Padraig Harrington may perhaps look back on the last few years in golf and feel almost a little relieved that his time at the peak of his powers on the PGA Tour is behind him.
Few could have foreseen how the golfing landscape would change over the last three years. The arrival of LIV Golf not only saw the game fracture, but it also forced the PGA Tour to make the kind of changes which would convince many of their best players to stay.
There are so many question marks over how the long-term future of the game looks. Reports at the weekend suggested that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf were on the brink of merging in a £1 billion deal.
It remains to be seen if there is anything in the reports, but it does appear that the PGA Tour are looking to make plans for the future in case the rift is not resolved. In fact, they are soon set to consider proposals ahead of the 2026 season which involve field sizes being reduced and the amount of cards being awarded also dropping.
Padraig Harrington issues his verdict on PGA Tour proposals
Addressing slow play is clearly a key reason for the potential changes. But speaking to Golf Today, Padraig Harrington has completely hit out at the plans, insisting that it largely only serves the players at the top.
“Terrible, just terrible. It really is. I can’t think how bad it is. At the end of the day, the people inside are voting to keep the thing tighter and more closed. Why don’t we just have 12 people in the event if I’m included and everybody else can go home,” he said.
“The tour was running just fine. I know there’s a little bit of pressure on time, to get fields finished when they go to 156, at certain times in the season, 144, but players will deal with that, will handle that. They know at the start of the year, hey, I might miss out on a few tournaments because of light.
“The slow play issue is like driving in rush hour traffic, there’s too many people on the golf course and the tee times are too tight. So yes, this is a way of solving one of the big issues in golf, the pace of play. But you want to give everybody the opportunity.”
Divided views on the PGA Tour proposals
It appears that there is some division about the proposals. Clearly, Harrington has not held back in his criticism of the plans. But others seem to see some positives.
Michael Kim believes that the proposals need to be made to tackle the issue of slow play. Meanwhile, it has been suggested that the decision to limit the number of Korn Ferry Tour players being promoted to 20 players will benefit those who do step up given how difficult it is for those slightly lower down to keep their cards.
But clearly, any verdict is not going to be unanimous.
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