The PGA Tour advised to make rule change which would put Alex Fitzpatrick in similar situation to Brooks Koepka

“It’s a lot. It really is a lot, and perhaps it is too much. They created this program for Brooks Koepka where you can play but you’re not going to be in the signature events. I would perhaps like to see something like that with Alex Fitzpatrick, or the winner of Zurich,” he said.

“You’re a non-member, fine, you’ll get into the events, but you’re not going to get into the signature events. I feel like it is a little bit too much.

“The two-year exemption, that’s fine, that’s great. But the caveat does need to be not the signature events. It feels like it’s a little bit too much.”

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans as we now know it is surely no more

It would be no surprise to see the PGA Tour rip everything up and start again when it comes to this part of the schedule.

There is one full-field, 72-hole strokeplay event between The Masters and the PGA Championship. That takes place at Myrtle Beach in the same week as the Truist Championship.

So it is not a shock that the Zurich Classic is now being skipped by the large majority of the top players on the PGA Tour.

It makes sense to change the Zurich Classic format, while also moving it to another place in the schedule.

A team event has a lot of potential on the calendar. However, it needs a lot more star power because it is not going to have a storyline to fall back on like the Fitzpatricks trying to earn Alex a PGA Tour card every year.

Moving it to either end of the schedule could be a smart move. And perhaps it could incorporate some matchplay to scratch that itch also.

Whatever comes next, it does appear that the format needs to change one way or another.