Ryan Armour once criticized the PGA Tour’s decision to introduce smaller-field, no-cut events, famously calling ordinary Tour players “mules” who, in his view, were wronged. However, the landscape has since changed. In June, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp unveiled plans for a major 2028 overhaul of the Tour’s structure.
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The new format will feature the Championship Series, comprising 120-player fields with $20 million purses. Meanwhile, the Challenger Series will feature 144 players competing for $4 million purses. The top 20 players from the Challenger Series will earn promotion to the top tier each year. Although the schedule remains undecided, Armour now has an optimistic outlook.
“I’ve tried to be optimistic when that came out,” Armour told Golfweek. “They are going from 72 players in a signature event field to 264 playing opportunities in a week. That is awesome. The more, the merrier, and you get to go out and prove it on the course. There’s going to be a cut, and you don’t just get handed no-cut money.”
Although Ryan Armour may welcome the upcoming changes, his criticism of the PGA Tour in March 2023 was understandable. At the time, LIV Golf was attracting some of the sport’s biggest names with lucrative contracts, prompting the PGA Tour to respond by introducing Signature Events featuring elevated purses, limited fields, and no cuts.
And that was precisely what Armour took issue with. He argued that the new format undermined the Tour’s founding principle of providing playing opportunities for its members. Armour felt the 16-member Player Advisory Council was being ignored, with a select group of top players on the Policy Board wielding most of the influence.
He was particularly frustrated that players who retained their Tour cards but fell outside the top tier could miss out on the biggest events. Armour also pointed out that these players were still expected to act as “mules” for the Tour, fulfilling obligations such as participating in pro-ams, charity and hospital visits, and sponsor events, despite being denied opportunities to compete in Signature Events.
However, speaking to Golfweek, Armour recently reflected on how the term “mules” caught on and quickly became a popular way to describe the plight of ordinary Tour members.
“Oh my God,” Armour added. “I’m doing putting drills and talking to Shed, and next thing I know, the mules stuck. Guys in the locker room were like, ‘You’re right.’ My peers were like, ‘You couldn’t have said that better.’”
There’s a good reason Armour’s fellow players resonated with his concerns. He wasn’t fighting for his own sake. The Ohio State University graduate was already in his 40s and knew his best playing years were likely behind him. What bothered him more was watching friends, including past champions, struggle to find opportunities to compete.
Under the previous system, their past championship status could help them secure spots in 12 to 16 events. However, the 2024 changes left these players unable to qualify for the limited-field Signature Events, despite retaining their Tour status. Now 50, Ryan Armour is currently competing in the SAS Championship in Cary, North Carolina.
He currently holds a solo 8th position as he competes to secure his first win this year. In any case, the overhaul has managed to impress in other ways as well.
Billy Horschel is happy about one thing in the 2028 overhaul
Billy Horschel has backed the decision to eliminate sponsor exemptions from the Championship Series, favoring a merit-based system that rewards players based on their performances. Speaking to Golfweek, Horschel responded to PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp’s announcement of a sweeping revamp of the Tour’s competitive structure.
Although Horschel has benefited from sponsor exemptions himself, he believes removing them would make things fairer for everyone.
“I’ve been a beneficiary of sponsor exemptions, but at the end of the day, I think it would be easier for everyone to have it go away and be more of a merit-based system and straight go off the current FedEx Cup points list to fill the field,” Horschel said.
Sponsor exemptions have faced criticism since the introduction of limited-field signature events in 2023. With bigger purses and guaranteed FedEx Cup points at stake, some players argued that exemptions gave selected golfers an unfair advantage over those fighting to retain their Tour cards.
That said, while people seem happy about the 2028 overhaul, fans are yet to see it in action.