Tour Considering Dreadful Q-School Change And Other Assorted Iffy Ideas To Help Find A Sponsor For The Nationwide Tour

In an item filed by AP's Doug Ferguson you can read all about the first nibblets of the 2013 and beyond PGA Tour vision. But these ideas smack of desperation in trying to find a sponsor for the about-to-become sponsorless minor leagues of golf (the Nationwide deal expires after 2012), while also appealing to the Golf Channel. But are they born out of a sound thinking and respect for the tradition that is Q-School? No.

The PGA Tour is considering a change to the end of its season in which players who don’t make the FedEx Cup playoffs would compete for their cards in a series of tournaments against top Nationwide Tour players.

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw says the policy board has given preliminary approval, although a number of steps remain. The Tour informed the players by memo Monday.

Okay, that one I could see having potential since the Fall Finish is troubled, but what would this mean to the Nationwide schedule, which, according to Ferguson, becomes even more important now that this is on the table...

Among the numbers being mentioned for the three-tournament series is 75 players from the FedEx Cup standings and the top 50 players from the Nationwide Tour money list, with the top 50 players from that series earning their cards.

"The number from the Nationwide that goes to the three-tournament series hasn't been determined yet," Votaw said. "And the question of how many cards has not been, either."

If the plan goes through, that means players could no longer go straight from Q-school to the PGA Tour. If a player doesn't make the FedEx Cup playoffs and doesn't make it through the three-tournament series, he still could compete the following year on limited status as a past champion or depending on how high he finished beyond the top 125. That part wouldn't change.

Long rumored but mercifully never acted upon. Until now?

Even though they've increasingly moved to a closed shop approach to making the tour out of Q-School, the idea that every year the PGA Tour is open and that the world's best free marketeering golfers can write a check and just maybe work a few weeks of magic adds so much appeal to the tour and separates it from every other sport.