The rule change that the PGA Tour were forced into making after Steven Fisk’s first win in 2025

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Steven Fisk secured the second PGA Tour win of his career on Sunday at the ISCO Championship.

Fisk defeated Taylor Pendrith on the third hole of their sudden-death playoff at the ISCO Championship and now he can call himself a multiple winner.

The 29-year-old has proven that he has the mentality required to get over the line, after he backed up his victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October 2025 with a win in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday.

Steven Fisk might not be a household name, but he now has the same amount of PGA Tour wins under his belt as Tommy Fleetwood, the Hojgaard twins, Tyrrell Hatton, Denny McCarthy and Alex Noren combined!

There is no doubt that Fisk deserves all the credit in the world, despite the lack of fanfare associated with the two wins he has managed in his career to date.

However, the PGA Tour still needs to do more in order to sufficiently reward players for winning golf tournaments.

The rule change the PGA Tour made after Steven Fisk’s first win in 2025

In quotes obtained by The Golfing Gazette, Gary Williams urged the PGA Tour to change one of their rules after Fisk’s first win nine months ago.

“Brian Rolapp used the term, he wants competitive parity. He thinks it’s very, very important,“ Williams explained.

“I think the PGA Tour is a system that shows there is a lot of parity. It’s hard. Scottie Scheffler has done it and we applaud him for it, and we sit here and talk about him being a generational player because you don’t win seven and a gold medal and then back it up with six and live inside the top-10.

“If they want competitive parity, they have already established a system of it. The notion that people who have brands on the PGA Tour are going to get relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour is highly unlikely because sponsorship drives the model.

“What the PGA Tour has done, by creating a signature series, the balance of the PGA Tour is competitive parity and that is relegation.

“If you’re outside that series and you can play your way into the vortex of that series, you’ve been elevated and if you’re not in that series, you’ve been relegated. So now the Korn Ferry Tour is the third rung, not the second rung, and I’m okay with that.

“It leads me to my final point as it relates to elevation. Everybody talks about how elusive it is to win a PGA Tour event.

“Here Steven Fisk is in Mississippi on Sunday hitting home-run shots and winning for the first time and he’s not in any Signature Events.

“You cannot deprive somebody who wins on the PGA Tour. Anybody who wins on the PGA Tour should be green lit for two Signature Event spots.

“Whether it’s the Sanderson Farms or the Farmers Insurance, whatever it is, winning should get you the greatest rewards. You’ve got to give these guys an opportunity to truly get elevated. Talent cannot be hidden forever, talent needs to be rewarded.“

Now, the PGA Tour have made a slight change to their rules. However, Fisk’s win at the ISCO Championships still wasn’t enough to ensure that he will be exempt next season for all of the Signature Events.

Steven Fisk’s second win highlights a problem with the PGA Tour rules

Fisk jumped up from 99th in the FedEx Cup points list to 61st after his win at the ISCO Championship.

He will now be looking to finish inside the top 50 come the end of the season so that he is exempt for all of the Signature Events in 2027.

As the ISCO Championship was an opposite field event, with the Genesis Scottish Open being played the same week, Fisk will not be rewarded for his victory with an exemption into the Signature Events next year.

So he will have to force his way inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings in order to play in all eight of the lucrative designated events next season.

Perhaps the PGA Tour should consider changing that rule. Brian Rolapp is keen to implement a meritocratic system after all.

Why shouldn’t Fisk be rewarded for his win at the ISCO Championship with an exemption into all eight Signature Events in 2027?

Brian Rolapp should seriously consider making that specific change for the 2027 season.

We all know that things will be completely different in 2028, with the Championship Series and the Challenger Series coming into play. However, if someone wins a PGA Tour event in the regular season, regardless of whether it’s an opposite field event or not, they deserve to be dining at the top table for the remainder of the year.

Perhaps anyone who wins an event in 2027 should automatically qualify for the Championship Series in 2028, if they are not otherwise exempt. That would be the ideal scenario in my opinion.