After opening with a pair of pars and then a birdie, Malnati sent two tee shots OB – the first one wide right, the next wide left – on the par-4 sixth hole. After the two penalty strokes, his fifth was finally in play and then from 177 yards out, Malnati bounced his ball short but then watched as it trundled up on the green and went into the hole.
All this and more are being discussed and could be implemented as soon as the 2026 season.
The PGA Tour announced a few minor tweaks last week for next season’s signature events but that is the low-hanging fruit.
Change is coming.
Reduced fields? Relegation? Korn Ferry Tour majors? Fewer exempt players? All this and more are being discussed by the 16-member Tour’s Player Advisory Council and could be implemented as soon as the 2026 season. The PGA Tour declined to comment for this story other than to say, “the PAC and player directors are actively involved in all facets regarding the future of the PGA Tour,” and some PAC members declined too, but not all of them.
“For the first time in a while I was excited after our last PAC meeting (in Fort Worth during the Charles Schwab Challenge),” said veteran pro Kevin Streelman. “We started talking and spitballing ideas about what things could look like. There were some ideas that seemed very good and would bring some consistency and true competitiveness to the top players in the world and still give a soft landing and a hopeful resurgence and opportunity if you fall off.
“There’s this super tour up here that everyone wants to be on, the big tournaments. But then you still want to be able to play and support your family and some hope of getting back. There were some cool ideas of relegation and promotion going both ways.”
Lanto Griffin said there’s support among the PAC for reducing tournament sizes to 120 players across the board regardless of regular or signature event. To do so, they would reduce the number of players that keep exempt status from 125 – the number 100 has been bandied around as a better figure although Rory McIlroy has suggested going even lower – and staggering down to the low figure over the course of several years.
“I think it’d be gradual, so that’s 125 to 120, 120 to 115 to slowly push lower and have less Q-School and Korn Ferry graduates,” Griffin said.
He said that they need to shape the schedule so the best players continue to play against each other as much as possible but also allow all exempt players to have a fair shake. He noted that Q-School and Korn Ferry Tour graduates are at a distinct disadvantage under the current system.
“They’re playing on the B-tour this year,” he said. “In an ideal world, the PGA Tour should be 20-22 tournaments from January to August. I know that’s not every week. Then have some tournaments go to the Korn Ferry Tour just throwing random names – (Cognizant), a Valero, a Dominican, those are Korn Ferry majors, you win one of those and you get promoted (in-season). It’s just an idea of having it where two signature events in a row, week off, three on, whatever it needs to be to where the top guys don’t have to play every week; they are still playing together but it’s 120 (man fields). If you get your card through Korn Ferry, it’s top 20 or top 25, you’re in those. We all think that’s the ideal situation, whether or not it’ll get there, who knows, it’s nowhere close.”
Griffin added: “Sam Burns came up to me (at the RBC Canadian Open) and said he’s talked to a lot of people about what I said at the PAC meeting and he was like, ‘Everybody that I’ve talked to agrees.’ They’re on board with it.”
Peter Malnati, a player director on the Tour policy board, confirmed that such conversations have reached the board level but said they are in the early stages of discussions. Reducing field sizes from 156 brings the question of how many members can the Tour realistically have and still provide enough starts?
“Those are the questions we’re just starting to tackle. If we’re going to minimize the size of the membership gradually over the next few years, we’ve got to create a platform where guys are motivated to go play and earn their way back to the Tour. What we have now is a survival tour,” Malnati said. “That excites me that that is something we’re thinking about as a leadership group.”
Streelman said much of the conversation spilled over after the last PAC meeting concluded and that Jason Gore, the PGA Tour’s chief player officer, has been intimately involved in shaping the changes.
“I’d say we’re diligently working to try to appease the top players, our marketing partners, our fans and the integrity of the Tour and their competitions to deliver the greatest product and highlight the best players week after week,” Streelman said. “This was the first time I was pretty stoked about the direction we may be headed. I hope we get it right and I think we will get it right. We’re working hard on it.”
