Kevin Kisner has predicted a number of golf names will disappear from the sport thanks to the PGA Tour's upcoming rule changes. He voiced his concerns about certain rule amendments intended to intensify competition on the American circuit.
The revisions will see both tournament field sizes and the number of full PGA Tour card holders cut down, with the latter dropping from 125 down to just 100 in January 2026. Additionally, the PGA Tour is instituting policies to combat slow play – a move that's garnered varying reactions among the golfing fraternity.
Following his missed cut at the RSM Classic over the weekend, Kisner keenly remarked on the potential impact these changes would have on players' careers. He expressed the sentiment on social media (via The Mirror), underscoring the increasingly exclusive nature of the PGA Tour.
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"It will be a crazy day to watch the @TheRSMClassic and the 125 on the @FedExCupTracker," he wrote on Sunday. "There will be guys that lose their playing privileges today [that] you will never hear from again [because] of how much of a closed shop @PGATour is becoming."
The FedEx Cup Fall series plays a crucial role in determining which golfers secure their PGA Tour cards. The top 125 earn premium membership, while those ranked 126th to 150th receive only conditional qualifications.
For those below 150th in the rankings, the pathway back onto the Tour might require advancing through Q-School. Kisner's future on the PGA Tour hangs in the balance after he finished the season in 196th place, well below the qualifying threshold.
Despite this, he clarified his concerns were for others whose careers might be jeopardised, adding: "I literally could care less what direction they want to go. I was just pointing out how fascinating today would be to many careers."
It's been nine years since Kisner's first PGA Tour victory at the 2015 RSM Classic. He has since claimed three more titles on the Tour, including a dramatic play-off win at the Wyndham Championship in 2021.
The 2018 Open runner-up may have a point about the PGA Tour becoming more exclusive as it faces potential upheaval with the merger with LIV Golf. That could threaten to reshape the landscape of the sport and put many players' futures, including Kisner's, at risk.
