When the PGA Tour’s new structure was announced, there were complaints from players that it created a two-tiered system favoring the elite players. Rory McIlroy’s response was “just play better.” Well, guys such as Cam Davis, Davis Riley and Davis Thompson did play better. So much better, they actually won tour full-field events. But they, and a few others who won in 2024, were not in the Tour Championship field.
Who was in? Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay, who haven’t won since 2022, and Tommy Fleetwood, who has never won on our tour. Why were they in and actual winners were not? Because the top 50, playing in the limited-field, no-cut, elevated FedEx points events, basically received participation points. Where winning used to be the goal, it now seems secondary to accumulating enough points to get into the Tour Championship, where last place paid $550,000. The rich get richer.
Then there’s Nick Dunlap. He didn’t make the top 30; his win at the American Express in Palm Springs didn’t count because he was an amateur and not a tour member. It didn’t matter that he beat a field that included Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. In that event, Justin Thomas finished T3. He didn’t win but earned enough points that eventually allowed him to get the last Tour Championship spot.
Dunlap won the Barracuda Championship, but because it was opposite the British Open, he earned only 300 FedEx points. Meanwhile, McIlroy and Shane Lowry each earned 400 points for their win at the two-man Zurich Classic. Winning a better-ball, alternate-shot team event is worth more than an individual win? Those extra 100 points might have gotten Dunlap in and Thomas out.
Until it rewards winners, the 30-man season-ending tournament is not a championship. It’s just another made-up money grab for the tour elites.
Charlie Jurgonis
Fairfax, Virginia
Global Golf Post welcomes reader comment. Write to executive editor Steve Harmon at saharmon83@gmail.com and provide your full name, city, state and country of residence. If your comment is selected for publication, GGP will contact you to verify the authenticity of the email and confirm your identity. We would not publish your email address. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and brevity.