The PGA has announced that Q-School will end as we know it in 2013 but the exact details of the new qualifying process were sketchy at best.
We knew that there would be 25 PGA Tour Cards issued for finishing inside the top 25 on the season long Web.com Tour (previously the Nationwide Tour). That fact remains the same as in past years.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has explained the details of how an additional 25 tour cards will be awarded to players from a three tournament schedule called the Web.com Finals to be held in October of 2013.
The Web.com Finals events will be made up of the old “Fall Series” and gives the tournament sponsors of these events a new marketing angle as the last hope of young golf professionals’ dreams of making the big tour.
These events will also mark the beginning of the new PGA Tour golf season with FedEx Cup points awarded for the following season. Awarding FedEx Cup points in these events eliminates a long time problem for the tour and the “Fall Series” sponsors.
The details of the new qualifying structure are outlined by Commissioner Finchem on the PGA Tour Website: http://www.pgatour.com/2012/h/07/10/qualifying.details/index.html
The Web.com Finals is basically the same as the old PGA Q-School concept except that it involves 12 rounds of play in three events over three weeks rather than a grueling six consecutive days of intense golf pressure.
Players who are inside the top 25 of the season long Web.com money list will be automatically eligible for the Web.com Finals. They will already have earned their 2014 tour cards but can improve their tour status by performing well in the Web.com Finals.
Also eligible for the Web.com Finals will be players ranked 126-200 on the PGA Tour money list at the end of the end of the regular season prior to the FedEx Cup Playoffs, as well as, the top 75 players from the Web.com regular season.
The Web.com regular season money winner going into the Finals will be fully exempt for the PGA TOUR and will receive an invitation to the Players Championship. Cumulative earnings during the Web.com Tour Finals will determine the remaining 25 cards as well as player priority entering the following PGA Tour season.
If the leading money winner in the Web.com Finals is different than the season long Web.com No. 1 ranked player he will also earn full exemption status and an invite to the 2014 Players Championship.
These changes will take effect with the 2013 season. PGA Q-School will be held as always in 2012.
Beginning in 2013 a Qualification Tournament will still be held annually but it will only be for eligibility to the Web.com tour.
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem hopes the new qualification process will please the players with the three event qualifying schedule versus a six day meat grinder.
He also hopes it appeases the sponsors of the fall tournaments that were unhappy about the lack of FedEx Cup points for their events in the past.
Thirdly, Finchem hopes it will keep fan interest throughout October after the FedEx Cup ends and football season starts in the United States. Seems like a tall order to make everyone happy but we will just have to wait and see.