Monday qualifying eliminated from Cognizant Classic after 2025. Golfers are not happy

USA Today

26-02-2025

Monday qualifying eliminated from Cognizant Classic after 2025. Golfers are not happy
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Austin Eckroat discusses title defense at Cognizant Classic 2025
Austin Eckroat has good memories at PGA National, where he returns to defend his Cognizant Classic title.
The PGA Tour is eliminating seven Monday qualifiers, including the one in South Florida, to shorten tournament rounds by making fields smaller.
The decision has been met with criticism from some who believe it caters to top players and undermines the sport's meritocracy.
Monday qualifying has historically been an opportunity for lesser-known golfers to earn a spot in PGA Tour events, with a few even winning tournaments after qualifying.
Monday qualifying has been a part of the PGA Tour since the 1960s, when it wasn't even known as the PGA Tour.
But Monday qualifying in South Florida is going the way of the wooden driver, gutta-percha balls and the mashie.
Gone. Like a Ludvig Aberg drive.
Monday's qualifier, offering four spots in the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, was held at the Tesoro Club in Port St. Lucie, the final one held in South Florida after a ruling by the PGA Tour's Policy Board to eliminate seven Monday qualifiers.
PGA Tour officials say the change is to make the fields smaller, which will quicken the pace of the ridiculously slow rounds. Many others believe it's just another example of the tour catering to the top players instead of the rank and file. And that goes against the meritocracy of professional golf.
The Tour released information showing the success rate for Monday qualifiers is very low: historically only 30 to 35 percent make the cut. Only five have won a PGA Tour since 1980.
The Policy Board decided to eliminate Monday qualifying for tournaments with fields of 120 – which Cognizant becomes next year – and reduce the number of qualifiers for tournaments with larger fields.
More: PGA Tour Cognizant Classic: Significant changes to event meant to enhance fan experience
The end of Monday qualifying is another unintended consequence of the tour's battle with LIV Golf, says Ryan French. The Michigan resident started tracking Monday qualifying in 2018 with his handle 'acaseofhtegolf1' that has attracted more than 200,000 X and Instagram followers and made him an expert on the subject.
'I don't pretend Monday qualifiers are a big part of the PGA Tour. They are a small but important part of it,' French said. 'I remember when Jay Monahan spoke at the Canadian Open after the LIV deal broke and said that the Tour was going to lean on its history. But little by little, they've torn that history apart.'
Five golfers won PGA Tour events after Monday qualifying since 1980
Monday qualifying has produced notable history, including five golfers since 1980 who won the tour event later that week. The list includes Dye Preserve member Corey Conners (2019 Valero Texas Open), Arjun Atwal (2010 Wyndham Championship), Fred Wadsworth (1986 Southern Open), Kenny Knox (1986 Honda Classic) and Jeff Mitchell (1980 Phoenix Open). Masters champion Patrick Reed (2018) made it through Monday qualifying an amazing six times in 2012 to kick-start his career.
The winners went from no status to Tour champion, to not knowing where the next paycheck would come from to enjoying the perks of playing golf on the highest stage. In a sport where the margin of success is razor-thin, they finally got on the correct side of the cut line.
Two years ago, Ryan Gerard earned a tee time for the Honda Classic via Monday qualifying. He finished fourth at PGA National to earn $411,600, a spot in the tournament the week later and much-needed confidence.
Today, Gerard is a member of the PGA Tour after making it through the Korn Ferry Tour last year and at 25 already has banked $1.7 million in career earnings. How important was Monday qualifying to his career?
'It's a little bittersweet for someone like me who got a real big break in his career through Monday qualifying to see it go away,' Gerard said. 'In essence, I made $1 million on that one qualifier, and it helped get me on the PGA Tour.
'To see people in the future not have the same opportunity is frustrating. But I don't have a seat at the (negotiating) table. In order to make new things work with the new direction, this was an unfortunate reality they had to undertake.'
It doesn't take much to enter a Monday qualifier. A player had to have a verifiable handicap of below 1.4; pay a fee between $100 to $500, depending upon their tour status (plus $200 for those who must enter a pre-qualifier); and a dream to play among the world's best.
No Monday qualifiers in NBA, NHL or any sport except golf
'There's nothing like Monday qualifiers in sports,' French said. 'There's no free-throw contest to join the Lakers for a night. There's no breakaway contest to play goalie for the Red Wings. You can be a pizza delivery guy, play two great rounds of golf and play on the biggest stage in the world.'
But this isn't just about a Walter Mitty-like dream. Not only does South Florida have the most world-class golfers, it also has more golfers that are thisclose to making it to the PGA Tour than anywhere else. Their options have been diminished.
Olin Browne Jr., the son of the three-time PGA Tour winner, has been Monday qualifying for more than a decade with limited success. He made it through both USGA qualifying stages to play in the 2023 U.S. Open, but his career path has gotten rockier with the end of Monday qualifying in South Florida.
'It makes it more of a closed shop. There's already such a narrow funnel to get to the Tour,' Browne said. 'It's definitely an end of an era. I don't know what opportunities will come after this. The tour was pretty stable throughout my dad's era and the first 10 years of my career. Now it's very unstable.'
There are other unintended consequences with the demise of Monday qualifying in South Florida. The elimination takes away a large amount of money the South Florida PGA receives for running three PGA Tour qualifiers – money they in turn use to pay for programs for veterans and the disabled.
'There's no question it will have a substantial financial impact on us,' said Geoff Lofstead, executive director of the South Florida Section, PGA of America. 'These qualifiers generate a lot of revenue for the Section that supports a lot of other programs that we do. It certainly will have an impact when we lose those events.
'Administering these qualifiers is something we take a lot of pride in. It's something we know how to do, and we're pretty good at it.'
As more pro golfers moved into South Florida, the quality of the Monday fields was arguably as good as some PGA Tour events held against majors.
'One year I remember counting the players who had won major championships,' Lofstead said. 'There are so many great players who live here in South Florida. They all have the ability. They just have to do it at the right time.'
The demise of Monday qualifying also will affect many high-end private clubs that took pride in having recognizable golfers playing their home course. The Tesoro Club, which hosted the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic, a PGA Tour event, gets the honor of hosting the last qualifier Monday.
'Our members look forward to it every year,' said Matt Doyle, Tesoro's head golf professional. 'We will have 60 volunteers out here helping to get the players around (players are allowed to ride carts from a green to the next tee if it's a long distance), and 90 percent of them are members and residents. They love to watch the guys they see on TV playing their course.'
Doyle has first-hand knowledge, having Monday qualified twice when he played professionally. Like most, he laments the end of what has been an integral part of the PGA Tour for most of its history.
'Eliminating Monday qualifying just cuts more jobs off the PGA Tour,' Doyle said. 'While every other sport is expanding jobs, that's not happening with golf. And that's a shame.'