3.28.2011

potential;q-
school;changes

“I’ve never in my tenure seen so much buzz and interest about rookies and young players creating exciting performances.” That was PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem last December explaining how the tour would focus its marketing in 2011 on sensations Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and rickie Fowler (shown). It’s those words that make the tour’s recent revelation about potential changes to its qualifying tournament seem so bizarre. A memo circulated to players last week outlined a proposal to eliminate offering PGA Tour cards at Q school, making only Nationwide Tour cards available. Access to the PGA Tour essentially would be restricted to performance on the Nationwide Tour. yet if young players are creating so much buzz on tour—more than at any time since Finchem took over in 1994— what’s the logic in making it tougher for them to get there? Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be all about the competition. The PGA Tour needs a new title sponsor for the Nationwide Tour, and these tweaks might attract more suitors. The gradual move in recent years toward giving more PGA Tour cards to players off the Nationwide Tour money list has been reasonable, rewarding an entire season’s work. But denying access to the PGA Tour from Q school entirely feels incongruous with what fans seem to be saying they want. —Ryan Herrington