Big week for amendments and adjustments on PGA TOUR

In the last two years the PGA TOUR has introduced two dramatic changes: a new rotation for the Florida Swing and a drastically different cut policy.

This week, it was announced they both would be altered again.

Prior to the Honda Classic, the first stop on this year’s Florida Swing, the Tour announced an amendment to the new, unpopular cut policy that frustrated players who were kept from playing the weekend at events like the Sony Open and the Buick Invitational, even after technically surviving the cut.

The rule, which was instituted at the start of the year, stated that the field would be cut to the lowest 70 and ties after 36 holes, but if that number exceeded 78 golfers, the field would be trimmed to the scores nearest 70th place.
 
Under the amended rule the cut will remain in the lowest 70 and ties, but now if the number is greater than 78 players, there will be a second cut after 54 holes. That cut will reduce the field to the low scores nearest 70 and ties.

This new cut policy does make it possible for players to move up the leaderboard with a Saturday surge, but it’s still a significant departure from the original rule that was in place for so many years.

If the field is simply too large to accommodate the desires of television executives and Tour administrators, change the number to the lowest 60 or 65 players and revert to the old system. The cut has always been the line of demarcation drawn between staying around for the weekend or having some extra time to fly home and see the family. It should stay that way.
 
Chances are players who survive the 36 hole cut but are left out after Saturday’s round will still claim some sort of injustice in the rule. Let’s make a rule that can have some longevity and add a little bit of stability to the game.

Speaking stability, or the lack there of, the PGA TOUR announced plans to once again alter the Florida Swing.

For the second time in three years, the order of events will change, putting the Honda Classic between two World Golf Championship events and giving the much-desired last spot among the foursome to the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Starting in 2009, the order of events in the Florida Swing will be changed. The Honda Classic (Palm Beach Gardens) will be followed by the WGC CA Championship (Miami). After leaving Miami, the Tour will travel across the state to the Tampa area for the PODS Championship before concluding in Orlando at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.

Geographically this schedule makes the most sense, with the Tour moving from the southern portion of the state northward instead of bouncing around at random. It would make the most sense to start in Doral and go to Palm Beach Gardens but that would require back to back World Golf Championship events.

The big loser in this is the Honda. With large purses and elite fields, the WGC events are well attended by the game’s best players, and being the meat in an Accenture Match Play/CA Championship sandwich might mean an even weaker field for the Honda Classic.

This move serves the PLAYERS Championship and the Tour’s calendar in general quite well. The PLAYERS move from March to May is better for the crowds, with more hours of daylight and warmer weather in the Jacksonville area.

Pushing the PLAYERS back also gives the PGA TOUR a premier event in five consecutive months; six if you count the Ryder Cup this year. The Masters in April, PLAYERS in May, U.S. Open in June, British Open in July and PGA Championship in August.

A consensus verdict probably won’t be reached in both cases for quite some time, but overall it’s a thumbs up for the Florida Swing revisions and a finger of shame for the whole cut debacle.

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