Opinion | Why smaller fields would be a big problem for marquee PGA Tour events

If the rumours are true, next year’s “designated event” series on the PGA Tour, meaning the 10 tournaments beyond the majors and FedEx Cup playoff events that guarantee the presence of the circuit’s best players and biggest names, will feature drastically reduced field sizes and no cut.

What a debacle that would be.

The WM Phoenix Open, the first full-field designated event, proved that the formula in place works just fine. That tournament’s final group featured two superstars vying to become No. 1 in the world again and an established tour regular in Canadian Nick Taylor, who proved just how much of a gamer he is with some gutsy play.

It was an awesome day of golf — aided by the party atmosphere that the WM Phoenix Open already exudes every year, sure — that’s leading right into another designated event this week at Riviera Country Club, where Tiger Woods is returning to the tour for the first time since last summer’s Open Championship.

Can you say momentum?

But why should these massive-money events be limited to 70 or so players, as is the speculation? Why would the tour want to preclude the sensational storyline like the one Taylor provided? What’s better than a relative longshot with an opportunity to pull a big upset?

Aren’t 70-man, no-cut events what the World Golf Championships were, a set of tournaments that lost its lustre over time?

The PGA Tour and its star players who helped orchestrate the designated event series must be careful not to become what they’ve mocked in LIV Golf. That is, money-for-everyone events that run counter to the meritocratic nature of golf, which is often held up as a shining principle against other sports where athletes do not always play up to their paycheques.

Legitimate competition is what the PGA Tour still has over LIV. Reducing field sizes and eradicating the cut for its richest stops would greatly dispel that notion.

Furthermore, there are events worthy of elevated status that should not be dramatically altered. The 100-plus-year-old RBC Canadian Open is a perfect example. Its history and place in the game — not to mention its title sponsor’s sizable investment in golf — makes it deserving of having the PGA Tour’s best players. But it would cease to a national open if its field size was cut in half and there was no way for a golfer, Canadian or otherwise, to qualify. It can be tweaked but not torn apart.

The designated events were created to get the PGA Tour’s biggest names competing against each other more often. That’s 20 players, however. So what’s the difference in having those 20 be among 70 or 120? The tour must protect the competitive integrity of its events and allow stories like those of Taylor — who wouldn’t have cracked a field of 70 — to be told.

Bits and Bites

I don’t care how much he’s monopolized golf coverage over the years. And I don’t care that he probably won’t play well enough to merit the attention he gets again this week. I want to see every shot Tiger Woods hits at the Genesis Invitational. Who knows how many more opportunities we’ll have to see him play? … When Nick Taylor won the 2020 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he rose to 101st from 229th on the Official World Golf Ranking. His runner-up at the WM Phoenix Open took him to 73rd from 223rd. It shows how important field strength is when it comes to that barometer. He also won $726,000 more for the second in Phoenix than he did for the first at Pebble … Taylor is now 15th in the FedEx Cup ranking, right behind Mackenzie Hughes in 12th and Adam Svensson in 13th. Adam Hadwin, 49th, makes it four Canadians currently inside the top 70, the new mark for making the playoffs. Two of the guys outside that number, Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, played in the Presidents Cup in September … Victoria’s Jim Rutledge, announced Monday as an inductee into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame this year, has the best tempo of anyone I’ve watched play golf. No exaggeration. The rhythm of his swing could put a cranky baby to sleep … Has anyone figured out what Hy Flyers even means? Because I still can’t believe Phil Mickelson’s LIV Golf team doesn’t have a slicker name … And Range Goats? Is that because Bubba Watson’s new LIV squad members are the greatest of all time on the driving range? … I’d pay good money to see Tyrrell Hatton stuck in Toronto traffic … Watched the first episode of “Full Swing,” Netflix’s PGA Tour documentary. Oddly, most of it centres on the Jordan Spieth-Justin Thomas friendship/rivalry, culminating in Thomas’ emotional victory at the PGA Championship. There is some cool behind-the-scenes footage of both of them but nothing earth-shattering. Plus, there is a Golf for Dummies feel to it with some really basic explainers for the uninitiated. The full season drops Wednesday. I assume it will get better.

Jason Logan is the editor of SCOREGolf magazine, which is co-owned by Torstar, the Star’s parent company. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jasonSCOREGolf

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