The PGA Tour’s controversial proposal to reduce tournament field sizes starting in 2026 has drawn sharp criticism from within its own ranks. Leading the charge is former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, who pulled no punches in his assessment of the planned changes.
Glover: “Terrible” Proposal Insults Players’ Intelligence
“I think it’s terrible,” Glover told Golfweek in an exclusive interview. The 45-year-old Tour veteran, currently ranked 50th in the world, took particular issue with the assertion that slashing field sizes from 156 to 144 players in full-field events would improve pace of play. “And then hiding behind pace of play, I think challenges our intelligence. They think we’re stupid.”
Accusations of Catering to “Cool Kids”
Glover’s scathing remarks suggest a belief that the proposed changes are being driven by a small, influential group within the Tour’s ranks. “Don’t cut fields because it’s a pace of play issue,” he said. “Tell us to play faster, or just say you’re trying to appease six guys and make them happy so they don’t go somewhere else and play golf.”
The thinly veiled reference to the ongoing threat posed by the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series underscores the tensions simmering beneath the surface as the PGA Tour fights to maintain its position atop the professional golf landscape. But Glover argues that the Tour’s leadership should prioritize the interests of its full membership over those of a select few.
“There’s 200 guys that this is their life and their job.”
Lucas Glover on the impact of field size reductions
Tour Official Defends Proposal
In response to the mounting backlash, PGA Tour senior vice president of rules and competition Gary Young insisted that reducing field sizes “absolutely” will improve pace of play. He pointed to discussions within the Player Advisory Council about ideal field sizes and the logistical challenges posed by the current format.
“As we talked it through with the players on that subcommittee, there was agreement in the room that you would never build it so that groups would be turning and waiting at the turn,” Young told Golfweek. “So that’s where the whole idea of 144 being our maximum field size, everyone felt that that was the right number, and the mathematics on it worked.”
Glover: Enforce Existing Rules Instead
Glover, however, remains unconvinced. The six-time PGA Tour winner, who notched victories at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship last year, believes the solution lies in stricter enforcement of the Tour’s existing pace of play rules.
“You get a better pace of play policy or enforce the one you have better,” he argued. “If I’m in a slow twosome and an official came up and said, ‘You guys are behind, this is not a warning, y’all are on the clock and if you get a bad time, that’s a shot penalty,’ guess who’s running to their ball? That’s what we need to be doing.”
Tensions Mounting as Vote Looms
As the PGA Tour Policy Board prepares to vote on the contentious proposal, the divide between the Tour’s leadership and many of its rank-and-file members appears to be widening. With accusations flying of preferential treatment for a select group of top players, the outcome of Monday’s meeting could have far-reaching implications for the future of professional golf.
For Lucas Glover and his like-minded colleagues, the hope is that their voices will be heard and that the PGA Tour will opt for more equitable solutions to the pace of play issue. But with the specter of LIV Golf looming large, the pressure on Tour officials to appease their marquee talents may ultimately prove too great to resist.
