Rory McIlroy will have a lot of support this week as he defends the Truist Championship title. Having already bagged three big titles this season, fans expect the in-form Irishman to demonstrate another masterclass a week before he visits one of his favorite courses for the PGA Championship. While McIlroy will face a tough challenge against the best golfers in the PGA Tour, he will still be competing in a far less diverse field at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. All thanks to the likes of Jay Monahan & Co.
The 2025 Truist Championship is a limited-field Signature event that only features the most elite golfers on the PGA Tour. Only 72 golfers. What’s more? The tournament doesn’t even have a cutline after 36 holes. World-beaters like McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, and Justin Thomas hold an advantage in such fields. However, the less prominent golfers who struggle to win consistently (we’re not talking about Collin Morikawa) face difficulties qualifying for such Signature events because of how Jay Monahan & the PGA Tour have set them up.
Lucas Glover shed light on his thoughts when Golf Channel’s Damon Hack asked Glover if he also wants Signature events to have deeper fields. To this, he 45-year-old golfer admitted, “Yeah. I’ve been on record saying I was not a fan of these when they hatched the idea of them. I didn’t like them then, and I have been in most of them since they started. And I still don’t like them.”
Coming back to the interview, the veteran golfer added, “I’ve been on the record saying I don’t like cutting to 100 cards, and I still don’t. I think it’s getting too exclusive, and we’re not giving enough opportunities. I’ve been pretty outspoken about that. I think the majority would agree with that. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like the majority matters. It is what it is at this point, and we’re just dealing with it.” The runner-up to Scottie Scheffler a few days ago, Erik van Rooyen, shared his opinion about teeing off in such events.
“I think it’s getting too exclusive and we’re not giving enough opportunity.”
Lucas Glover shares his candid thoughts on Signature Event field sizes. @damonhackGC @eamonlynch pic.twitter.com/1YDavPjTzu
— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) May 7, 2025
Having qualified for this week’s Signature event, he mentioned how lower-ranked golfers like him are forced to push harder when receiving such opportunities. However, qualifying for such events is quite challenging for them as compared to “the Scotties of the world” and “the Rorys of the world.” He believes that having deeper fields in such big events allows everyone to get the opportunity to play with McIlroy and co.
Having said that, should the commissioner and his team really be blamed for that?
Should Jay Monahan be blamed for turning the Signature events into an exclusive club?
Months after the inception of LIV Golf in 2022, Jay Monahan & Co. came up with a strategy that counters the threat from the Saudi-based promotion. In 2023, the concept of Signature Events began. Eight of the most prestigious PGA Tour events were turned into high-purse exclusive events that attract the best golfers the Tour has to offer. This not only helped Monahan & Co. segregate the calendar but also made it easier for the elite golfers to plan their season.
Every high-ranking PGA Tour pro would want to compete and win these Signature events (except Scottie Scheffler, maybe). This would increase the TV ratings for that particular event and give Jay Monahan & Co. an edge over their LIV Golf rivals. The format was designed to keep it exclusive, and those who didn’t qualify were allowed to compete in alternate events instead.
So it’s not a question of restricting the field but more about overpowering the competition. What do you think?
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