Padraig Harrington Blasts PGA Tour Over New Change to Tournaments

Padraig Harrington is not in favor of the proposed changes to PGA Tour fields.

Mar 28, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Padraig Harrington (IRE) hits his approach shot on the eighth fairway during the first round of the Texas Children's Houston Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Last week the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council shared a proposal that would reduce the number of players in most 2026 PGA Tour fields.

The proposal cited pace of play and daylight issues among reasons for the changes.

If approved, adjustments would include:

• One-course full-field events capped at 144 players
• One-course full-field events prior to daylight saving time generally with 120 players
• Full-field events after daylight saving time up until the Masters with field sizes of 132

With those guidelines, for example, the Sony Open in Hawaii, WM Phoenix Open and the Players Championship would all have 120 players, a reduction of 12 to 24 players from current sizes. Midsummer events such as the RBC Canadian Open, John Deere Classic and Genesis Scottish Open, among others, would see their fields reduced from 156 players to 144.

This week, Padraig Harrington discussed the proposed changes prior to teeing it up at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. The Irishman didn't hold back.

“I can’t think about how bad it is,” Harrington said on Golf Channel. “At the end of the day, the people on the inside are voting to keep the thing tighter and more closed. The tour was running just fine.

"I know there’s a little bit of pressure to finish on time when fields go to 156 at certain times of the season or 144, but players will deal with it. They will handle that. They prepare for that. They know at the start of the year [they] might miss out on a few tournament [rounds] because of light.”

Harrington continued: “Slow play is like driving in rush hour traffic. It’s just too many people on the golf course, and the tee times are too tight, so yes, this is a way of solving one of the big issues… but you want to give everybody the opportunity.

“If this was like the Premier League, or the Championship, and there was a really, really good second tour, maybe the European Tour can be that. Maybe it works out. But to me, it definitely looks like the people on the inside are keeping it tighter.

“Not having a Monday qualifier, c’mon, that’s one of the most exciting things on the tour. The cut line is also one of the most exciting things on the tour but I know ‘no-cut’ fields suit the sponsors. They want the leading names guaranteed to be there on the weekend.”

Harrington joins other players such as Michael Kim who have expressed their opposition to the proposed changes.