Malnati said that the Tour has drawn inspiration from Theo Epstein of SSG, who gave a presentation in April that showed how Major League Baseball created a spreadsheet of categories with headers such as “this is possible and it can help,” “this is very unlikely and it can help,” “this is very farfetched and it can help.” There were nine categories in all.
“In 2014, one of the ideas that was under a header of ‘we’ll never do it because it violates our tradition’ was a pitch clock. They thought it was too far out there and would never happen. Here we are and there’s a pitch clock and it’s been very well received,” Malnati said.
The pitch clock was implemented last season and has been a big success in reducing game time. So it’s possible that even the most far-fetched ideas thrown out by Griffin and company may have merit.
“That’s where the Tour is now: how can we hang on to the traditions that are really important while making the product the best it can be?” Malnati said. “Part of the mission statement was to provide playing opportunities for the membership. How do we hold on to that tradition but also make sure those playing opportunities are high-quality playing opportunities?”
Last week the Tour approved two adjustments for signature events starting next year: an exemption for Tiger Woods and a minimum field of 72 players with an alternate list to maintain that number in the event of a withdrawal. Expect next year’s schedule to be pretty similar, Streelman said, noting it has to follow the Tour’s governance policies. Field size reductions and fewer exempt players would be implemented no sooner than 2026.
“Things will start to be discussed in the summer, voted on in the fall,” Streelman said.
For now, there are intriguing ideas being explored at the PAC level, the best of which will rise to the board level.
“It’s nowhere close to being official by any means,” Griffin said. “So a lot of wait and see.”
I’d chalk up the Par 3 Contest as a laborious nine holes chasing around my kids and trying to keep up.
Editor’s Note: Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters by winning the Valspar Championship last month. The 36-year-old veteran hadn’t won in nearly nine years on the PGA Tour. He’s sharing a first-person account of his experience daily only at Golfweek.com.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Webb Simpson, who is someone that I really look up to and have become close with, calls Wednesday at the Masters his favorite golf day of the year without a close second and I can totally see why.
The family involvement at the annual Par 3 Contest is really cool. My two sons, Hatcher, the eldest, and Dash were both suited up in their little caddie bibs. Hatcher had a little green bag and clubs. Dash was picking up golf balls. It’s a pretty cool site to see your 4-year-old hitting balls in the tournament practice area at Augusta National.
Parenthood is a labor of love and as much fun as I had, I’d chalk up the Par 3 Contest as a laborious nine holes chasing around my kids and trying to keep up.
The Par-3 course was set up with a bunch of funnel pins. I think five of my nine shots felt like they had a chance to go in at one point. I hit to kick in range four times, made one long putt, hit one wedge that looked like it was going to spin into the hole. I’m counting five birdies – I’m giving myself birdie at the last hole despite my wife, Alicia, missing the putt. But I hit it in there pretty close. She’s good at a lot of things so I will let it slide. I kid. She’s the rock and the reason we are able to do everything we do so she’s forgiven for missing a 2 footer. In her defense, it did break sharply from left to right. I could’ve left her a straighter putt.
We played with a couple of other Masters rookies in Adam Schenk and Stephan Jaeger. They are both parents, too, but don’t have the 4½-year-old like we do but they have younger kids in the 1-1½ range so it was similar family dynamics at play.
One last cool thing about the Par 3 Contest: My shot at the second hole to 16 inches held on as the closest of the day, which means I get a crystal trophy that will make for a cool souvenir.
Peter Malnati lifts his wife Alicia on the No. 9 tee during the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Network
Prior to the Par 3 Contest, I did a morning workout and was one of the first players out on the front nine.
