AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods, by all accounts the co-creator, alongside Rory McIlroy, of the PGA Tour’s reimagined schedule starting next year, said Tuesday at the Masters that the circuit’s new designated reality is still a work in progress.
One of the central tenets of the new schedule will be the eight designated events beyond the majors, The Players Championship and the three playoff events will have limited fields of 70 to 80 players and no cut.
Although the Tour hasn’t announced the eight additional designated events, the understanding is that the Genesis Invitational, Memorial and Arnold Palmer Invitational will count among the elevated tournaments. But the move to limited fields and no cut at some events is still up for debate, according to Woods.
“There’s still some ongoing discussions about some of the designated events and whether or not we’re going to have cuts going forward,” explained Woods, who is the host of the Genesis Invitational. “I certainly am pushing for my event to have a cut. I think that maybe the player-hosted events may have cuts. These are things that Jack [Nicklaus] and I are still in discussion with [Tour commissioner Jay Monahan] and the board and the Tour and the rest of the guys.”
Woods and McIlroy began the transition to the designated events last year when they met with other players at the J.P. McManus Pro-Am in Ireland in July and the concept was refined during a player meeting at the BMW Championship.
Full-field tee times from the 87th Masters Tournament
The Tour, however, appears to be bound for a no-cut model as explained in a memo sent to players last month: “With no mandatory participation regulations … we will instead focus on ensuring purse size, elimination of a cut and FedExCup points distribution [to] sufficiently incentivize top performers to participate in the designated events,” the memo read.
Woods, who counts his all-time streak of 142 made cuts as one of his most significant accomplishments, appears to have other thoughts on the move.
“That still is in flux,” he said. “I still think that there needs to be a penalty for not playing well, and every event shouldn’t be always guaranteed 72 holes. I think that there should be a cut there.”
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