The reason behind such a big change to PGA Tour eligibility is not much different from what it was some 40 years ago. Both were about trying to make the tour more competitive and to give real value to having a card.
Of course, it involved money, too. That never changes.
The PGA Tour board later this month will vote on whether to reduce the number of fully exempt players from 125 to 100, along with cutting from 30 to 20 the tour cards awarded to top finishers on the Korn Ferry Tour.
It sounds even more cutthroat than golf already is, especially since it was in 1983 when the PGA Tour went the other direction.
It used to be only the top 60 on the money list the previous year were exempt from qualifying for PGA Tour events. That changed to the top 125 in what became known as the all-exempt tour. Anyone who had a tour card could expect to tee it up just about wherever he wanted, instead of having to qualify every Monday.