The PGA Tour, since its inception, has found ways to offer tour cards for players who have performed consistently well. From the 2024 Q-school, six players, namely, Lanto Griffin, Hayden Buckley, Takumi Kanaya, Alejandro Tosti, Will Chandler, and Matthew Riedel, have gotten their tour card. But now, as we move forward with each season, the tour is implementing new rules. Well, not just for the regular tour, but for the Champions Tour as well.

Earlier, the Q-schools awarded PGA Tour cards directly to the top finishers, but it changed with time. By 2023, the top five or ties from the Final Stage would earn a PGA Tour card. The opportunity to get into the Tour, which was limited to top finishers, was now reduced by a great margin. Well, not just for the regular tour, but the same is being planned to be implemented on the Senior tour, which is the Champions Tour. A shocking new update from an insider reveals ‌the plan to reduce it even further.

According to the post of Monday Q Info on X, it shared the recent update from multiple sources. The post shared, “🚨🚨BREAKING (might not require that, but I’m using it anyway). According to multiple sources, there are significant conversations to eliminating or greatly reducing Champions Q-school. Rumblings that it might be reduced down to two spots (now five) or might be eliminated completely.”

The current format allows the top five players from the final stage to earn full Tour membership for the following season. The players from 6th to 30th get access to weekly open qualifiers. But now with the update, the reduction will affect the participation and new joiners to the tour. The decision might invite a huge wave of anger towards the tour. But they have been taking steps to reduce the number of players. As per the confirmed report recently, the 2026 season will only have the top 100 players of the FedEx Cup standings, who will get full exemption, which was previously 125.

Well, not just the Q-School, but Monday Qs have also been affected by the new policy by the PGA Tour.

PGA Tour’s update on Monday qualifiers

The pace of play and daylight limitations have been a concern for the tour. It has resulted in dropping viewership and backlash from spectators. Now, considering that as a major issue, the team has decided to reduce the field size, and for that, Monday Q’s were the first target. The new policy will take effect from 2026, where some events will not have Monday Qualifiers, while some have reduced spots.

Out of the total events for a scheduled year, seven, including the Waste Management Phoenix Open, will no longer offer Monday qualifiers. The events will have a limited field of 120 players to address the concerning issue of pace of play. While the events having the Monday Q’s will have a downside of reduced numbers. The players’ spots, which were four, are reduced to two.

In fact, as per the report, Monday Q’s proposal to restrict qualifiers to current PGA Tour members is also under consideration. However, the confirmation will be shared once the Policy Board has voted on the proposal. Away from the changes and reduction, the opportunities are being limited for the players. Are you in favor of it? What are your thoughts on the changes made by the PGA Tour? Let us know in the comments below.