The PGA Tour has reduced the number of completely exempt cards from 125 to 100. We have reduced the size of the field and positioned ourselves as a leaner, data-driven product where only the fittest survive. after that vijay singh He crashed through a wall, applied for a waiver he had forgotten about, and made it through to the 2026 season. fried egg The podcast captured the absurdity in real time.
“I love when there’s a stupid rule like a stupid exemption and someone completely sabotages it,” Andy Johnson declared. “Vijay Singh, 62, will receive a career money exemption, an exemption that should not exist. He will take it and play on the PGA Tour this year.”
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Brendan Porras quipped: “This is amazing. I thought it was really amazing. I hope he can play in any tournament.” “That being said, it’s completely ridiculous,” he continued. “It’s hypocritical to promote this. I’m a fraud.”
The Fijian has activated the 2026 Career Money Top 50 list exemption. This is a one-time golden ticket that puts him in sixth place with career earnings of $71.2 million. He has already decided to play in the season opener, the Sony Open in Hawaii. Singh last played in a standard PGA Tour event at the 2021 Honda Classic, but was unavailable for the weekend. He missed out on qualifying for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Masters. His last appearance in a non-major tour event was at the 2020 Memorial.
Hypocrisy runs deeper than personal contradictions. Supporters of Singh’s return have spent years decrying the spot being taken up by veterans like Ryan Palmer. The host named them directly. Palmer, Brant Snedeker, J.J. Henry, and Zach Johnson. While young players struggle on the Korn Ferry Tour, so-called “tugboats” are clogging up the field.
The timing makes the irony stand out. The tour just completed its most aggressive restructuring in 40 years, with the All Exempt category featuring 100 players instead of 125 for the first time since the early 1980s.
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“The best part was emphasizing, ‘We’re down to 100 cards,'” one host said. “When number 101 comes up, Vijay Singh comes along like the Kool-Aid guy who says, ‘I’m here. I’m ready to go. Give me a complete status card in 2026, when I’ll be 62.'”
Structural criticism soon followed. “The Tour needs to abolish all of these exceptions tomorrow. This makes a mockery of the system.”
However, it seems unlikely that it will be abolished. Organizers called for an audit, saying, “We want someone to go and do a bookkeeping on who can accept some exemptions like this. And we want an audit of everyone just to show how ridiculous and ridiculous this is.”
Matt Kuchar had to make the same decision this offseason. He finished 118th in the 2025 FedEx Cup standings, losing full status for the first time in 19 seasons. Kuchar ranks 13th on the career earnings list with $61.5 million. He passed on the exemption, saying it would only allow him to start three or four additional games without access to signature events. Shin did the opposite calculation. But can he back it up?
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Vijay Singh’s gap on Champions Tour raises questions about his competitiveness
On the podcast, he gave an honest assessment of Shin’s competitiveness. When asked if it was accurate to say that he was a “quasi-competitive player on the Champions Tour,” he immediately answered, “I’m not going to make any nonsense. I think it’s an accurate assessment.”
Singh has spent the last few years playing the 54-hole circuit, where carts are allowed. He will now play 72 holes against players who were infants when he won the 2000 Masters.
His average driving distance of 292.4 yards on the Champions Tour in 2025 would rank him 164th on the PGA Tour, behind Lucas Glover and Russell Henry. The physical demands are unparalleled. While the PGA Tour’s prize money seems small compared to the one-sixth of that on the senior circuit, the hardship comes at a different price.
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Mr. Singh obtained immunity. A total of 34 wins on the PGA Tour. 3 majors. No.1 in the world for 32 weeks. Qualifications are not up for debate. The reality of competition is another matter. One cut becomes a headline event. One withdrawal confirms skepticism. Both results add to the spectacle.
No matter how much you try to algorithmize it, golf is still weird.
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