"Our Chance to Reinvent The Korn Ferry Tour"

On Monday, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved significant changes to PGA Tour field sizes, exempt cards, and Monday qualifiers that will go into effect for the 2026 season. However, the changes will continue beyond the PGA Tour level. According to multiple sources I spoke with, the Korn Ferry Tour is also likely to reduce field sizes, exempt cards, and Monday qualifying spots. 

Although the KFT proposal has yet to be sent to or approved by the Policy Board, changes are expected. What is currently being discussed is reducing exempt KFT cards from 75 to 60, shrinking field sizes to between 120 and 144, and cutting Monday qualifying spots from eight to six.

There is still some debate on how to reduce the fields, and according to those I spoke with, this has led to some contentious KFT PAC meetings. Some described the latest PAC meeting with Korn Ferry President Alex Baldwin as "heated," while others described it as "spirited" and "passionate." One player described the KFT PAC as "basically pointless." Another former PAC member said, "They tell you what they are going to do and there is nothing really you can do." 

Multiple players pointed to the PGA Tour PAC and "the PGA Tour Machine" for the proposed KFT changes. However, one PGA Tour PAC member told me, "This (KFT field changes) wasn't brought up one time in PAC meetings." 

As with the PGA Tour changes, the push for reduced fields is because the KFT struggles to finish rounds before dark, forcing some players to complete their rounds the following morning. According to the players I spoke with, the Tour says the rounds must be completed on the day they begin for "fan experience." One player told me, "They know the Korn Ferry doesn't really have any fans, right? We only have a few events on TV, so that reasoning doesn't really make sense." 

One player added, "I'd rather play 26 holes in a day than not have a place to play." 

Other players agreed that the issue of not finishing rounds is a problem. One player stated that Baldwin said to the PAC, "this is our chance to reinvent the Korn Ferry Tour,” and asserted that if the KFT started from scratch, they wouldn't have 156 players in Savannah, Ga., in April. 

Players pointed to the need for more enforcement of pace of play as a large part of why rounds are not completed. One player said his group completed a round at the closing event this season in five hours and 20 minutes. The time par (each course has a time par made by tour officials) for the course was 4:40. The group finished over 40 minutes past the time par, but according to the player, the group was never warned about time, or put on the clock. "The field only had 75 players, so the reduced field didn't help the pace of play at all,” the player said.

In the debate about how to reduce fields, one source said it is easier to be effective because there are fewer fully exempt KFT members than on the PGA Tour. KFT field sizes are likely to mirror PGA Tour fields, with 144 being the maximum. Fields early in the season, before daylight savings time, will likely be between 120 and 132. 

It’s widely believed among the players that Monday qualifiers, which currently have eight spots each week, will be reduced to six. The reduction in the number of Monday qualifiers continues a trend in recent years: available spots for each event were reduced from 14 to 12 to eight, and now, six. There is some talk of a pre-qualifier for Monday qualifiers similar to the PGA Tour. That would allow the Monday qualifier to be played on one course with a reduced field. However, it creates a substantial financial barrier for non-members as players have to travel to the qualifying site much earlier.

According to the players I spoke with, there will likely be a reduction from 75 fully exempt cards to 60 for the 2026 season. However, the players finishing 61-75 should get a lot of starts the following season, and the PAC is pushing for those players to have health insurance, which is a current benefit. The number of Korn Ferry cards available at Q-school will remain the same for now.

The reduction of PGA Tour fields will force multiple players to the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2026 season. That, coupled with the reduction of field size on the KFT and fewer PGA Tour cards, will make it that much harder for young players to make it to the PGA Tour. 

It appears the shrinking of pathways in the professional game will continue.

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