Why Lucas Glover is Right to Call Out The PGA Tour

Lucas Glover seems to have taken it upon himself to have become the voice of the journeyman PGA Tour pro. He is a vocal critic of the tour’s Signature events, arguing that they only ensure that the rich get even richer and that life has become even more difficult for those trying to keep hold of their playing privileges.

And I have to say that the former US Open speaks a lot of common sense. He is a golfer who has seen both sides of the coin.

His US Open win in 2009 opened many lucrative doors but he has also struggled with his game. Now financially secure after winning the Wyndham Championship and FexEx St Jude Championship in successive weeks at the end of 2023, Glover seems determined to be a thorn in the side of the PGA Tour. He is not afraid to criticise those in the corridors of power.

He believes that life on tour is loaded in favour of the elite and has been deeply critical of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

Speaking on his Lucas Glover Show podcast, he said: "If that's the way we're gonna do it, then why even have a board? Why even have a players’ committee? Why even have these things? 

"I have been on both sides. I have seen it from the good side. I have seen it from the fighting-to-keep-my-card side. And I feel like if you have those perspectives, those opinions, you're a little bit more open-minded to the greater good for the membership, not just the top 10, 20, or 30 even.

"And that's the biggest reason I've been so adamant against this losing cards and shorter fields and all that, because it hurts the bottom and it doesn't give the bottom a chance to climb that ladder. The problem is top players are climbing the ladder and pulling it up behind them."

What makes this all the more interesting is that Glover is currently qualified to compete in the Signature events for the second successive season, making it all the more likely that he will maintain his position in the top 50 in the world rankings, ensuring he continues to tee it up in the majors. And that is part of his gripe. He believes that there should be more chances for the rank and file to improve their rankings and by being left out of these events it becomes all the more difficult for them to achieve that. 

For Glover this is not the first time he raised this issue. Last year he said: "I don’t like the idea at all. It’s selfish and it’s a money grab. Nothing that has happened in the last two years in golf, in my opinion, that will help the game. I’ve yet to figure out what’s so bad out here that we had to do all the things we’ve done.

"I’m getting towards the get-off-my-lawn dad. I just don’t see what was so bad out here that we had to do all this. Let’s raise some purses to make sure we keep some guys around but now we’ve eliminated a lot of playing opportunities for some really good players. I’m very happy I’m close to being done."

And he most definitely has a point.

The Signature events boasts massive prize funds, with the winners of each picking up $4m. Remember that these are restricted field tournaments, with no place for the rank-and-file membership. There are eight Signature events and that means that those who fail to make the fields for those tournaments have far fewer opportunities to earn prize money.

The number of players who will keep their cards at the end of each season is being cut from 125 to 100 from 2026 - that is a huge difference. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to work out that keeping your card is going to be even more difficult. 

In 2024, the player in 100th place (Daniel Berger) picked up $1.6m in prize money, while the man in 125th position earned $1.17m - that is a substantial difference.

There is also some resentment among home-grown players that 10 DP World Tour players will continue to be given PGA Tour cards each year. And that is hardly surprising.

Rory McIlroy has a slightly different take on this. He is, of course, speaking as one of the world’s best golfers, able to pick and choose the tournaments he wishes to play. He simply tells his fellow professionals to play better. Hmmm….what he overlooks is that those who with ambitions to join him at the top of the sport now have fewer opportunities to do so. I am most definitely on Lucas Glover’s side of the fence here.