There's no denying that the professional golf landscape has changed over the past 18 months, with the most recent news surrounding the merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
One other change has been around the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoff format, with the circuit reducing the number of players who make it into the finals from 125 to 70. Obviously, this has caused some reaction between those who previously would have qualified under the old system, with former US Open winner, Lucas Glover, calling the moves "silly."
Speaking after his second round at the Wyndham Championship, Glover, who came into the week 112th in the FedEx Cup standings, stated: "Yeah, yeah, it's very contrived to me, the whole thing. I don't even really understand it. I think if you finish in the Top 125, I don't know why you don't get to play next week. That's my opinion. Been pretty outspoken in that.
"I think it's silly that it's only 70. I think it's silly that we're playing 70 in these elevated events. I think it's silly. I think it's taken a lot out of these last few tournaments of the regular season, a lot of that drama and I just think it's silly."
His tirade didn't stop there as, speaking in an exclusive with Golfweek, the American added: “It feels like the toothpaste is out of the tube. Some of the guys who were pushing for 70 are now backtracking a little bit. I don’t know if it is because they are outside the top 70 or they actually understand it’s kind of silly. We’re touting ourselves as the best Tour in the world, so why wouldn’t you reward the best 125 guys and let them play in your biggest events.
"Same with the elevated events. You finish 125th on the best Tour in the world, and you’re in one elevated event, The Players. That’s silly to me and always has been. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Speaking to Golfweek, Glover, who has previously explained his concerns to the PGA Tour, added that he no longer communicates to those in charge of the circuit, as the 43-year-old stated: "It’s a waste of breath, a waste of time.”
He continued by saying that: “I’ve been out here long enough to know that it doesn’t matter. The PAC’s useless. They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” before continuing to slate the move of 70-80 players in the upcoming designated events.
“I don’t understand why it’s going to be 70-80. We’ve seen the World Golf Championship model doesn’t work. We don’t play those anymore. So, why that number? They have models and all this and that, but no one has convinced me that this is better other than the guys who stood to be rewarded the most pushed for it and our brass thought they had to appease them.
"If that’s the case, that’s the case but, as we’ve seen, that’s not working because we have another deal in place. Obviously, what they did last year at this time (following the players-only meeting at the BMW Championship) didn’t work or else we wouldn’t have to do all this other stuff. We’ll never get somebody to admit that, but now it’s pretty obvious.”
