"The PGA Tour should not be a closed shop."

Mike Walker is stuck with the impossible task of defending the PGA Tour's plans to kill its fall Qualifying School, ultimately concluding that it's a positive to see the PGA Tour trying to do something to improve the entertainment factor of fall golf. 

A fair point indeed, unfortunately he has to offer a counterpoint to Gary Van Sickle's extensive argument in favor of keeping Q-School and it's just not a fair fight. Van Sickle wheels out the names Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler as two players who would be spending a year on the Nationwide Tour if they were turning pro today.

Still, this may be his strongest point:

What did the guy who finished 200th on the PGA Tour money list or 75th on the Nationwide list do that was so dazzling that he gets another chance at a PGA Tour card while the best amateur or collegiate players in the country don’t?
 
This proposed system appears designed to enable the PGA Tour journeymen to hang on to their perks while keeping talented young players at bay. If you finished 200th on the money list after an entire season, maybe you should be designated for assignment on the Nationwide the next year without the chance of a reprieve. You had your chance, Mr. 200. Make way for someone else.