PGA Tour layoffs start with players as opportunities dwindle

Pity the PGA Tour proletariat, who are now worried about two votes in November that could jeopardize much of what they are entitled to. Some of them may even be less suspicious of a former California prosecutor than a California prosecutor. After all, Kamala Harris doesn't care that much about reshaping the PGA Tour, but Patrick Cantlay does.

On November 18, Cantlay and his colleagues on the Policy Board will vote on an extensive list of proposals that will have a huge impact on the Tour's base. Possible changes include reducing fields in most regular tournaments from 156 participants to 144 and in many cases to 120; reducing the number of fully exempt players from 125 to 100; Reducing the number of tickets earned through the Korn Ferry Tour by a third; and reducing or eliminating Monday qualifying tournaments, which award four spots most weeks.

More: The PGA Tour will detail possible changes to field size, eligibility and pace of play in a memo to players

Some players will find that their ability to earn a living is unfairly limited. others will welcome tightening competition standards. In any case, it represents a revolutionary change for an organization whose members revere Adam Smith but are used to their workplace being run as if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were the commissioner.

Capitalism for you, socialism for me!

Unlike most recent innovations – signature events, participation grants, huge increases in prize money – these latest proposals are not a counterpart to LIV Golf, but rather a reflection of the PGA Tour's new for-profit status. After all, who appreciates streamlined simplicity more than the private equity investors brought on board ten months ago?

The tour's longstanding raison d'être – creating gaming opportunities for members, a goal for which its executives received a bonus – is dead. Redesigning a complacent product for a competitive market means it's now about earning power. Each suggestion is justifiable, albeit controversial. (Except for the elimination of Monday qualifiers; that's the ultimate in meritocracy and should be expanded and streamed as a supplement to the weekly tour narrative.) And while it's easy to characterize these likely changes as further appeasement for top stars, the truth is That any reform is unlikely to ever upset the one percent of the tour.

These suggestions come from the Players Advisory Council, a 16-member panel made up of superstars and journeymen, and they provide a long-overdue dose of reality. Players tend to point the finger at HQ when it comes to bloat – not wrongly, it has to be said – so there's a certain irony in the fact that the first sackings announced are players themselves. Whether in the glass-walled offices in Ponte Vedra or the wood-paneled locker rooms on tour, too many people are getting too much money for too little. More than 600 guys have competed on the tour this year, and average inside-the-ropes earnings are currently $2,030,418. That's a lot of money for comparatively a lot of mediocrity.

Finally, the tour has reached the stage where it is making incremental changes to improve its product rather than satisfy its stars' hunger for money. There's still a long way to go – not least in delivering a product that's more fan-focused than player-focused – but the fact that improvements are imminent doesn't necessarily mean the right people are making the decisions .

The Tour has always prided itself on being a member-run organization, even if only in name. Since the backlash to the framework agreement with the Saudis and the subsequent government reforms, the actors are now absolutely in charge. In fact, three Policy Board members who will vote on the recommendations – Peter Malnati, Webb Simpson and Jordan Spieth – are dangerously close to being at the mercy of the harsh new exemption they could usher in.

It won't happen — not immediately and probably not at all — but Tour players need to take a step back and defer to executives when making tough decisions around eligibility. And if they don't trust managers to have the company's best interests in mind, they should find replacements. If there's one lesson to be learned from the last few years, it's that golfers will make selfish decisions based on their professional status, so giving them the opportunity to decide on the ability of their colleagues will not end well. to earn their living. Just think of the delicate (and legally perilous) decisions ahead, not least allowing the return of LIV defectors – the same people they currently don't have to beat to win tournaments and FedEx Cup bonuses.

Rank-and-file members are being squeezed for opportunities, sponsors are paying major league prices for minor league lineups, tournaments are becoming increasingly rare in the schedule gap between major events, broadcasters are paying for a product they can't get, fans are being sold on a product they can not getting it, completely underserved is both watered down and monotonous, employees at headquarters are facing the prospect of layoffs – the collateral damage of the “Git me some” era is widespread. The only constituency that will emerge unscathed are the ones whose greed started everything: the elite players.

But even those who will be affected by the proposed changes largely accept that the Nov. 18 vote — unlike the other one 13 days earlier — is a foregone conclusion. And necessary. As it is written, so shall it happen.