Do I know all the nuances of Augusta National? Have I seen it in different conditions and directions? Of course not. But I feel like I have a pretty good map of the course in my mind. I have a pretty good idea of where the hole locations are just from historical information. I did a lot of the practice around the greens and on the greens to different locations. I have a good sense of the strategy I want to use after my prep work. But I think none of it is going to come down to whether or not I have the right information to form the right plan. It’s just going to come down to execution. That’s the question every week and I do feel ready to do that too.
I guess there’s inclement weather in the forecast for Thursday that could throw a wrench in the starting times. We’ll have to see how that affects the course and the way it plays and what time we get to play and all that. Regardless. I’ll be ready for it and I’m thankful we got here early. I got to play all 18 holes on Sunday. I definitely feel like we’ve been here a full tournament week already. I’m ready to get the action started. I think I did a relatively good job of pacing my prep work. I don’t feel like I’ve overdone it. From an energy standpoint, I should be ready to go.
Whatever time it is when I get to peg it on the first tee on Thursday, I’m sure I will feel some nerves. I’ve felt those nerves at just about every PGA Tour event I’ve played and I don’t think tomorrow will be any different. Maybe it will be a little more intense in terms of the nerves but whatever I feel, I’ve done the work, I have the support system around me, and I’m ready for it. I’m excited to get this started.
In a word, the second nine at Augusta National is magical.
Editor’s Note: Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters by winning the Valspar Championship last month. The 36-year-old veteran hadn’t won in nearly nine years on the PGA Tour. He’s sharing a first-person account of his experience daily only at Golfweek.com.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — In a word, the second nine at Augusta National is magical.
I played it for the first time on Sunday and again on Tuesday, teeing off after a workout, practice and quick lunch, at around 11:45 a.m.
I’m just blown away by the beauty and the puzzle that the holes present. You have two par 5s where you can make a 3 or have a nightmare.
Past champion Vijay Singh was playing in front of me and he was taking his time so I was able to do a thorough study of the greens and surrounds. I tried to pick two hole locations on each green and do thorough work there and then look at the other two places where I thought they might put a hole. A group eventually caught me so I hurried a bit the last three or four holes.
But on 16, I did take a moment to partake in the tradition of skipping a ball across the pond. I used a 5-iron and my ball nearly made it across and into the bunker. In other words, I didn’t embarrass myself with attempt. Then I worked on the front right pin and the back left location, which is where the hole historically is positioned on Sunday. That’s where you see some wild aces as well as the hole for the iconic Tiger chip-in where the Nike Swoosh hung on the hole before dropping in for one of the all-time deuces. I had so much fun practicing there and was amazed how much break there is around the hole. In particular, I was surprised how quick it was from behind that hole.
Just as on Sunday, I piped a drive on 18, which felt great. I wouldn’t go so far as to classify it as claustrophobic, but it’s a narrow shoot to find that fairway.
I know I’m just getting my feet wet at Augusta National but it feels like I’ve been here a long time already. I’m ready to go and for the tournament to start. I’ve got one more day of prep and I plan to take full advantage of it.
Wednesday’s Par 3 Contest I have a feeling may be a highlight of the week. I’m excited to have Alicia caddie for me and for both of my boys to be out there and dressed in their white jumpsuits.
Another day of prep in the morning, and then the Par 3 in the afternoon. Can. Not. Wait.
Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters and is sharing a first-person account of his experience with Golfweek.
Editor’s Note: Peter Malnati qualified for his first Masters by winning the Valspar Championship last month. The 36-year-old veteran hadn’t won in nearly nine years on the PGA Tour. He’s sharing a first-person account of his experience daily only at Golfweek.com.
After all these years, I had so many expectations and had heard so much about Augusta National that it seemed like one of those situations where it could only be a letdown because I was so incredibly excited. Well, guess what? It wasn’t a letdown.
On Saturday, we got to our rental house for the next nine nights and settled in a bit. I looked at my wife and I said, “You want to go on a date with me? Let’s go drive down Magnolia Lane.”
