How Do We Define a Good PGA Tour Win Anymore?

Qualifying has been a word associated with golf tournaments forever. But instead of using the word in relation to how you earn your way into events, we now largely use it to explain what a tournament win actually means.

A win for the entire Vegas family ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tEBgxOrTd9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 29, 2024

Jhonattan Vegas won the 3M Open this weekend, an event you likely missed if you took a week off from professional golf after the final men’s major and focused your attention on the Olympics. But his win, like many Tour wins these days, was not nearly the same as a win at an event like the Memorial Tournament, or even the American Express. The golf course is not a demanding test of the best in the world, and the field was worse than most other events on the schedule. It was a win, to be sure, but it was a win that requires qualifiers to explain its significance.

Jhonattan Vegas’ win at the 3M Open is a good opportunity to recall his incredible route to the PGA TOUR, one that involved sacrifice, risk and an indomitable optimism.

Jhonattan was 17 when he moved to the United States from Venezuela, arriving with just his clubs, a bag of…

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) July 29, 2024

A PGA Tour win should be a big deal. It shouldn’t need qualifying. And yet, as we continue to live in a world where the top talent plays together just four times a year and the PGA Tour schedule is as bifurcated as ever, qualifiers are more necessary than ever in order to contextualize a victory.

This is going to come off as negative, but I’m positive that we can use this event as evidence for schedule reform. Golf fans and the best men’s tour in the world deserve as much.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.