Question of the week [May 25-31]: Do you believe the PGA Tour needs a cut line to remain competitive, or is the no-cut model better for the fans who just want to see the big names?
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Steven Fricker | Charlotte, NC
Yes, keep the cut line.
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Dave Bozeman | Tomball, TX
My opinion is that a cut is required. The pressure of having to play well enough to make a paycheck is real. No-cut events reward poor performance.
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Paul Vicary | The Villages, FL
Some things need to remain the same. A cut line forces players to give it their all to be around for the weekend. Purists always search the media late Friday to see who made the cut. Trunk-slamming in the players' parking areas tells the story live as to who needs to have their bags packed and head off to the airport and who will stick around to play the weekend. Let’s leave well enough alone.
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Chris Ferrara | Delmont, PA
Yes, it needs a cut line.
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Kent Day | Boise, ID
Yes.
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Anthony Austin | Orlando, FL
The Tour needs full fields where dreamers can dream. Elite fields featuring big names may have exciting finishes, but I want to see up-and-coming players have success.
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Randy Lavery | St. Augustine, FL
Keep the cut line. If the big names need to post a number to make the cut, then they will have to make the bold shots that show they should be there for the weekend.
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Stephen Euler | Wilmington, NC
A cut line is needed.
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Thomas A. Franko | Chatham, NJ
The cut adds excitement to the event, especially when favorites are on the cusp of elimination. No-cut events actually seem a little lazy.
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Thomas Klabunde | Tempe, AZ
One of the redeeming features of the PGA Tour is the cut line. It makes it a true meritocracy where the players compete and make the cut or don't get paid. This makes it different from every other sport where contracts supersede performance. The signature events cheapen the concept of a meritocracy. If you want to make it into an exhibition where no one really cares about performance, look no further than the LIV model. How's that working out for them?
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Art Williams | Luzerne, PA
Always have a cut. This is the way the PGA Tour was and should remain. With the current amount of money being paid out today, there is no reason to go to a no-cut system. If you can't play well enough to cover your nut, then perhaps you don't need to be on Tour.
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Robert Zook | Travelers Rest, SC
Yes, use the cut.
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Gale Schwartz | Naples, FL
I believe that a mix of cut and no-cut tournaments works well. However, the TV coverage of following just the leaders on the weekend is awful. I like to see as many players as possible, even when they are not in contention. Perhaps a split screen covering more players would help.
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Keith Howell | Norfolk, VA
Yes.
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Donald E. Sujack | Geneva, IL
The cut line is necessary to winnow down the field to a manageable number for the weekend for TV and weather influences. It makes Friday viewing a bit more interesting as well. Perhaps pay a stipend to those cut, but the amount they now play for is high enough to warrant the status quo.
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Matthew H. Stankey | Tucson, AZ
Yes. It engenders greater focus and competition among combatants and repels the softness that LIV cultivated.
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Gig Berkowitz | The Villages, FL
Yes, let the "hot" players play on the weekend. Being 10+ shots out on Day 2 says a lot about who's handling the course and who's not.
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Will Reid | Milford, OH
Keep the cut line.
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Barry Duckworth | Knoxville, TN
Yes, we need a cut. No big paydays for just showing up. The cut makes everyone play better, and it’s easy to see on Friday afternoons what it means to the players grinding on the cut line. The PGA Tour made itself too close to the LIV Tour when it went to 70-player signature event fields with no cuts, where the player in last place loses by 25 strokes and walks away with $40K.
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Craig Libhart | Bainbridge, PA
Keep the cut. It provides some drama on Friday afternoon. The fans will see the big names that week — specifically, the ones who are playing well at that time.
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Ferguson Robert | Ravenel, SC
Yes. Cuts exert pressure, and pressure makes for better performance.
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Tom Howell | Bladenboro, NC
It needs a cut line.
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Dwight Hendrickson | Tucson, AZ
A must-keep. It is core to what makes the PGA Tour the Tour. It makes watching the Friday round worthwhile.
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Andrew Turnbull | Guaynabo, PR
The fans who "just want to see the big names" aren't fans at all, or at a minimum, are not worth coddling or kowtowing to. They're fleeting. They're fair-weather fans, and they're not worth the attention. Keep cut lines, keep tournaments with cuts — even the signature events — and while they're at it, revise Tiger Woods' cut streak to eliminate all made cuts in events in which there was no cut. His streak is really 113, not 142.
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Less Bogeeze | Pataskala, OH
Yes. Keep the cut line. What fans really want is to watch the week's best battling it out down the competitive stretch. Watching "all of the rest," including some of the big names slogging it around during a bad week — akin to your buddies at the local muni — is painful and not entertaining, in my opinion.
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Vinny Mooney | Poughkeepsie, NY
Having a cut line is of paramount importance. These limited-field, no-cut signature events have become quasi-annuities for the elite players. Their odds of cashing a big check go up exponentially. Many fans now watch only the majors since they’re on difficult courses, have full fields with a cut line, and feature elite full fields. When the elite LIV players return, the quality of fields weekly will rise. Most fans I know don’t want to just see the big names. They want to see competition and meritocracy.
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William Hurt | Plymouth, MN
Yes, to remain competitive.
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John Meister | Zionsville, IN
Yes, larger fields and cuts. These actions will assist in growing the game and increasing competition.
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Norm Kauble | Sacramento, CA
The PGA Tour needs a cut to allow for breakouts.
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Stan Theman | Darien, IL
It needs a cut line.
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Larry Riis | Larkspur, CA
A cut line and bigger fields.
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John McKinnon | Saint Ignace, MI
A cut line keeps the spirit of the game of golf. Participation awards aren't necessary.
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Vince Recine | Centennial, CO
It needs a cut line.
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Gary Stauffenberg | Phoenix, AZ
Personally, cut lines are highly preferred. It's like two tournaments in one, and larger fields additionally afford us the chance to watch up-and-comers, of which there are many coming out of college. Big names will still be there, although a 36-hole, 10-stroke cut would be interesting even in the limited-field events.
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Kent Day | Boise, ID
We absolutely need cuts to remain competitive.
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Rodney Maguire | Clifton Park, NY
Trying to make the cut is a huge part of golf; eliminating it would be ludicrous.
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Bob Brown | Sagamore Hills, OH
Yes, a cut line.
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Rick Kimbrell | Weston Lakes, TX
Yes.
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Dave Curley | Las Vegas, NV
A no-cut model becomes an exhibition, much like the Champions Tour — a closed shop, a demonstration, a product sales event, but it's not a traditional golf tournament. The Champions Tour has relegated itself into a bit of obscurity with its no-Q-School, no-cut exhibition, a fact Jack Nicklaus had to admit under oath in the Casey Martin trial. The Tour risks the same sentiment and fate among its fans. The four majors and The Players will become the more heavily watched and followed events. Other Tour events will become secondary or worse.
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Murray Miles | Fort Worth, TX
Not only should it keep the cut, but no more than 54 players should ever make it to the weekend.
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