Frank2001
11-08-2002, 03:21 AM
Greetings --
GOLF CENTRAL (Thur 11-7-02) reports that consideration is being given to reducing the size of fields in in the first 8 to 10 full-field open events of the season. This means going from 144 players to 132 (if not down to 126 or 120).
The field reduction proposal comes about because many early season events have limited daylight hours, plus occasional frost delays.
A casuality of these proposed changes could be Monday Open Qualifying (Exemption Category 17, see link at end of post). Up to 4 players can get into a PGA Tour this way. The qualifier is open to Amateurs with a handicap of plus-2 or better, as well as all professionals. There is no limit on how many times you can open qualify (attempts or successes) during the season.
Although Monday Qualifiers rarely do well - Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open was the last to win a Tour event - just the idea of seeing this opportunity to get into a PGA Tour event go away is a little distressing.
NOTE - Monday Qualifying would ONLY be omitted in shortened-field events at the beginning and end of the tour season.
It is a fact that the last four full-field events of the season currently shorten their fields and have eliminated Monday Qualifying.
A personal take on field size - do you think that too many players are exempt for the full-field events each week? If so and if it were up to you, what would your solution be?
For me, I go back to 1983, first year of the All-Exempt tour, when they doubled the number of players who are fully exempt via the annual Official Money List from Top-60 to Top-125.
Personally, I would have set the fully exempt bar at Top-100, and placed the 101-125 group along with 126-150.
However - I would have also added this special category just BELOW the current one for NationWide Money Leader/3-time winner (Category #23) --
"Up to five players from among positions 101 to 150 on the previous year's Official Money List. Players in the 101-150 category are limited to seven uses of this particular exemption during the current Tour season."
ITEM - The Q-School Medalist is currently grouped with his fellow graduates in Category #25. I believe that he is deserving of the same status as that for the Nationwide Tour Money Leader (Category #23).
Thanx-A-Lot, FrankoSport (http://fgf2001,100megsfree3.com/golf/)
PGA Tour Exemption Categories (http://www.pgatour.com/information/2002_exempt.html)
GOLF CENTRAL (Thur 11-7-02) reports that consideration is being given to reducing the size of fields in in the first 8 to 10 full-field open events of the season. This means going from 144 players to 132 (if not down to 126 or 120).
The field reduction proposal comes about because many early season events have limited daylight hours, plus occasional frost delays.
A casuality of these proposed changes could be Monday Open Qualifying (Exemption Category 17, see link at end of post). Up to 4 players can get into a PGA Tour this way. The qualifier is open to Amateurs with a handicap of plus-2 or better, as well as all professionals. There is no limit on how many times you can open qualify (attempts or successes) during the season.
Although Monday Qualifiers rarely do well - Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open was the last to win a Tour event - just the idea of seeing this opportunity to get into a PGA Tour event go away is a little distressing.
NOTE - Monday Qualifying would ONLY be omitted in shortened-field events at the beginning and end of the tour season.
It is a fact that the last four full-field events of the season currently shorten their fields and have eliminated Monday Qualifying.
A personal take on field size - do you think that too many players are exempt for the full-field events each week? If so and if it were up to you, what would your solution be?
For me, I go back to 1983, first year of the All-Exempt tour, when they doubled the number of players who are fully exempt via the annual Official Money List from Top-60 to Top-125.
Personally, I would have set the fully exempt bar at Top-100, and placed the 101-125 group along with 126-150.
However - I would have also added this special category just BELOW the current one for NationWide Money Leader/3-time winner (Category #23) --
"Up to five players from among positions 101 to 150 on the previous year's Official Money List. Players in the 101-150 category are limited to seven uses of this particular exemption during the current Tour season."
ITEM - The Q-School Medalist is currently grouped with his fellow graduates in Category #25. I believe that he is deserving of the same status as that for the Nationwide Tour Money Leader (Category #23).
Thanx-A-Lot, FrankoSport (http://fgf2001,100megsfree3.com/golf/)
PGA Tour Exemption Categories (http://www.pgatour.com/information/2002_exempt.html)