After a lot of back and forth with Rory McIlroy, Chris Gotterup came out on top at The Renaissance Club. He beat an absolutely packed field featuring the world #2, Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, and many other big names. With that, Gotterup became a two-time PGA Tour champion. This is the second season in a row that he has won on the Tour. To celebrate his achievement, Korn Ferry Tour’s X account revealed that he only got his PGA Tour card on the final day of the 2023 season of KFT. Now, he’s already on in the big leagues twice. However, he wouldn’t have received the same opportunity if he had risen up the ranks a few years later.
Monday Q Info retweeted KFT’s post with the quote, “He finished 23rd in KFT points. Had it been 2026 he wouldn’t have got his card. The fact is that shrinking of the Tour will squeeze out the likes of Gotterup. And it stinks. (In my very biased opinion).” For anyone who isn’t caught up, Jay Monahan & the PGA Tour have been trying to find ways to deal with the pace of play issue. However, the path they have chosen to resolve the issue has been criticized by many.
According to Monahan & Co., a reduced field size should improve the pace of play. On paper, it might seem like a viable solution. However, a smaller field also means fewer opportunities for golfers. And that means those who qualify from the Korn Ferry Tour and the Q-School will have to face the drawbacks. As per the new policy, the total number of PGA Tour cards KFT players will receive after a season will be reduced from 30 to 20. That means, if Chris Gotterup had finished 23rd on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025, then he wouldn’t have received his membership in 2026.
While Chris has made it through, the stars from KFT this season might not. And that would put them in a peculiar position. Putting Gotterup in the same situation, one fan suggested that he “Also turned down a lucrative LIV offer. Would he have accepted if he didn’t get his card?!” This would also be a dilemma that many other KFT players will face at the end of 2025. Will they take the route that Gotterup ignored in 2023? Either way, it’s Jay Monahan & the PGA Tour who are forcing future stars to take such critical career decisions before they reach their potential.
This is only one of the few big changes the PGA Tour will implement in 2026. A few months ago, Monday Q Info revealed another shocking information that showed how Jay Monahan & Co. were further closing doors to the PGA Tour.
Jay Monahan is turning the PGA Tour into a league of exclusives
Jay Monahan & Co. had been in hot water for a while due to their recent proposals for policy changes. The reduced field size and fewer opportunities for new talent triggered the community, experts, and players alike. Speaking of the proposal, Lucas Glover took a strong stand against it as he stated, “It’s terrible. And then hiding behind pace of play, I think challenges our intelligence. They think we’re stupid. Don’t cut fields because it’s a pace of play issue. 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.” Glover could see through the excuses the PGA Tour was trying to make to keep its top talent happy.
To further damage their image, they took another shocking step that was revealed by Monday Q Info. A tweet from the golf info profile read, “This will be the FINAL General Qualifier for the WM Phoenix Open, as the PGA Tour will be ending Open Qualifying starting in 2026. Open Qualifying has been a tradition for the Phoenix Open since 1948. The Southwest PGA oversees all qualifying for the WM Phoenix Open. We invite and encourage the public to come out, FREE of charge, to support the competitors and watch some great golf.” Turns out, Monahan & Co. have also decided to put a stop to the 77-year-old tradition of Monday qualifiers from 2026. And the WM Phoenix Open would be one of the events that would be affected by it.
Fans were furious to learn about the shocking news and bashed Jay Monahan & Co. for their shocking decision. With the PGA Tour commissioner on his way out, Brian Rolapp has a lot of mess to clear out before he can work on taking the league to the next level.
