Mixed reactions after PGA decided to end the Q-School
On Tuesday, it was officially announced that there will be no Q-School from next season. Those who want to qualify for the major championships will have to perform on an entirely different platform.
Those who want to earn their PGA cards will now have to play at the Web.com Tour Finals. This decision has come under fire from various sections. Players who do not have sufficient FedEx Cup points will now be featuring on a low grade tour to earn their
points and money.
Highly talented golfers who stormed their way through the Qualifying School will now be forced back on to Web.com Tour.
Even the players who had worked so hard to earn their money and rankings will now be seen playing on the second grade tournament. This includes the likes of Dustin Johnson, and Rickie Fowler.
The rules to earn the cards for a full PGA Tour are very simple. The top-75 players on the tour, in terms of money earned, will earn their cards.
At the same time, those who finish in between 126-200 on the PGA Tour will have to play in a three-event series. Although this series is pretty lucrative but the overall idea is not very understandable.
"I think the biggest problem with the new program is that people do not necessarily like change," said veteran Paul Goydos, a member of the tour's Policy Board.
Several proposals were discussed initially regarding the revamping of Q-School but in the end it was decided to merge the Q-School with Web.com Tour.
Still, there are 14 months before this plan is implemented. Those who will finish among the top-125 on FedEx Cup rankings will be safe but the rest will head to Web.com Tour.
Sponsor’s will not be too happy about the fact that FedEx Cup points, rather than money earned, will be the deciding factor in earning a card for the upcoming PGA Tour.
This new system will not encourage the international players to take part in the PGA Tour. This new format makes it tougher for an international player to qualify for the PGA Tour.
"I think it is a risk," Goydos said. "I definitely think a mid-level international player is going to have a much harder time getting on this tour now".
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