PGA Tour policy board approves changes to decrease field sizes and alter eligibility

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – As expected, the PGA Tour’s policy board approved sweeping changes to the circuit’s eligibility criteria, field sizes and the total number of fully-exempt members.

Monday’s meeting of the board was dominated by the plan that had been proposed by the Player Advisory Council to reduce field sizes at nearly every Tour event and cut the number of fully exempt players from the top 125 from the previous season’s FedExCup points list to the top 100 starting in 2026.

“Today’s announced changes build on the competitive and schedule enhancements incorporated over the last six years in seeking the best version of the PGA Tour for our fans, players, tournaments and partners,” Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “This was a true collaborative effort, and I’m extremely proud of the PAC for the effort they put into evaluating how we build a stronger PGA Tour.”

The Tour sent an outline of the proposed plan to the membership last month and there was plenty of pushback from players.

“I thought [the proposed plan] was asinine, like most of our recent changes,” Lucas Glover said. “Limiting players doesn’t help competition. We’re the only sport that decreased the number of teams or players; every other sport has expanded their playoffs or expanded their fields. We are doing the opposite. The Tour’s job description is to do what’s right for the membership, not a few members.”

The Sony Open, WM Phoenix Open and Cognizant Classic, which are all 144-player fields, would be reduced to 120 players and events during the summer months – like the RBC Canadian Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic and Genesis Scottish Open – would be reduced from 156- to 144-player fields (with one exception: the American Express, which is played on three courses and remains at 156).

The field size for The Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event, would also be reduced from 144 to 120 players (event-by-event breakdown at bottom of article).

As a result of those changes, which were driven in part to improve pace of play and keep events on schedule, the number of fully exempt Tour cards will also be adjusted for the first time since the 1980s. Along with a reduction of fully-exempt members from the previous season’s FedExCup points list, the number of Korn Ferry Tour graduates will be reduced to the top 20, down from the top 30 from the previous season’s points list. The number of cards given via Q-School will go from the top 5 and ties to the top 5.

“It was important to redefine PGA Tour membership as we build on the aspirational nature of earning a PGA Tour card,” the Tour’s chief competitions officer Tyler Dennis said in a statement. “Once on Tour, members will have an equitable opportunity to retain their membership and qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs.”

The number of spots available via Monday qualifying will also be reduced to two spots for 132-player fields and four for 144-player fields. The top 10 from the previous season’s DP World Tour points will continue to earn PGA Tour membership under the new criteria.

The Tour also made slight changes to FedExCup-point distributions for 2025, decreasing allocations outside the top 10 in majors and The Players as well as outside the top 6 in signature events.