PGA Tour's popularity ranking to see major overhaul

The PGA Tour’s Players Impact Program is going to see a major overhaul. In a memo to PGA Tour members sent to players on Wednesday, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Manohan announced that the program's bonus pool will be slashed to $50 million, which will get distributed to the top 10 players.

Manohan wrote:

"The Player Impact Program will be reduced to $50 million, paid to the top 10 players (from $100 million to the top 20). The remaining funds will be reallocated to the FedExCup Bonus Program and Comcast Business TOUR Top 10."

The PIP has already seen changes four times in just two years of coming into existence.

The 15-time Major winner, Tiger Woods, has won the PIP contest both times, beating Mickelson and Rory McIlroy in 2021 and 2022, respectively. While in 2021, he took away an $8 million check, a year later he got $15 million after the PIP was increased to $100 million for the top 20 players.

The memo made mention of several major changes, including the introduction of a no-cut at the PGA Tour event with a 70-80 player field. Last year, designated events were created to have more and more stars in these tournaments. The tournaments saw a major increase in purse size, varying from $15 million to $25 million. Now, with a no-cut in these events, fans will see their favorite players on all four days.

"These smaller, Designated event fields will not only deliver substantial, can’t-miss tournaments to our fans at important intervals throughout the season, but they will also enhance the quality of full-field events," Manohan wrote in the memo.

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PGA Tour stars defend the PGA's introduction of "no-cut"

Jay Manohan has announced a few changes from next season on PGA Tour

PGA Tour stars like Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele have come out to support the introduction of "no cut" events on the Tour.

Schauffele was speaking at the pre-event conference of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Tuesday. He said they are trying to make the best product.

"Emotionally, I'm for a cut. There is an aspect of it, I would say, that's really entertaining for some. But at the end of the day a lot of people and a lot of kids like to come see the top players play in the world,” said Schauffele.

McIlroy also echoed similar sentiments stating that he supports the no-cut concept of the Tour.

"The only reason no-cut events are a big deal is because LIV has come along. There’s been no-cut events since I’ve been a member of the Tour and way beyond that as well. Is there going to be a few more of them? Maybe," said McIlroy.

He added that it will help in keeping the top stars in the game for all four days.

He added:

"You ask Mastercard or whoever it is to pay $20 million for a golf event, they want to see the stars at the weekend. They want a guarantee that the stars are there. So if that's what needs to happen, then that's what happens."