Perhaps you had to be a golf geek to appreciate the PGA Tour Q School. With a qualifying format similar to the U.S. and British Opens, the tournament allowed anyone to try out for the PGA Tour and often produced fascinating stories of long-shot qualifiers.
But with changes announced on Tuesday by the PGA Tour commissioner, the Q School has lost most of its allure. Players now will qualify for the PGA through the Web.com Tour — 25 slots decided in the regular season and 25 in a multiple-event playoff in the fall.
All that’s at stake now at Q School will be entrance into the Web.com Tour.
The changes will boost the profile of the Web.com Tour (formerly Nationwide). But it will also delay the progression of worthy unknowns such as John Huh — a surprise qualifier at Q School last December who won a PGA Tour event at Mayakoba in March.
This December golf fans will have one last chance to enjoy the six-day shootout known as Q School. Sadly, it won’t mean as much in 2013.
– Kevin Dunleavy
