{"id":519275,"date":"2026-03-12T14:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T14:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/519275\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T14:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T14:46:13","slug":"major-champ-sounds-off-on-pga-tour-changes-players-running-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/519275\/","title":{"rendered":"Major champ sounds off on PGA Tour changes: ‘Players running asylum’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Change is coming to the PGA Tour. In the latest move to raise the Tour\u2019s profile and counter LIV Golf\u2019s influence, new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp<\/a> and the Future Competition Committee<\/a> are looking to shrink the number of tournaments on the schedule, the length of the season and the number of PGA Tour cards doled out each year.<\/p>\n

The expected moves have been publicly supported by the likes of Tiger Woods<\/a> (though not so much Rory McIlroy<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But two well-known figures in the game have now provided an alternative view.<\/p>\n

In a new report by Golfweek\u2019s Adam Schupak<\/a>, two-time major champion Curtis Strange<\/a> and seven-time PGA Tour winner-turned TV analyst Peter Jacobsen<\/a> sharply criticized the new PGA Tour changes.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Curtis Strange criticizes new PGA Tour direction, cut changes<\/p>\n

Strange is a household name to golf fans. The World Golf Hall of Famer captured 17 Tour wins in his career and won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 1988 and 1989. He also served as U.S. Ryder Cup captain in 2002.<\/p>\n

After that, Strange embarked on a lengthy career as a color commentator and TV analyst, first for ESPN and ABC and later for Fox.<\/p>\n

But in his comments to Schupak<\/a>, Strange made it clear he does not support the major PGA Tour changes that have been made recently, or the direction the Tour seems to be heading.<\/p>\n


\n \"Tiger <\/a><\/p>\n

What Tiger Woods means when he hints at sweeping PGA Tour changes<\/a><\/p>\n

By:<\/p>\n


\n James Colgan <\/a><\/p>\n

Strange\u2019s primary points of contention are the loss of cuts at many Signature Events, the negative impact on long-running regular Tour events and the six-month season the Tour is reportedly eyeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have an elevated event,\u201d Strange told Schupak, \u201cBut a cut, it\u2019s part of the fabric of the Tour. It\u2019s making longstanding events into a feeder tour to the other Signature Events,\u201d Strange argued.<\/p>\n

In a thinly-veiled hit at Rolapp, the Tour\u2019s CEO who used to work for the NFL, Strange added, \u201cGolf is a different animal than football. It\u2019s not a six-month audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strange then identified the \u201cproblem\u201d that led to so many changes on the PGA Tour is having the \u201cplayers running the asylum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is you have the players running the asylum. Why do you think (former PGA Tour board member) Jimmy Dunne left?\u201d Strange asked. \u201cHe said, \u2018shoot, why am I wasting my time anymore?’\u201d<\/p>\n

Since LIV Golf arrived in 2022, one of the other big Tour changes that occurred was giving players more influence in the Tour\u2019s decision-making via the Future Competition Committee, which is led by Woods.<\/p>\n

Peter Jacobsen: Pros who support Tour changes should \u2018go join LIV\u2019<\/p>\n

Like Strange, Jacobsen was an accomplished PGA Tour player before becoming a golf TV analyst.<\/p>\n

Unlike Strange, Jacobsen did not hold back at all in his criticism of recent Tour changes in his own comments in Schupak\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

Jacobsen described the plan to \u201cremake the PGA Tour\u201d as a \u201chuge gamble,\u201d and questioned why major changes are necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge gamble trying to remake the PGA Tour. I\u2019ve read a lot of the players saying, \u2018Well, we all know the PGA Tour has to change,\u2019 and I ask the question, Why? It was working really well before.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Scottie <\/a><\/p>\n

With PGA Tour changes looming, historic events pondering their futures<\/a><\/p>\n

By:<\/p>\n


\n Art Stricklin <\/a><\/p>\n

He also hit directly at the big-name players pushing for changes, saying that if they wanted to play fewer events with more stars in the field they should \u201cgo join LIV.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the players wanted to have tournaments where the good players play more often together, they have that at LIV. Go join LIV.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jacobsen saved most of his ire for the Tour\u2019s plan to add scarcity to the Tour schedule. That would involve getting rid of some long-running Tour events<\/a> in favor of a shorter season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get scared when I hear people saying cutting events. When you look at the individual communities, those events are so important to that community and the charity money raised is important to those golf fans,\u201d Jacobsen argued. \u201cI always thought the PGA Tour should expand their reach rather than contract their reach. Count me as someone who thinks we should be growing the Tour and having more events rather than contracting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rolapp has a pre-Players Championship<\/a> press conference planned for Wednesday morning at PGA Tour headquarters, where he is expected to make an announcement regarding the future of the Tour.<\/p>\n

You can read both Jacobsen and Strange\u2019s full comments in Schupak\u2019s Golfweek story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Change is coming to the PGA Tour. In the latest move to raise the Tour\u2019s profile and counter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":["post-519275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}