The PGA Tour swore it’d fix slow play by reducing field sizes in its signature events. Faster rounds! Better TV! What could go wrong? Everything, says Paul Azinger. They didn’t speed up anything – they just made it harder for players to earn a living. The former major champion dropped a bombshell revelation during his appearance on The Golfer’s Journal podcast. “Pace of play has been an issue though since the day I showed up,” Azinger declared without hesitation. Then came the knockout punch: he claimed the pace “hasn’t changed a bit” despite decades of supposed improvements.
The 64-year-old didn’t stop there. “But now they shorten the fields you know and I don’t like that because you’re robbing 70 guys of a chance that they really deserve,” he explained with apparent frustration. His voice carried the weight of someone who watched these decisions unfold from the inside during years of policy meetings.
Paul Azinger’s insider perspective runs deep. The 1993 PGA Championship winner served 13 years on the Player Advisory Council, witnessing firsthand how Tour politics work. “I was always against shortening the fields when I was on the PAC and all that stuff,” he revealed during the podcast with evident disappointment.
Paul Azinger is back on your TV screen this week! He joined Rocco on Monday ahead of the PGATC season opener.
With TGL returning on Tuesday, the shot clock came up, and Azinger is all for seeing it at TOUR events.@PaulAzinger | @RoccoMediate
https://t.co/71nTg0ZFB0 pic.twitter.com/Bmx0sBfpMC
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) January 14, 2025
The most damning part of his revelation came next. “But now they’ve done it just in under the guise of you know pace of play when in reality it’s probably like we want more star power,” Azinger said, exposing what he believes is the Tour’s real motivation. His tone suggested this wasn’t speculation – this was someone sharing inside knowledge from countless boardroom discussions.
During the podcast conversation, Azinger painted a picture of an organization more concerned with appeasing top players than addressing actual problems. He described how field reductions became the easy solution rather than confronting slow players directly. The veteran broadcaster made it clear he viewed this as institutional cowardice disguised as progress.
PGA Tour Field Cuts Devastate Player Opportunities
The numbers behind Azinger’s concerns tell a stark story. Signature events now feature a minimum field of 72 players, compared to regular events that previously hosted 144-156 competitors. Eight signature events in 2025 mean approximately 576-672 fewer chances for aspiring professionals annually.
These reductions particularly impact players transitioning from developmental tours who desperately need these opportunities. Veterans like Lucas Glover have called recent policies “complete crap” and accused leadership of hiding behind pace of play excuses. Azinger’s podcast comments validate these concerns from someone who witnessed the decision-making process firsthand.
Meanwhile, alternative solutions remain unexplored by Tour officials. Tiger Woods’ TGL successfully implements 40-second shot clocks with stroke penalties. The LPGA Tour has recently begun enforcing meaningful pace penalties, with immediate results. However, the PGA Tour continues to avoid confrontation with players who habitually play at a slow pace.
Azinger’s current role as PGA Tour Champions analyst gives his podcast revelations added credibility. He previously called the Player Advisory Council “a colossal waste of time” during his broadcasting career. Now he’s using his platform to expose what he sees as continued institutional failures affecting the entire professional golf landscape.
The golf legend’s timing proves particularly pointed. As he begins covering players from his generation, Azinger brings decades of insider knowledge about Tour operations. His willingness to speak candidly during a podcast appearance suggests that he’s no longer protecting the organization’s reputation.
His podcast comments raise uncomfortable questions about the Tour leadership’s honesty with both players and fans. If pace truly hasn’t improved despite field reductions, what was the real motivation? Azinger’s answer suggests that protecting star power took priority over competitive integrity. The veteran’s insider account validates what many critics suspected all along.
The post ‘Hasn’t Changed a Bit’: PGA Tour’s ‘Guise’ Behind Solving Pace of Play Exposed by Veteran Golf Legend appeared first on EssentiallySports.
