Shriners Open Oversold, PGA Tour Can't Offer Vouchers!

It would have been so much more fun if they'd just offered 40 FedExCup points to the first 12 takers electing not to tee up in Vegas this week.

Instead, reports Steve Karp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the PGA Tour will play a 144 player field instead of the petitioned-but-not-duly-noted 132-player total due. With an at-best sunrise-to-sunset window of 7 am to 5 pm and speed of play lethargic these days, the tournament has no chance of finishing the first two rounds on time.

With that in mind, the Shriners Open petitioned the tour in December to reduce the tournament field from 144 to 132 players in hopes of not having play spill over to the following day. The tour agreed, but a clerical error failed to have the reduction to 132 put into the tour’s computer. So when players and agents started looking into playing Las Vegas, it was with a 144-player field in mind.

“They realized the mistake, but at that point there was nothing they can do,” Lindsey said. “We’re the fifth event next year, and we are playing in November again (Nov. 2 to 5). But we will have 132 in the field for 2017.”