European Ryder Cup team member Sepp Straka says he’s not a fan of the smaller fields in the PGA Tour’s Signature Events, claiming they’re “less competitive” than full-field regular tournaments.
The Austrian is back at one such full-field event this week as he’s the defending champion at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.
As part of the shake-up following LIV Golf’s arrival, the PGA Tour elevated eight tournaments into Signature Event status – which meant a big increase in prize money but a reduction in field size.
Aimed at having the best players guaranteed to play all of the tournament, five of these events have no cut, while the bumper prize money is to fend off the lure of LIV Golf’s riches.
These 70-man fields have brought mixed reactions, both for the field sizes and also their scheduling in the calendar – with two sandwiching the recent US Open.
Straka is not a fan, saying the smaller fields make these events less competitive than full-field events, which he thinks remain the true lifeblood of the PGA Tour.
“I personally don’t like the small events,” said Straka. “I just think it’s less competitive.
“When you get 140 something guys it’s always a tougher environment, tougher – with a cut you kind of have to be ready on Thursday when the bell rings.
“The bigger tournaments should be bigger fields as well I think.”
Straka added that the majority of players in the larger field events also have an increased hunger to succeed given they’re not usually involved in the new prestige events.
Sepp Straka won the John Deere Classic in 2023
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“These tournaments [full-field events] are massive because a lot of the guys, most of the guys, aren’t getting in those small-field, big events,” said Straka.
“So for the majority of the PGA Tour these tournaments are huge. They kind of are still the majority of the PGA Tour here.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has said they’ll look into the schedule and the future of the new Signature Events, although they seem here to stay for now.
Tiger Woods has recently been granted a lifetime exemption into the Signature Events in a bid to drum-up more interest in them going forward – with the attention as well as the prize money appealing to the PGA Tour’s big players.
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