Stewart Cink has admitted to having extremely mixed feelings about the changes currently being made to the PGA Tour following the appointment of Brian Rolapp as the CEO.
Fans have already had a taste of the changes that will be made to the PGA Tour. The 2025 season saw just the top 100 players hold on to their cards as full members.
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It seems likely that the schedule will be cut considerably. Harris English suggested hearing that there could be just 20 events on the calendar in the future.
Tiger Woods backed having fewer cards as the PGA Tour looks to become more competitive. But not everyone is a fan of the proposals.
Stewart Cink assesses the changes being made to the PGA Tour
Stewart Cink made his first appearance in a PGA Tour event in 1995 – the year before Scottie Scheffler was even born – and won the RBC Heritage as recently as 2021.
And speaking to Fried Egg Golf, he outlined how disappointed he is to see the tour get smaller at a time when there is so much talent.
“I mentioned this before, how the bottom of the field is way more capable than they used to, and there’s not that big a spread from top to bottom anymore. So the parity in golf is increasing, and the skill level overall has just vastly increased, but yet, we’re talking about shrinking the tour. To me, those things are at odds with each other, and I hate that. I hate that,” he said.
“I wish we could be opening up the game to more players, I think it would be good for us. But business-wise, I understand that there’s just only so much room. Eventually, more players in the field become more of a cost than they do a benefit. It’s a sad thing, but it’s kind of true in the nature of the sport. The fact that we have this new company called PGA Tour Enterprises that is for profit and we have a heavy investor that’s invested a lot of money in the PGA Tour expecting a return, it’s not just a sponsorship now, this is a new kind of relationship we have that is expecting a return. We have a responsibility to that.
“I’m not a business expert, but I trust our leaders and I believe Brian, our new CEO, probably has it right that in order for us to make a profit, or increase our profits, we need to probably go in that direction. He’s got a lot of experience in the world of sports and dealing with media and TV especially. I hate to say it, but I think he’s probably right. I wish it wasn’t that way though because I just believe that there’s more players than ever before that deserve a shot.”
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Obviously, there are more changes to come, but the early signs do hint that the PGA Tour has been vindicated for their stance.
Every single winner on the PGA Tour so far this season – Chris Gotterup, Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose, and Collin Morikawa – currently find themselves in the top 10 in the world rankings.
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There has been just one signature event so far, but there have been some exciting finishes with many big names in contention to win.
The concern should surround what happens to the young players who feel that their pathway is blocked.
It feels imperative that the PGA Tour invests even more energy into the DP World Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour to ensure that those prospects are not lost to LIV Golf.
Raising the standards is not a bad thing, provided that the tour does not neglect the production line it will desperately need in years to come.
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