Lucas Glover 'doesn't care for' Signature Events on the PGA Tour

Lucas Glover is not a fan of the PGA Tour’s Signature Event structure.

In fact, the former US Open champion “doesn’t care” for the limited-field, elevated purse events and doesn’t believe they represent what is best for the circuit.

The PGA Tour announced its revamped schedule for the 2024 season last year which features eight Signature Events, all of which have a minimum $3.6 million winners’ prize, all of which feature smaller fields of up to 80 players and five of which don’t have a 36-hole cut.

While players such as Rory McIlroy and Max Homa supported the changes, some players were wholy opposed and none more so than tour player and former Player Advisory Council member James Hahn who, in March 2023, labelled it a strategy to funnel more money to the top players.

Glover rocketed up the world rankings and the FedEx Cup standings with two wins in consecutive weeks towards the end of the 2023 season. He is eligible to play in each Signature Event in 2024 as his successes merit but, while explaining why he dislikes the new-look schedule, he also insisted if the tour U-turned on this format in the future, he would raise his hands and clap.

“I’m on the record as saying I don’t care for them. I’ve been pretty outspoken about that. I didn’t like them when I wasn’t in them, and I said then even if I am in them, I don’t think it the best thing for the tour and I still feel that way,” he explained to NCG.

“Even though I do get to play in them, I’d be dumb not to, but I don’t think overall, it’s the best thing for all the members of the PGA Tour. I’ve said that since day one when they introduced it. I feel like they bowed to some demands from a select few, but not all the membership.

“Am I going to play in them? Absolutely. Am I going to try to play well? Absolutely. If I do well, am I going to take the benefits? Absolutely. That’s what is set out in front of me.

“But if they go back the other way, I will applaud it. It shouldn’t be a tour for 25 to 30 guys, it should be a tour for 200 to 250 of our members. I’ve always felt that way and I always will.

“With the world ranking points the way they are, and the FedEx points the way they are, it’ll be hard for turnover with the way it looks,” he added. “We basically have two schedules, and if you’re not in them, you might not see a guy for two or three months.

“We’re having opposite events of Signature Events which are considered elevated, but they’re still regular events, they’re not majors. So, we’re having opposite tour events in the same week, and I don’t know, I don’t care for it.

“I think done with bigger fields and cuts etc.., if you wanted to raise the purses, great, to compete with what we’re competing with world-wide, but just to do it for 70 or 80 players, no cut in most of them, it just seems a little backwards.

“And then you turn around and the biggest event the tour has (The Players Championship), the biggest Signature Event has 144 players, full field with a cut. That doesn’t add up to me and it never has.”

There are various pathways to qualify for Signature Events during the season such as your current FedEx Cup standing, your FedEx Cup standing from last year and your performances in the PGA Tour events that fall in between the Signature ones.

You can read more about the criteria here.

Lucas Glover: Signature Events with no cuts all ‘very blah’

Before winning the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St.Jude Championship in quick-fire fashion, Glover had only won once in the previous 12 years on tour. He broke back into the world’s top 30 and staked a late claim to be selected for Team USA at the 2023 Ryder Cup. He wasn’t selected by captain Zach Johnson.

His winless drought on the tour was marred by missed cuts and putting yips. A large contrast began to form between the player that slumped outside the top 600 in the world at one stage to the player that held the US Open trophy aloft at Bethpage in 2009.

Glover even missed 11 cuts during last year’s campaign before completing his rapid double. But with access to the Signature Events, the 44-year-old won’t need to worry about missing the weekend for the majority of the time in these exclusive tournaments for the best players on the circuit.

The Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, respectively won by Hideki Matsuyama and Scottie Scheffler, had 36-hole cuts and so will the Memorial Tournament in June.

But The Sentry and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am didn’t have a cut and nor will the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo Championship or the Travelers Championship.

“There’s always that dynamic of making the weekend and if you make it, you still have a chance,” he added.

“Well, where’s the drama on the Friday afternoon for the network, for Golf Channel? Oh great, there’s no cut and the guy that’s in 77th is playing with who’s in third. I don’t know, it’s very blah to me.”

In this interview with NCG, Glover also took the PGA Tour management to task which you can read here. In the time since then, the PGA Tour struck a deal worth $3 billion with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a US-based sports investmnet consortium.

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