For nearly eight decades, Monday qualifiers have been one of golf’s purest meritocracies—a single-day, high-stakes gateway to PGA Tour events where journeymen, dreamers, and unknown talents battle for a few coveted spots in the main field. Since 1948, they’ve allowed players outside the system to break through, giving rise to stories that define what fans love most about sports: grit, heartbreak, and breakthrough moments. Some even won tournaments: Corey Conners (2019), Arjun Atwal (2010), Kenny Knox and Fred Wadsworth (both 1986). Most others didn’t, but their fight for a tee time was the stuff of legend. But that tradition is coming to an end on the PGA Tour.

Starting in 2026, Jay Monahan and Tour leadership will reduce or eliminate Monday qualifiers, citing field-size constraints and operational inefficiencies. The rationale: Smaller fields reduce delays, especially in daylight-restricted events. In practice, it closes one of the last open doors in pro golf. However, the R&A is taking a dramatically different route. On 13 July 2026—the Monday of Open week—The Open Championship will debut a “Last-Chance Qualifier,” a winner-takes-all, 18-hole shootout at Royal Birkdale for a final spot in the 156-man field. “A new winner-takes-all Last-Chance Qualifier will generate drama and excitement for fans,” The Open announced via X. Up to 12 players will compete. One will punch their ticket to the major. It’s a spiritual continuation of the same Monday Q ethos that the PGA Tour is scrapping.

The R&A’s decision comes as the PGA Tour moves away from traditional Monday qualifying. This updated format honors the spirit of the long-standing pathway while adapting it to suit the spectacle of The Open. It’s part of a broader fan-first initiative that also includes the Heroes Classic, a short-format challenge celebrating past champions, and expanded fan engagement throughout Championship week.

“The Open is one of the world’s great sporting events,” said R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon. “We’ve introduced new features that elevate the experience, particularly in the lead-up to the Championship.” With over 1.2 million ticket applications last year, it’s clear fans want more golf—and the R&A is listening. While the PGA Tour is turning inward, the R&A is doubling down on what makes golf so accessible, exciting, and human. It’s a stark contrast in philosophy: just as one governing body reaffirms golf’s open-door legacy, the other is being criticized for closing it.

PGA Tour under fire for axing Monday Qualifiers amid pro’s inspiring rise

A line from Moneyball echoes loudly here: “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” Swap “baseball” for “golf,” and you get the exact spirit behind Monday Qualifying. It’s that blend of hope and hardship that inspired Ryan French to launch Monday Q Info, a platform dedicated to telling the stories no one else sees—of players grinding away, unseen and unfunded, for one last chance.

That’s what made the March 2025 saga of Andre Chi resonate so widely. Chi, a graduate of Methodist University, didn’t come from money or privilege. He missed Q-School. He couldn’t afford travel or tournament fees. But he didn’t quit. He played at local events. And finally, in early 2025, he flew to Florida for the Valspar pre-qualifier, on credit. He carded a 66 and then a 67, earning a Monday Q spot. Broke and nearly out of options, he reached out to French, who helped him with accommodations. Chi earned his place in the field and became an inspiration.

But under the PGA Tour’s 2026 reforms, stories like his will vanish. The Tour is reducing Monday Q spots to two per event, and some events may eliminate them entirely. That means the third and fourth-place finishers—like Kevin Tway or Adrien Dumont de Chassart at Valspar—wouldn’t even tee it up. Dreams are dead on arrival. Golf Twitter was outraged. “Everyone associated with eliminating Monday qualifiers needs to be fired,” one fan posted. “What a stupid, greedy idea.” Another said: “Golf is so beautiful… we have to save the Monday Q.” And many pointed to Chi’s example: “The PGA Tour should be embarrassed. They’re destroying stories just like this.”

Padraig Harrington also voiced frustration, calling the decision “one of the strangest” ever made by the Tour. He urged them to lean into Monday qualifiers, not away. “Follow these guys with cameras,” he said. “It’s a movie script every week.” The anger isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s about what golf stands for. Monday qualifiers represent everything sports should be: merit-based, emotional, unpredictable, and deeply human. Ending them may streamline operations, but it kills the very stories that made the sport matter. The R&A, to its credit, seems to understand that. Its Last-Chance Qualifier won’t just fill a slot, but a void.

And with the eyes of the golfing world on Royal Birkdale next summer, the Monday Q spirit will live on, just not where it began.