The PGA Tour Policy Board approved a list of competitive changes on Nov. 18 that includes cutting the field for The Players Championship to 120 players, down from 144.
The Players is March 13-16 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
The Tour also reduced the number of exempt players from the top 125 on the FedEx Cup points list to the top 100, beginning in 2025 and reduced the number of cards through the Korn Ferry Tour to the top 20 on its points list, down from 30.
The Tour kept the exempt list to the top 10 from the DP World Tour points list, if not otherwise eligible, and capped the number of cards from PGA Tour Q School (Dec. 12-15 at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley and Sawgrass Country Club to five, instead of the top five, plus ties.
The field reductions, according to Tour Chief Competitions Officer Tyler Dennis, is to improve the chances of finishing rounds before darkness, thereby making the 36-hole cut on Fridays.
“For our fans this certainly sets up weekend storylines much more effectively and will make the PGA Tour easier and more enjoyable to follow,” Dennis said in a statement.
Fields for multi-course tournaments such as this week’s RSM Classic will remain at 156 players, except the Farmers Insurance Open, which will be 144.
Other changes include reduction of Monday qualifiers
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Monday qualifying is reduced to two players for 132-player fields and none for 120-player fields. It will remain four for fields of 144 or larger.
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FedEx Cup points are being adjusted slightly to increase second-place points and a slight reduction for 11th place through the rest of the weekend field.
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The top 10 finishers, plus ties that are eligible for the next Open event will now include amateurs.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour Policy Board approves competitive changes; Players field reduced
