Peter Malnati says a raft of proposed changes to the PGA Tour will lead to a “better product” for players and fans.
On November 18, the PGA Tour’s Policy Board is set to vote on a number of proposals regarding changes to the circuit, which include reducing the maximum number of players in full-field events, decreasing players who retain their cards each season and the number of Korn Ferry Tour graduates, as well as changes to Monday qualifiers and the FedEx Cup points system.
The proposals, which came after a review of the 2024 landscape by the Player Advisory Council, hopes to create a “more competitive and compelling” circuit, with any changes not taking effect until 2026.
Malnati, who is one of the player representatives on the PGA Tour Policy Board, said the proposed changes – which looks set to pass at the mid-November vote according to GolfDigest – is going to be a good thing for the tour going forward.
Speaking in an interview with PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM, Malnati said the changes will create more clarity on what it means to have a PGA Tour card.
“I think the direction that they're going is towards magnifying the value of having a PGA Tour card. That's exactly in the discussions of what we've talked about,” he said.
“We're going to have a rocky transition as you always do in times of change. But if you can fast forward two or three years into the future here when … the dust settles, if you're a rookie on tour who just earned his PGA Tour card, you're going to know what that means. It's going to mean that you're going to get to play 17 or 18 full-field events, four or five opposite-field events, and if you play well in those, you will have the opportunity to earn your way into signature events.
“As of right now, the membership of the tour is too big, our events are too big, and there are people at the bottom who are supposed to be fully exempt players on tour who don't know the value of their tour card because they don't know what they're going to get in.
“So this changed about making the product of the PGA Tour better and it's about making the quality of a PGA Tour card mean more for the athletes who earn one. That's as simply as I can say it.”
Malnati said that after a “tumultuous” time for the PGA Tour and golf’s professional landscape, the changes are a “step in the right direction”.
“I think what we're going to see as we move forward, once we get through obviously everything in professional golf has been tumultuous for a couple years now, this is the step in the right direction.
“There will be growing pains after, but we're going to see a better product – first and foremost for the players and members of the PGA Tour, but also for every single fan who tunes in to watch, for all the sponsors that have stayed loyal and supportive through this. We're going to see a better product on the course, and that's the whole point of this.”
Other pros have also backed the need for such changes, with Rory McIlroy saying in March: "I'm all for making it more cut throat, more competitive. Probably won't be very popular for saying this, but I'm all for less players and less Tour cards, and the best of the best."
Wyndham Clark echoed McIlroy’s sentiment later that month, saying: "I think it would be amazing if our Tour was a hundred guys. I kind of said this a few times, a hundred guys and we have 20 guys that get relegated every time, every year, doesn't matter who you are."
Proposed Changes To Be Voted On By The PGA Tour Policy Board
- Adjust the maximum number of players in a starting field of an open tournament played on one course from 156 to 144 players, with a reduction to 120 or 132 as required by circumstances such as daylight.
- Change exempt status from top 125 to top 100 in the FedExCup and add a conditional category for finishers 101-125.
- Decrease the number of PGA Tour cards coming from the Korn Ferry Tour from 30 to 20, maintaining 10 from the DP World Tour and capping Q-School at five.
- Reduce Open Qualifying positions at fields with fewer than 144 players during the FedExCup Regular Season (no changes to the FedExCup Fall).
- Reallocate spots in the field currently used for restricted sponsor exemptions (two PGA Tour Members and two DP World Tour/Korn Ferry Tour/Q-School category) to the next eligible member on the Priority Ranking.
- Adjust the FedExCup points distribution table with a slight increase to second-place points for majors and The Players and a slight decrease to points in positions 11 and beyond and a slight decrease to Signature Event points in positions 7 and beyond.
