The Players Championship field will be reduced from 144 players to 120 if it’s among a series of proposals from the PGA Tour that will be voted on by the Policy Board Nov. 18 at the Sea Island Club, where the RSM Classic will be played later that week.
Golfweek first reported the proposal, which would reduce the maximum size of fields for Tour events to 120 players before Daylight Savings Time and 132 players after that. While the first round of The Players will be played March 13, four days after DST begins, the Board will still vote on whether to reduce the field.
The Tour has been having difficulty completing the second round of events and making the cut on Fridays because of suspensions due to darkness.
Under the proposal, full fields would be 120 players until after the Masters in April. Last year, The Players was unable to complete the first and second rounds at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course because of darkness.
The Tour also is proposing a change to its pace of play policy, with fines for “Excessive Average Stroke Time.”
Under the proposal, a player with an average stroke time of 12 or more seconds over the field average (who made the cut and played in all four rounds) will receive two warnings, then fined $5,000 for a third violation and $10,000 for each violation after that.
