If you’re like me, you struggled to find space on your plate Thursday between the bird, mashed green beans, and green bean casserole. Thanksgiving dinner (and the seconds and threes that follow) is perfect when the food gets dirty on every inch of the plate and everything becomes a mess.
But you might also have had trouble finding a table space. Maybe Uncle Pete elbowed me in the way. Or maybe we had a little more space at the kids table so we went there instead. Thanksgiving often reminds us that there are more people hungry than placemats. Some people are relegated to the TV stand in the living room. The same thing is happening in professional golf.
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This week’s modest but equally important news comes from a non-Thanksgiving part of the world: London. The DP World Tour has announced it will reduce the number of full-status memberships it offers in 2027, following a very similar path recently laid out by the PGA Tour. The European version of the Korn Ferry Tour, known as the Hotel Planner Tour, will also offer fewer spots to graduates for the next step up in professional golf.
These moves mimic the same treatment made quite controversial by the PGA Tour, which reduced the number of full cards this season from 125 to 100. You’ve probably heard all about it, but why should you care about this DP World Tour news? What does it tell us?
This move once again shows that just a few years ago there were too many empty seats at the dinner table. With so many spots on offer on the game’s biggest tour, we had to get rid of some placemats in order to streamline tournament operations, increase stakes, and benefit the best players even more.
For many years, the DP World Tour has offered full status membership to 110 players from the previous year’s Race to Dubai standings, the equivalent of the FedEx Cup. But from now on, that number will be just 100 people. The feeder tour below will reduce the number of graduates from 20 to 15. All of this acts as a round-up of access to ensure those who achieve full status can compete in all desired tournaments next season.
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The biggest professional golf fans will remember that players who graduated from the DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour were mostly left out to watch popular spring events like the WM Phoenix Open, although the biggest professional golf fans will receive full PGA Tour status in 2024. The unintended message sent to these graduates was Congratulations on joining the PGA Tour. Wait your turn until tea time. DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings found his tour facing the same problem.
Mr Kinnings told Martin Dempster: scottish“And if we can give those players who have earned the privilege of playing, whatever different routes they take, a higher level of schedule certainty and a more balanced opportunity, that’s what we want.”
When the PGA Tour goes from 125 to 100 and the DP World Tour goes from 110 to 100, you can bet the close pro golfers will hate it, and tour executives know it. Kinnings himself said of the move: “Nothing we do is going to please everyone.” But these moves have a hidden purpose that executives often don’t talk about. It’s a simple way to increase the stakes and further rank the game. At a time when there is a clear hierarchy on tours around the world and the edges are sharper than ever, golf played by individuals on the edge is highly entertaining.
PGA Tour players saw that just last week when the top 100 cardholders were determined at the RSM Classic. For those looking in from the outside, it’s not difficult to participate in events, but you’re giving up complete autonomy to set your schedule. They need to evaluate how many top players they have who would like to play in, say, the Valspar Championship before they know if they can be added to their schedule. The same is now true for popular events such as the DP World Tour and the Irish Open.
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The main problem for some people is not so much for everyone. Some players enjoy other options as there is less guarantee for players on the margin. Victor Perez, who retired from the PGA Tour in 2025, recently decided to join LIV Golf for the 2026 season. That’s not an issue, especially since Perez will maintain his membership on the DP World Tour, but Perez said he feels how the goalposts are shifting on the PGA Tour. And up to a point, he’s completely right. Across professional golf, the size of dinner tables has steadily decreased, while the amount of food served at each table continues to increase. This means you better play well enough to secure a seat.
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