Q-School - Analysing the Changes

At the end of last month, a wide cross section of professional golfers had to endure one of the most nerve-jangling and tortuous events in sport: Q-School. Only former participants can truly understand the immense pressure and suffocating anxiety provided by six days of hell. As viewers, we can’t even begin to comprehend what these players are going through; they aren’t just fighting for their careers, but their livelihoods. The difference between success and failure sometimes comes down to a matter of inches, with one missed putt often the difference between the spotlight and the abyss.

You may think I’m being melodramatic, but the statistics speak for themselves. At PGA Tour Q-School in 2011, John Huh finished in a tie for 24^th, one shot better than Ryan Yip, who cruelly bogeyed his last hole to miss out on a card by one shot. This season, Yip made just under $8,000, but Huh won his first professional event, amassed $2,692,113 and was voted Rookie of the Year by his peers. Huh’s tale is one of the great success stories, but as we reflect on Q-School, we must remind ourselves that it is no longer a part of the PGA Tour furniture; that a sweeping restructure has confined it to the history books.

The change

But why have the PGA Tour authorities decided to do away with something that, despite all the pressure and stress, is an institution? Earlier this year, Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour’s Commissioner, announced that PGA Tour Q-School will be replaced by a four-tournament Web.com Tour Finals Series. The field for the events will be comprised of the top 75 on the Web.com Tour Money List and those occupying positions 125-200 on the PGA Tour Money List, with 50 cards available for the subsequent PGA Tour season.

Structure

The four tournaments will take place after the FedEx Cup’s regular season, starting with the Hotel Fitness Championship at the end of August and finishing with the Web.com Tour Championship at the end of September. In essence, the Tour Finals are for those who fail to qualify for the FedEx Cup play-offs. As previously mentioned, 50 PGA Tour cards will be available, but 25 of those are automatically handed to those finishing 1-25^th on the Web.com Tour regular season Money List. They play in the Finals, though, to try and improve their status and priority ranking for the following season. Cards are awarded from a cumulative money list over the four events, with those finishing highest able to pick and chose their schedule for the next year.

The 50 earning cards slot in behind the top 125 in the FedEx Cup - those who make the first play-off event - in terms of priority. For example, the person finishing third on the cumulative Web.com Tour Finals Money List is essentially 128^th in priority ranking for the following season, meaning he can play in almost any PGA Tour event that he desires. Conversely, the person finishing 50^th is essentially 175^th, so he will miss out on a number of high profile tournaments.

Flaws

The idea sounds interesting, and I applaud the Tour’s consistent endeavours to make things as exciting as possible, but, to me, there are some flaws that need to be addressed. Unfortunately, I just don’t see how the new system is fair, which should always be the overriding consideration. Granted, the person who finishes first on the regular season Money List is guaranteed to receive the first card, but the same is not true further down. I can’t see how someone who has an average season and finishes 75^th on the Web.com Tour Money List, but who has a good Finals run, deserves a better priority ranking than someone who excels all season long. It is another example of the Tour valuing timing over consistency, much like the FedEx Cup play-offs.

In my eyes, you should be rewarded for how you perform over the whole season. Everyone has the ability to go on a good run; the real challenge is sustaining form over an extended period of time. Another issue I have is that the person finishing 126^th on the PGA Tour Money List could lose out to someone finishing 75^th on the Web.com Tour equivalent. The PGA Tour player has to face more pressure, stronger fields and tougher golf courses over the course of a season. I find it hard to believe they are afforded no protection whatsoever, and enter the four-tournament series on a level playing field with people who, frankly, shouldn’t enjoy the same status.

Harnessing the excitement

That being said, I can understand why the decision has been taken. The FedEx Cup play-off have generated huge levels of excitement since their inception, and instituting a series with a similar formula should attract a decent level of attention. Furthermore, spreading out the process over four tournaments is a kinder on the participants, who will know one bad tournament will not put paid to their chances of capturing a PGA Tour card.

The Web.com Tour finals are also a logical replacement for the Fall Series, which has now been scrapped.  Tour officials also deserve acclaim for this decision. Whilst it was interesting to see some of the end of season sub-plots, and watch tournaments where the emphasis was on survival over outright success, it simply didn’t make structural sense having four tournaments after the end of the FedEx Cup play-offs. Now, everything is aligned, and players start the season knowing if they aren’t in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings before the play-offs, they won’t retain their tour card.

Conclusions

Some have question the need for the abolition of Q-School, and I can understand their point of view, but the concept of the Web.com Tour Finals Series is a good one. What’s more, the change of structure comes within the context of a reshuffle that makes a great deal of sense.  Many will lament the loss of one of the PGA Tour’s stalwarts, but Tour executives must take some credit for being prepared to abandon tradition in favour of something they perceive to be a better option. Granted, there are some relatively major flaws that need to be addressed and a fair few details that need to be finalised, but, as with any new concept, it takes time to get right. Q-School may seem a sad and unwarranted emission from the schedule, but I’m confident the new Web.com Tour Finals will vindicate that decision.