That afternoon, we drove to the course and at first, we drove in the wrong gate. I’m not sure what gate it was supposed to be but it definitely wasn’t Magnolia Lane.
Hopefully that’s my only bogey of the week. We drove down a few more gates before we found the right entrance. I don’t know if the security team has the reputation of being knowledgeable golf fans, but they all recognized me. That’s never happened to me before so that was pretty special. They congratulated me on my win and welcomed me to Augusta National. Alicia and I got to have that moment where we drove Magnolia Lane together.
I got registered and checked out the practice area and gym but during that first visit I didn’t so much as see the first tee or the ninth hole.
On Sunday, the real fun began. I got to take in the Drive, Chip and Putt from a distance and worked out and after a quick warmup on the range, I teed off around 10:30 am. There’s quite a bit of play on Sunday but I felt like I had the course to myself. It was just me, my caddie and my longtime coach. I played all 18 holes. There’s a lot of courses that you play that are beautiful to look at but not that interesting to play; then there are the opposite that are incredibly interesting to play but don’t have that wow factor. Augusta National in tournament conditions was one of the most beautiful golf courses I’ve ever seen and at the same time one of the most interesting golf courses to play. It seemed like every shot had something to think about.
Probably my favorite moment of my first time around the course was after my tee shot on No. 11. Walking down the hill, you get to the landing area of the tee shot and you get far enough out there over the hill to see the 11th green, No. 12 and the azaleas hidden back toward 13 tee, the bend in the fairway on 13. It was a Wow moment – I’m here at this spot that I’ve watched since I was a kid on TV and I’d never seen it in person. When you did, it’s more than you could ever imagine. It’s surprising just how beautiful it is in person. You knew the azaleas were going to be there, you knew the conditioning was going to be nice but it really is a beautiful property.
Peter Malnati hits his shot from a bunker on the second hole during a practice round prior to the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
I told everyone my goal was to get all my awe out of the way on Sunday so I could just go to work starting on Monday. I think I did that to a large degree. It’s still incredibly cool to be at a place you’ve dreamed of being and being here for the first time. I’m still enjoying that and taking it in.
On Monday, I played the front nine by myself. That’s usually my most productive practice. Seeing that it is a course where experience is said to be invaluable, I’m open to the idea of playing the course with somebody who has had success here and been here many times but I really love the peacefulness of being out there by myself.
That’s kind of my plan. I haven’t set up a practice round with anybody yet. For now, I plan to play nine holes the next couple of days and learn my way around this course and have an incredible first Masters.
“They want to see people who are the best in the world at what they do, do it at a high level and celebrate that.”
HOUSTON — From the moment his final putt dropped, tears were dancing down Peter Malnati’s face.
Last Sunday, he picked up his first PGA Tour win in nine years. He got to celebrate with his 4-year-old son, Hatcher, on the green.
“That’s something that I’ve seen other families have and that has been my dream,” Malnati said through his tears Sunday. “If I had never had the moment I had today, I would have been completely fine. But, man, was that special.”
In professional golf, one week can alter someone’s life drastically. That happened last week for Malnati, 36, and one of the Tour’s player directors. And the emotional celebration enthralled fans.
Instead of taking a week off, Malnati is in the field this week at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course. During his pre-tournament press conference Wednesday, he was asked about whether he was aware why his win resonated.
His response was thorough and from the heart.
“I think at the end of the day — do you remember like we can all probably remember when we were kids, and we were all kids at different times, but the things that moved us that we watched,” Malnati said. “I remember watching Jordan and the ’97 Bulls, I remember watching Tiger in the 2000 Masters. I didn’t care one iota what Jordan’s contract was. I didn’t care one iota what the winner’s check at that U.S. Open was.
