The Wrong Call: Against The Wishes Of Most Of Its Fans, The PGA Tour Will Remove The Cut In Elevated Events

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After making changes to its schedule this season in direct response to the threat of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour is set to make even more changes to its calendar in 2024.

Next year, certain elevated events will consist of a reduced field of players and no cut. Not only does this mirror LIV Golf's tournament strategy, but it's also an outcome that most PGA Tour fans wanted to avoid.

The Fields in selec elevated events will consist of 70-80 players and the traditional 36-hole cut will not be in effect. The setup is eerily similar to the previously seen World Golf Championship (WGC) events the Tour has previously phased out with just the WGC matchplay event being the only one on this year's schedule.

As Golfweek's Eamon Lynch reports, the Players Championship and FedEx Cup playoff tournaments will be unaffected in 2024. The majors will of course continue to have 36-hole cuts as well.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan Required To Fly Private

The PGA Tour schedule changes for 2024 will include no-cut events. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Keeping The PGA Tour's Top Players Happy

Excluding this year's playoff events, each designated event on the 2023 calendar carries an increased purse of $20 million. The increase in prize money adds incentive for the top players on Tour to play in certain events they may have glossed over in years past.

Getting rid of the cut in various elevated events next year is yet another way to keep the biggest stars on Tour happy.

While no player on Tour is going to complain about a guaranteed payday, fans aren't exactly thrilled with the new changes for next season.

The overwhelming majority of the reaction from fans on Twitter about the news is negative, and it's hard to blame them for being upset.

The newly added elevated events on the PGA Tour will certainly keep the Rory McIlroys of the world happy. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

PGA Tour Taking A Page From LIV Golf's Playbook?

There has already been an incredibly wide line drawn in the sand when it comes to LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf's entire model is based around a limited field, no-cut event where all players are battling for is a larger paycheck. What the Saudi-backed circuit lacks in drama and storylines are the exact things the PGA Tour has going for it.

READ: WHAT THE PGA TOUR HAS THAT LIV GOLF NEVER WILL

The uncertainty and possibility that the Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieths of the world can win one week and then miss the cut the very next is the built-in drama that PGA Tour supporters are both used to and crave.

Then you have the lesser-known players who can sneak up one week and not only battle head-to-head with the Tour's best, but change their entire career with a win or high-placed finish. Those same players can also miss the cut, not receive a dime for playing, and continue to chase the dream.

The final two events of the FedEx Cup playoffs already feature smaller fields with no cut and some fans struggle to engage in those, adding more of the same to the calendar could very well turn even more fans off.

There are now two prominent professional golf tours fans can watch, but with both soon to become a bit more similar to one another, will fans even be motivated enough to pay all that much attention to just one of them?

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.