PGA Tour encouraged to bring in new rule after Michael Thorbjornsen’s Rocket Classic win
· Yahoo Sports
Michael Thorbjornsen won for the first time on the PGA Tour on Sunday at the Rocket Classic after shooting a superb final-round 63.
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Thorbjornsen was more than deserving of his victory, having been knocking on the door for quite some time now.
The 24-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, had a real chance to win the PGA Tour’s showpiece event back in May, but he came up short at The Players Championship after a poor final round.
Michael Thorbjornsen’s win at the Rocket Classic followed Jackson Koivun’s victory at the 3M Open last week.
It is the first time since 2017 that players aged 24 and under have won on the PGA Tour in consecutive weeks.
Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThe future is clearly very bright for the PGA Tour, with some seriously exciting young players coming about and making their mark.
Thorbjornsen’s win at the Rocket Classic was a long time coming. He finally got over the line and now he will undoubtedly go on to win many more titles.
The 24-year-old earned his PGA Tour card through the PGA TOUR University program back in 2024, but big changes could be set to happen in 2028 concerning that particular system.
PGA Tour rule change suggested after Michael Thorbjornsen’s Rocket Classic win
Brian Rolapp recently announced big changes for the 2028 PGA Tour season.
There will be two separate levels – the Championship Series and the Challenger Series.
Players can earn promotion from tier two to tier one, and similarly, relegation down to tier two from tier one will be waiting for those who struggle.
It has been suggested that those who qualify for PGA Tour cards through the PGA TOUR University program will be entered into the Challenger Series (tier two) from the start of the 2028 season.
However, Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner believe that a case could be made for them being promoted immediately to the Championship Series.
When speaking on The Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, the two golf journalists gave their takes on the situation.
“Right now the programme works well but what is going to become of the programme in 2028, when we go to this new competitive model? Nothing is written in stone at this point but it doesn’t seem like the PGA Tour University guys are going to make that leap directly from college golf, regardless of how good they may be, all the way up to tier one,“ Hoggard said.
“I understand that. I understand where the veterans are coming from and the PGA Tour is coming from, giving them the opportunity to prove themselves in the tier two events and then work their way up.
Photo by Jorge Lemus/NurPhoto via Getty Images“But we have now seen enough times, and it’s a proof of concept at this point, where player after player has proven themselves.
“Thorbjornsen is a great example of a player who didn’t hit right away, there was some injuries involved, I think he had to learn how to be a pro and how to travel on the PGA Tour.
“He talked a lot about this last year, that there are some growing pains when it comes to joining the PGA Tour straight out of college, but it’s a legitimate question.
“It’s going to be a 120-130 player fields in the tier one events and 90 players are essentially going to keep their cards and move on to the play-offs, and however you fill in those next 40 cards, you could make a really good argument that at least the top player coming out of college, if not the top two or three should get that pathway directly to tier one.“
Ryan Lavner agrees with Rex Hoggard on fast-tracking elite stars to the PGA Tour
Lavner believes special talent and performance should be rewarded by the PGA Tour.
“It’s an important distinction to make between the PGA Tour university graduates, those are the likes of Ben James, Ludvig Aberg, Michael Thorbjornsen, Piersen Coody, David Ford,“ Lavner said.
“Those are the players who are graduating seniors and had good enough points to be the number one player and that is how they got their PGA Tour card.
“Jackson Koivun was a different situation altogether, with the accelerated programme, earning points with his amateur points and he was gifted a PGA Tour card that way.
“Those players in particular, I think it’s vitally important to fast-track them to the PGA Tour. The threshold for earning those points is already very high, that’s why we have only seen a handful of players do it over the past half decade or so, those are the players who, if you follow college golf or amateur golf, they are clearly getting starts with sponsor exemptions – or at least they will prior to 2028.
“Those are the players who golf fans are at least somewhat familiar with and they want to see how those players in particular are going to fare against the best players in the world.
“Those are the players I think you particularly have to fast-track. Those who are on the accelerated programme and graduate with the 20 point threshold.
“I can even foresee a situation where PGA Tour players are endangered or feel a bit threatened by these players coming up, bump the threshold up just a little bit higher, so you have to win a couple more times to prove it or you get weighted points for a regional victory, a conference title, a NCAA title, a big time amateur title. Whatever the case may be. I do think those players as opposed to the graduating seniors, who are already getting rewarded quite handsomely, should be given a route into tier one.“
That would certainly make sense. If you’re an outstanding talent, like Thorbjornsen or Koivun for example, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be given status on the PGA Tour’s Championship Series.