The first full-field designated event is off and running. The big question confronting the PGA Tour revolves around what these events will look like in 2024. On the TFE podcast, Garrett and I discuss these questions in detail, from the designated event cadence to how they should fill their fields. The latter is what I am keen to understand: how will the PGA Tour grant opportunities to play for $20 million+ purses?

In this immediate year, the fields for these events will use the traditional priority rankings. I’d like to see that tweaked. These events should strive to feature the very best players at that moment. As golf fans know, the game can be extremely fickle. One moment you feel like you will never lose it and then the next you might feel like you can never find it. With that in mind, here’s how I would go about creating consistent great fields at designated events that also increases interest in regular events as well as other, lesser tours.

Number of players

100 – I feel like these events should be substantial but not the full size. It will make qualifying for them mean something.

Qualification fields

Top 55 in previous year’s FedEx Cup – I believe this is a rough marker of a “really good” season. By limiting the exemption to these few players, you will add importance to the FEC throughout the season. Finish in the top 55 and you will be in every designated event in the following year–a nice carrot. It can be another way to crowbar in more of the FedEx Cupdates we constantly get on the telecast!

Previous year’s KFT Player of the Year – Another exemption that adds interest and importance to the season-long KFT race. Not only are you a fully-exempt player, you are also in the designated events. That’s quite a nice carrot.

Top 10 non-exempt from current year FedEx Cup Standings – Here’s how you can get the players in most current form in the event. A great example of a player who isn’t in this week who would be under this rule is Tom Detry. The first year PGA Tour player has made all eight cuts, including a runner up and four other top 15s.

Ten qualifiers from preceding non-designated events – One of my favorite stretches of the season is when the Open Championship Qualifying Series really picks up. During the weeks leading up to the Open, there are a few spots up for grabs in the men’s oldest major via regular PGA Tour events. Winning is as important as always but a high finish for a player not qualified adds substantial storylines to the tournament. This would make these non-designated events more interesting on Sundays.

10 Monday qualifiers – For designated events, make the Monday qualifiers a big event of their own. Allow only KFT, DP World Tour, or PGA Tour members to play and make them 36 holes. This setup would mimic U.S. Open Final Qualifying, one of the more captivating days of the golf year. I could see this eventually becoming a nice television product on Mondays of designated events.

One restricted sponsor exemption – Sponsors get one spot in the field but it has to be a top 125 player from the previous year’s FedEx Cup. It’s important for these events to feel big and when Ricky Barnes is in the field (a sponsor exemption in Phoenix this week), that message isn’t consistent.

Top six in DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and top 2 in KFT Points – Get the best players on the next best tours involved. This would give the PGA Tour a chance to showcase some players who will likely be coming onto the big tour soon.

Top five non-exempt players from previous designated event – Reward players who qualify into a designated event and ball out. This would be fun to see a player that some more casual fans become aware of thanks to their performance in the previous high-profile designated event.

That’s my outline of how to fill up the 100 spots in next year’s designated series. By building the field this way, rather than just last year’s performance, it will introduce a higher standard of qualification and more storylines in non-designated events.

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