“And I think people are sick of that. I think people are just sick of the narrative in golf being about, you know, contracts on LIV, purses on the Tour, guaranteed comp on the Tour. I think people are so sick of that. They want to see sport, they want to see — they want to see people who are the best in the world at what they do do it at a high level and celebrate that, celebrate the athleticism, celebrate the achievement. Obviously this is a business and to the top players who drive a lot of the value in this business, we’ve got to compensate them fairly, we’ve got to make that happen.”
Peter Malnati accepts the Valspar Championship Trophy after the final round of the Valspar Championship at Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 24, 2024 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
“But I think we’re doing that above and beyond, and the narrative, the storylines, the conversation needs to come back to the product on the course and what we do. I think for me that was like I just, I just feel like no kid dreamed when they were watching Jordan dreamed of having his salary, they didn’t care about that. They dreamed of being in that moment, hitting that shot. I think that’s what our fans care about, too, and that’s what they want to see. I hope those tears that I was crying on that 18th green had nothing to do with my share of that, what was it, an $8.4 million purse last week. My tears had nothing to do with my share of that. I’m going to enjoy it and we’re going to use it to do a lot of good in this world, but it had nothing to do with that. And I don’t think our fans care about that either.
“I hope that connected with some people and I hope that that can be — I do think everyone out here who plays and competes would agree with me on that. I just hope that can be the story that we tell can come back to the best athletes in the world competing on the biggest stage in the world and doing it to show off this amazing skill that we have that can be so entertaining for people. I want that to be our story.”
Knoxville’s Peter Malnati wins Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR.
The Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR took place Thursday-Sunday at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Knoxville resident Peter Malnati (-12) won the 2024 Valspar Championship by two strokes over Cameron Young (-10). The event was contested on the Copperhead Course.
Malnati resides in Knoxville and played collegiately at Missouri from 2007-10.
He joined the PGA TOUR in 2014 and has two career victories, including the 2015 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Malnati has recorded 13 top-10 finishes, five top five results and finished in second-place one time during his PGA TOUR career. He has participated in 259 career PGA TOUR events, while making the cut 126 times.
The 36-year-old journeyman won the 2024 Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida, after a 4-under 67 in the final round on Sunday to claim his second PGA Tour victory at 12 under and his first win since 2015.
For his efforts, Malnati will take home the top prize of $1,512,000. Cameron Young finished runner-up for the seventh time in his young career on Tour and earned $915,600.
With $8 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 Valspar Championship.
The win is the second of Malnati’s PGA Tour career and first since 2015.
March Madness crowned another Cinderella on Sunday, only not on the basketball court but rather at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course Palm Harbor, Florida.
Peter Malnati, who hadn’t won in nine years, drilled his tee shot at the 17th hole to 6 feet and rolled in the putt to assume a one-stroke lead. With a finishing par, he closed with a final-round 4-under 67 to finish at 12-under 272 and win the Valspar Championship by two strokes over Cameron Young.
All the emotions poured out of Malnati, who held his four-year-old son Hatcher, and with watery eyes and a wide smile, said, “You wonder if you’re ever going to do it again.”
He had seen that winning moment on the PGA Tour so many times before where the family rushes on to the green and the victor gets a hug and kiss and lifts his child.
“That’s something that I’ve seen other families have and that has been my dream,” Malnati said. “If I had never had the moment I had today, I would have been completely fine. But, man, was that special.”
Indeed, it was. Malnati, a 36-year-old pro in his 10th year on Tour, had one career victory to his credit at the 2015 Sanderson Championship. He had to battle during the fall to maintain full exempt status this season by finishing 120th on the season-long points list. He’s ranked No. 184 in the world, the second-highest world ranking for the winner of the Valspar in tournament history and he drew the angst of his fellow pros who felt he was unworthy when he was awarded a sponsor invite into the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. Moreover, winning at the Copperhead Course, where he had missed the cut in six of his seven starts at the Valspar Championship, with a career-best of T-60, seemed a pipe dream. To make matters worse, he entered this week coming off a final-round 81 at the Players Championship.
