ORLANDO — Lucas Glover didn’t like the PGA Tour’s signature events when they were announced, he didn’t like them when he won twice late last season to become exempt for all of them this year and he still doesn’t like them after having played in the first four, including at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
“I don’t like the idea at all,” he said of the limited field, mostly no-cut events with purses of at least $20 million and elevated FedEx Cup points. “It’s selfish and it’s a money grab.”
Glover understands the Tour has been facing an existential threat from LIV and that’s the primary reason for many of its knee-jerk reactions to protect its place as the premier tour for men’s professional golf. But he still claims they didn’t need to hit the panic button.
“Nothing that has happened in the last two years in golf, in my opinion, that will help the game,” he said. “I’ve yet to figure out what’s so bad out here that we had to do all the things we’ve done.”
When someone joked facetiously that it’s really terrible out here, where a record 139 pros earned more than $1 million last season, Glover deadpanned, “I know, it was terrible, we’ve got a bunch of millionaires running around driving three cars and eating really good food.”
He still can’t wrap his head around why the Arnold Palmer Invitational field has been reduced from 120 players a year ago to 69 this year with a cut to the top 50 and ties.
“I’m 44 and I’m getting towards the get-off-my-lawn dad,” he said. “I just don’t see what was so bad out here that we had to do all this. Let’s raise some purses to make sure we keep some guys around but now we’ve eliminated a lot of playing opportunities for some really good players.”
And he suggested what he termed “a smart-ass question” that someone in the media should ask PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan next week during his Tuesday State of the Tour press conference
“Why are the signature events (max) 80 players and only 50 make the cut but our biggest signature event next week is 144 players with a full cut. THE signature event,” Glover emphasized. “It’s very mind-blowing that our biggest signature event has the most players and the biggest cut.”
Glover isn’t passing judgment yet on the Tour’s recent deal with private equity firm SSG that could pump as much as $3 billion into the Tour. He said he’ll sit down and watch all the videos…
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