'I Don't Like Where The Tour Is Going' - Two-Time PGA Tour Winner Concerned Over 'Sloppy' State Of Historic US Circuit

Two-time PGA Tour winner, Andrew Landry has voiced serious concerns over the current state of the historic US circuit and its long-term prospects following several changes implemented since the advent of LIV Golf.

Landry, who won the 2018 Valero Texas Open and 2020 American Express, had been a PGA Tour member for a large portion of his time as a pro before a long-term injury and loss of form saw him drop down to the Korn Ferry Tour full-time at the start of this season.

During 165 starts since making his debut as a Monday qualifier at the 2015 Shell Houston Open, the 37-year-old was a part of the PGA Tour's steady and significant growth prior to the arrival of LIV Golf in 2022, which forced the circuit to adapt in order to retain interest as well as - crucially - its key players.

Landry saw those field changes first hand and believes the leading American circuit has not done a good job of replacing the pros who moved away.

Regarding the general state of the PGA Tour, Landry said: "It's sloppy, it really is. The TV ratings are down because you're getting guys that, even me, I've played out there and now I'm watching and I'm like 'who's that guy? I've never heard of that guy.' I'm like, I don't know any of these people.

"You miss the John Rahms, you miss the Dustin Johnsons, you miss all these guys, Pat Perez and Kevin Na. And those guys made the tour.

"I'm certainly not saying that Scottie Scheffler doesn't make the tour, but we were one tour. Everybody from the number one guy to the 125 guy made the tour. And so I hate the way that it's going now.

"I think that the big person that we lost that, probably the most marketable person, was Bryson [DeChambeau]. I feel like that was a big loss for the PGA Tour. I think Dustin [Johnson] was a big loss at the time just because he was number one in the world or close to it. But I think that with where Dustin was in his career, he's kind of later in his career at that point and Bryson was just kind of coming up.

"I just feel like, man, whenever we had COVID and he gained all that distance and he was drawing the crowds, you could tell where he was on the golf course. I mean, it was Tiger crowds, where people are going to go out there and watch them specifically. And you don't see crowds like that anymore."

Landry went on to say that not only does he feel did PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan and co. failed to do a good enough job of preserving their best talent, but the tour's new model - heavily favoring those who lock up top-50 spots - means there is too much turnover and fans aren't able to get to know up-and-coming talent anyway.

He continued: "Jay screwed up a lot of stuff. I think he did a lot of great things too like making the prize money go up and all the things that should have been done maybe a long time ago, but I think that if you truly look at the way things have gone over the last five years, truly think about it, every single year something new has changed.

"Whether it's like, hey, we're going from 125 to 70 in Signature Events - now they're thinking about going to 50. It's like, what are y'all doing? It's already hard enough for guys to make it out here. Now, it's going to be impossible for guys to stay out here.

"I get that he's just focused on the top and if you asked him, he would say, "I'm focused on the tour," but he's focused on the guys that are making the tour and it's those top 20 guys every single week.

"Granted, I get it. Those guys should be paid. They're making the tour, but it's one unit, we're all on the PGA Tour. We all got there for a reason. We're all really good at golf. At any moment that 125 guy can go and win that tournament because the depth of the fields are so strong now."

The PGA Tour's decision to reduce the number of full cards from 125 to 100, beginning at the end of this season, caused plenty of pushback from players and analysts alike - as did the 33% reduction in available cards from the Korn Ferry Tour.

Opponents to the alterations, which include Landry, say a severe lack of opportunity for promoted golfers and fewer starts for those who did not qualify for Signature Events are just two key reasons why the aforementioned changes should never have been voted through.

Landry said: "They're taking cards away from the guys that are coming out and then you're not getting the amount of playing time either. It's going to be hard for someone just coming out of the Korn Ferry Tour to compete with a guy that's getting in nine elevated events.

"If you finish second at a regular PGA Tour event and another guy finishes 13th at a Signature Event, he's making the same amount of money and points. How's that for you? You're not going to be able to compete with that.

"It's just different. The points are all messed up, I feel. I remember in my rookie season out there, I want to say if you got 450 points or something, you locked your card up. Now it's like these guys are already up to 3,000 points - how the hell is this happening?"

For a player who spent almost a decade on the PGA Tour and shot to fame via a stunning run at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont, the direction Landry feels his former circuit is heading has even taken away some of his enthusiasm and loyalty to the game.

He said: "[The PGA Tour] has just changed so much that it's like I don't really like the game. I don't like where the tour is going.

"I don't think you're going to have long-term guys anymore. I think that you're going to start seeing a bunch of these guys come in for two years, then gone. I just don't see longevity in some of these guys.

"I think that the guys that are out there right now are going to stay out there for a really long time, but I don't think that some of these new newer guys are going to have an opportunity to get into that [top-50] without going out and winning another event. And that's so hard."