One big change is needed for the PGA Tour.
This is according to a past Pebble Beach Champion, who cited Scottie Scheffler’s remarkable run as a prime example of why the change is necessary.
LIV Golf, backed by Saudi investment, entered the scene three years ago and quickly attracted some of the game’s biggest names.
Yet, the PGA Tour remains the top draw, while LIV continues to trail in both attendance and television viewership.
As discussions about a possible deal continue, one of the major sticking points has been LIV’s push for a league-wide team format, something the PGA Tour has been hesitant to adopt.
Despite questions about whether Scheffler’s success would be as pronounced had players like DeChambeau, Koepka, and others remained on the Tour, the call for change isn’t just about who’s competing – it’s about how the events are structured.
PGA Tour must make a change to ‘create more competition’, says Arron Oberholser
Golf analyst and 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am champion Arron Oberholser spoke with Golf Channel on Sunday and shared his thoughts on some changes he would like the PGA Tour to make.
“I’ll tell you what I want. This might be the player coming out in me. But what I want is: I want cuts. I want cuts and to be different. Different than the LIV Tour. I want cuts at every Signature Event, I want a minimum of 100 guys. I don’t care if you cut it to 60 like the US Open or 55. But I want cuts and a minimum field of 100 at every event and a maximum of 144”, he said.
“If you’re going to take away playing opportunities then I think you have got to increase fields somewhere. So increasing the field at Signature Events, I don’t think it takes anything away from the top players. It just gives those storylines an opportunity to brew and to potentially rise up. I like that.
“I think that creates more competition. I think some of the Signature Events actually get quite boring because when you get smaller fields like that you can get runaway winners on a regular basis to a certain extent, especially when you get a Scottie Scheffler who can dominate at times, or even a Rory.
“Any of those guys who can just roll up a bunch of 65s in a row on a golf course and before you know it, it’s a snooze fest coming down the stretch. I don’t want that. I think the more guys you can get in the field, the more competition it is potentially going to bring.
“So I want to see cuts everywhere and I want to see fields from 100 to 144. If you are going to cut from 156 to 144, then I think you have got to add to those other Signature Fields.”
One other change the PGA Tour must make to Signature Events
Oberholser’s push for cuts in every Signature Event is hard to argue against – but it’s not the only adjustment the PGA Tour should consider.
Scheffler was one of many players who recently shared his frustrations with the tight scheduling. There’s little time to recover between competitions, which leaves players mentally and physically exhausted.
Given the packed calendar, a sensible change would be to avoid scheduling Signature Events immediately after Majors.
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