller humor to get to nan circuit can’t beryllium a bully thing, particularly pinch nan LIV Tour waiting for caller humor itself.

Larry Bohannan is nan play writer for The Desert Sun. You tin interaction him astatine (760) 778-4633 aliases astatine larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him connected Facebook aliases connected Twitter astatine @larry_bohannan.