Even the best golfers can’t escape a brutal schedule. At the 2025 TOUR Championship, Justin Thomas criticized the PGA Tour’s tightly packed calendar. Back-to-back majors and signature events compressed into weeks are physically and mentally taxing, even for top players.

During media discussions, Justin Thomas was asked about the packed stretch of tournaments leading up to the PGA Championship—specifically the sequence of the Masters, Hilton Head, New Orleans, back-to-back Signature Events, and then the PGA Championship.

In response, Thomas admitted the issue hasn’t been a central focus of his subcommittee within the Player Advisory Council but recognized the strain of the schedule. Thomas responded to the media, “No, I get that.“ There wasn’t a conversation on the PAC, at least in terms of my specific subcommittee. That’s not necessarily something that we’re focused on or talking about. It’s tough. I definitely understand it. I think it has felt — it definitely has felt a little bunched over the past couple years, honestly. I’m not sure how different it could feel, you know what I mean? But it’s something that it’s always a work in progress. Over the course of the years, and I think it’s just kind of figuring out how the plan can work out the best or make the most sense, but it definitely is a situation where, yeah, you wouldn’t, I would think, want to run into something like that as often as you can. But it’s just more of, hey, I like the fact that the TOUR is looking at it in the sense of here we are, this is what we have this year, and we’re just going to keep trying to change it for the better and better and so on and so forth as opposed to just putting it off until however many years until we feel like we have the perfect model, perfect fit kind of thing.

When asked whether he might consider skipping some of the bigger events on the PGA Tour schedule—and whether it could become a broader issue among players—Justin Thomas offered a candid response. The question referenced Rory McIlroy setting an example this year by missing select tournaments, raising the issue of whether others might follow.“Yeah, I go back and forth on that. I’m a believer in the sense of all of us playing in all these events is kind of the purpose of them”

McIlroy set a notable precedent in 2025 by skipping key FedExCup Playoff events, including the St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship, yet still qualifying for the Tour Championship. His decision sparked debate across the PGA Tour, raising questions about scheduling pressure and whether top players might increasingly choose to bypass marquee tournaments.

“But at the same time, yeah, it’s something I’ve—I look at it in the sense of if there’s a particular golf course or something where I don’t feel like I can play well, or it doesn’t fit my eye historically, then as a professional golfer, I have a hard time. I always felt that way about the WGC in China. That was a course where I went and played, grinding my tail off to shoot 1- or 2-under every day, and like 25-under wins.  The course rewarded long, straight hitters with plenty of birdie chances on reachable par-5s and short par-4s, creating an environment where players were expected to post double digits under par every round. For Thomas, grinding to shoot 1- or 2-under while the leaders pushed toward 20 or even 25-under was both frustrating and discouraging. It wasn’t about the event’s prestige, but rather the fit — as he admitted

I’m like, I don’t see it. I can’t fathom how people can shoot those scores. After going for two years, I’m like, it doesn’t make sense for me to play this golf tournament because I can’t physically do that. So if there are places that I think people look at that way, then you have to do what’s best for that particular person. Obviously, the perfect model would be for all of us to be at all the events as often as possible.”

His comments underline the tension between individual choices and the Tour’s broader goals. This is where the Player Advisory Council (PAC) plays a role—constantly reviewing feedback on scheduling, course selection, and player workload. Over the years, the PAC has recommended adjustments ranging from field sizes to playoff formats, showing that while a perfect model may not exist, the Tour actively evolves policies to better balance competitiveness with players’ well-being.

Expanding on those scheduling concerns, Thomas was also asked about the difficulties facing the Korn Ferry Tour, which might only get two starts in a six-week span, one of them at Myrtle Beach.

Korn Ferry’s Grueling Six-Week Stretch

The 2025 Korn Ferry Tour opens with a demanding six-week international swing through Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile—an intense schedule even PGA Tour stars like Justin Thomas have critiqued. Rising talent Kyle Westmoreland admitted that “traveling across multiple countries in such a short span is physically demanding. Jet lag, course changes, and constant travel test your performance.”

Another player added that “it’s a grind. Being away from family, adjusting to new environments, and performing under pressure is challenging.” Success during this stretch requires stamina, resilience, and quick adaptation, with valuable points on the line for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. As Thomas put it, “the grind is real. Perseverance and seizing opportunities are crucial.”