Rickie Fowler has expressed his thoughts on the future of men’s professional golf, advocating for a streamlined PGA Tour that eliminates Signature Events and reduces the overall number of tournaments. Speaking while competing at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Fowler called for a smaller, more meaningful schedule that highlights the most important events, aiming to enhance the quality and visibility of the sport.
Currently, the PGA Tour calendar includes a cluster of significant tournaments such as the US Open, the Travelers Championship—a Signature Event—and soon after, links events like the Scottish Open and the Open Championship. With top players like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele absent from Detroit’s tournament this year, Fowler’s call adds perspective to the ongoing debates about the tour’s structure.
Fowler Reflects on His Relationship with the Rocket Mortgage Classic
Fowler feels a personal connection to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, having secured his most recent victory there in 2023. When asked about the possibility of this event becoming a Signature Event or receiving a better spot on the schedule, Fowler took a broader view. Rather than focusing solely on the status of individual tournaments, he emphasized the need for an overarching restructure of the PGA Tour that makes every tournament count more and reduces the crowded calendar.
Reducing Events and Tour Cards to Raise the Tour’s Status
According to Fowler, the PGA Tour would benefit from having fewer events and fewer players holding tour cards, which would naturally elevate the importance of each tournament.
“You know, it’s hard, you can look at the Tour in so many different ways. I feel like there needs to be less events, less cards, the Tour gets elevated, the product is a little bit more – there’s more continuity from what you would say a top event to a lower level or an opposite field event,”
Fowler said.
Eliminating Secondary and Opposite-Field Events for Clarity
Despite currently needing sponsor exemptions to enter Signature Events, Fowler believes the entire PGA Tour should maintain a consistent level of importance and avoid the confusion created by secondary or opposite-field tournaments. He stated,
“You know, sometimes it’s tough, you have to remove yourself from your current situation, but I don’t think the PGA Tour should necessarily have secondary or opposite field events.”
He further explained that the tour’s image is best preserved when every event is considered equally part of the PGA Tour, without tiered or elevated designations that can complicate scheduling and player choices.
Highlighting the Majors and The Players Championship
Fowler identified the Majors and The Players Championship as the most prestigious and widely recognized events on the PGA Tour schedule that both golf fans and casual viewers understand clearly. He sees these as the cornerstone tournaments around which the rest of the tour should be organized.
“The Majors and The Players are the core events or the big events that are on the schedule, and golf fans to non golf fans, those are the ones that they know about those, they know what those are,”
Fowler remarked.
Envisioning a Future Where All Tournaments Carry Equal Weight
Fowler hopes for a future in which all PGA Tour events, outside of the Majors and The Players, receive equal recognition and impact, making scheduling less complicated and more straightforward for players. He said,
“How we elevate PGA Tour events outside of that, and so then it may not become a thing where are you sandwiched or not, and maybe not as big of a scheduling difficulty if there’s all those different kinds of events.”
Implications for the PGA Tour and the Sport’s Growth
Fowler’s comments reflect ongoing concerns about the fragmentation of the PGA Tour’s schedule and the dilution of its most significant tournaments. By narrowing the field of events and simplifying the hierarchy of tournaments, his vision aims to strengthen the competitive integrity of the tour, increase fan engagement, and create a clearer identity for professional golf’s leading circuit.
As the PGA Tour continues discussions on its future format, players like Fowler advocating for fewer but more important events could influence upcoming changes that help elevate the game’s standing and accessibility for audiences worldwide.