Jay Monahan’s decision to propose the reduced field idea was probably because of the pace of play. At least that’s what the Tour has said about the new 2026 policy changes. But the changes may have other benefits too. In the 2024 season, slow play was in the limelight as at least one round was suspended due to darkness. So, Monahan and the players on board came up with a plan to reduce the field size.

One, it will help the players to finish on time, and two, the rounds will not be delayed. But for Max Greyserman, it may have one another benefit. It was the second official year for Greyserman on the PGA Tour and shifting from the Korn Ferry Tour to the big league was still not something he was used to. At the Smylie Kaufman Show, the 29-year-old revealed the one reason for his ordinary performance.

He said, “There’s just a lot of people. It’s a circus. Every week you got player relations, player dining, people on your autograph, media, trainers, and just like a lot of drunk people out there.” This was hampering his focus as he was adjusted to the environment of having so many people around him. While Greyserman has not directly spoken for or against the 2026 policies, the reduced field will surely help him focus better on the game and eventually, get inside the winning circles.

Since the PGA Tour’s board voted in favor of the 2026 policies, there has been rampant rage against it. Although the reduced field size would solve Greyserman’s problem, many fans and PGA Tour pros were against the new policies.

1x major winner accuses the PGA Tour of hiding the truth

Will reduced field size help in countering slow play? The PGA Tour might believe that and even the policy board members, but not Lucas Glover. He thinks that the Tour is hiding behind the guise of slow play, and “trying to appease six guys and make them happy so they don’t go somewhere else and play golf.” Glover’s direct jab was at Monahan, being afraid that more pros would join LIV Golf.

Glover did agree that pace of play was a huge problem at the PGA Tour events. But instead of the new policies, he wanted the Tour to maybe have more hefty penalties for it. Because despite the new rules, the golfers who are habitual of playing slow, out of nowhere, would not start playing faster because there are fewer people in the field. Even Padraig Harrington opined that it was a “terrible” plan and J. J. Spaun pointed out that even after 50% of the field is gone after the cut, the event still takes over 5 hours to finish for one pro.

So, if even after the cut the field moves slowly when there are only 60 or 80 people there, what good reduced field would do? The PGA Tour’s new policies will be mandated from 2026 and despite the backlash, it doesn’t seem that Monahan will go back on his plans.