The 40-50 golfers who attended a presentation last week "on the revised PGA Tour qualifying" process were "universally opposed to the changes," according to sources cited by GOLFWEEK's Forecaddie. The proposal, introduced to players at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, includes a "three-event, season-ending series mixing Tour players outside the top 125 in earnings with the top 50 Nationwide Tour finishers, as well as reconfiguring Q-School to award solely Nationwide cards." Young golfers "mainly would access the PGA Tour through the Nationwide Tour." The same presentation was delivered at the Nationwide Tour's South Georgia Classic, and one player said reaction at that meeting was "mixed." The agenda for the next PGA Tour Policy Board meeting at The Memorial in a few weeks "still is being determined." The revised qualifying proposal "has received preliminary approval from the Tour's Policy Board, but the board must vote on it again before the proposal can be finalized" (GOLFWEEK, 5/6 issue).
READY OR NOT? In Detroit, Monarrez & Thompson cited a source as saying that the PGA Tour and Cadillac "will know this month whether Detroit can hold a tournament" next year. The source said that Detroit Golf Club, the presumed location for a tournament, and tentative title sponsor Cadillac are "waiting to see if the PGA Tour will have an open date next year that falls during Detroit's warm-weather months" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/5). Meanwhile, Quail Hollow Club President Johnny Harris said that he "anticipates a one-year extension to the current contract between the club, Wells Fargo and the PGA Tour to extend" the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte through '15. Kendall Alley, Wells Fargo's regional President for the Charlotte market, said that the "energy surrounding the tournament has enhanced the rebranding campaign under way with the bank but said no decision has been made about an extension." Alley: "We've had no formal conversations about anything going forward" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/6).
