At first glance, there were undoubtedly more exciting things happening in the golf world on Wednesday, November 19th, than the press conference of Harris English, Player of the Week at the RSM Classic, the final tournament of the PGA Tour season.
Pga Tour, revolution
But that was before the world number 11, a member of the organizing committee for future PGA Tour events, dropped a bombshell about the future of the American circuit.
"The tour has changed a lot since I started in 2012," he said. "It will continue to evolve. We have smart people at its helm. Now, with the arrival of Brian Rolapp (editor's note: the new CEO of the PGA Tour, former member of the NFL, the American football league) who sees the PGA from a different perspective, the change is a good thing. I understand that they want all the best players to play together more often, and I think the idea of starting the tour after the Super Bowl is a good one, because we can't really compete with American football." We'll see how things develop.
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The first major piece of information dropped by the American Ryder Cup player is this potentially revamped calendar, which would only start in February. So, no more tournaments in Hawaii, and a complete overhaul of the tour on the American West Coast, including its legendary tournaments at Torrey Pines, Riviera Country Club, and Pebble Beach.
"It would be a shame if these tournaments disappeared; it would change the game on the West Coast." Torrey Pines is one of my favorite courses; I've had a lot of success there, and I would hate to see some of those tournaments disappear, English added.
Another major change outlined after the five-time winner's media appearance on the American circuit is a drastic reduction in the number of tournaments per year and the complete elimination of signature events, which have been the flagships of the PGAin recent years.
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I think what they're going to change in the future, maybe in 2027, is that all the tournaments will be equal, and there won't be the eight majors and the regular events anymore, English said. There will be 20 to 22 events that are all identical. I think that's a good model. That's where you'll see all the top players competing in every event because you can't really afford to miss one.
Fewer tournaments, fewer players, and concentrated, increased prize pools haven't we seen this somewhere before? You be the judge