“I just kind of had to chalk that up as just one of those days you get in golf …I was off on all facets of the game,” he said. “When I got here and got to work on Tuesday I was really pleased, everything felt kind of as it had most of the week at Sawgrass, not how it did on Sunday. So I just haven’t missed a beat.”
Peter Malnati accepts the Valspar Championship trophy after the final round of the Valspar Championship at Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 24, 2024 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
His first-round 66 was a career-best at the Copperhead Course and just his second in the 60s in 17 career rounds at Innisbrook Resort. But despite his choppy record, it never diminished his appreciation of the course.
“I love this kind of course because I think it really distinguishes good ball striking from mediocre ball striking,” he said.
He followed with an even-par 71 during difficult weather on Friday and shot 68 on Saturday to trail 54-hole leader Keith Mitchell by two strokes. Malnati reveled in the opportunity to be in the trophy hunt.
“It’s why I play and practice, to come out here on the PGA Tour and have a chance to win golf tournaments. This is my 10th season. I can’t think of very many times where I’ve actually teed off on Sunday realistically thinking of winning the tournament,” Malnati said.
The former Missouri Tiger is a career grinder, who works as hard as anyone on his putting routine and has added the responsibility of serving as a player director on the Tour policy board during a critical time in the Tour’s future. It’s been a lot to balance but through it all family always comes first for Malnati. Take his explanation on Saturday for why he plays with a yellow golf ball, which he began using at the 3M Open in July.
“The reason I switched to it is because my, at the time, 3-year old, who is now 4, liked them. And so, he’s kind of over it now, but it still makes me think of him, and that’s worth a smile or two, which is worth a lot out there for me,” he said.
Alicia Malnati and Peter Malnati pose with the Valspar Championship trophy at Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club on March 24, 2024 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
On Sunday all of Malnati’s discipline and hard work paid off. He overcame a slow start, missing a 5-foot par putt at No. 4 and nearly cold-topping a fairway wood at the fifth, which didn’t cost him. He sank a 14-foot birdie putt at the sixth and made his move with three straight birdies to start the second nine. That included making a 15-foot putt at No. 12 that he was convinced he’d missed.
“The minute I hit it I thought I had left it short,” he said. “I wasn’t watching the ball roll because I knew it was going to stop this far short and I was going to tap it in. And then I heard the crowd go nuts.”
He added: “I always hear people say, like, sometimes when you win, some things have to happen and go right.”
Six different players held or shared the lead during the final round and 10 players were within three shots of the lead on the back nine, but ultimately several players took themselves out of the running with an assortment of mistakes and the tournament turned into a two-man race between Young, the Tour’s Rookie of the Year two years ago who was seeking his first PGA Tour win, and Malnati, winless for the last 3,058 days.
Young hooked his tee shot into trouble at 18 and by the time he assessed the situation, Malnati had pulled ahead at 12 under with birdie after his clutch 5-iron from 208 yards at 17. Young managed to find the green but left his 51-foot birdie effort nine feet short and missed for par.
“I just over read it a hair,” said Young, who recorded his seventh runner-up finish, the most of any player without a win in the last 40 years.
For Malnati, he earned his first berth in the Masters, a spot in the PGA Championship, all of the remaining Signature events this season and the Sentry in January.
“He played incredible. He deserved to win,” said Mackenzie Hughes, who finished T-3 with rookie Chandler Phillips, who notched his best finish on Tour. “He played better than I did. He was in control of his golf ball.”
Young’s closing bogey gave Malnati a two-shot cushion. He had always dreamed of his wife and kids running on the green to celebrate his victory and now the moment he waited for was upon him.
“I don’t think I saw ’em until after I hit the first putt, but I definitely saw ’em before I tapped in, and I was, man, I had lost it before I had hit my last shot of the tournament, for sure,” he said, “but luckily it was like literally 2 inches from the hole. But, yeah, that moment’s pretty amazing.”
