Crowded tournament should change qualifications wisely

Triple digits are a typically unwelcome reality in the South every summer. It is a particularly unpopular threshold in the spring at Augusta National Golf Club.

The only thing keeping this Masters Tournament field under 100 is two-time champion Bernhard Langer withdrawing because of a wrist injury from a cycling accident. Three Masters have topped 100 starters.

"We are, of course, happy to have all hundred of them here," said Billy Payne, the tournament and club chairman. "At the same time, looking at the number -- freestanding, independent of the individuals who comprise it -- it is difficult. It is borderline to be able to present the kind of competition that we want to."

Because of a surplus of PGA Tour winners booking late entry into the Masters, the field swelled to its largest size since 1966, when 103 participants teed it up. The record for most competitors in the Masters is 109 in 1962.

Given that Augusta still prefers to send all of its players off the first tee, capacity is getting stretched. Assuming Tim Clark doesn't extend his string of withdrawals because of his ongoing elbow issues, an even 33 threesomes will all start off the first tee in a six-hour window Thursday and Friday.

Weather is not a concern this year, but if there were a delay, the integrity of the tournament could get compromised by an unpopular two-tee start. It's enough to make Payne rethink the last qualifications he put into place in 2008.

"We say every year in response to that question that we look and we study the qualifications, which we do," Payne said. "But we are really going to look at it this year, because there is a maximum number of competitors for which we can give the experience that we want them to have, and do it in a way that's manageable. The hundred pushes that limit quite significantly."

Payne said that job this summer would fall onto the shoulders of Fred Ridley, the chairman of the competition committees. That came as news to Ridley, who was seated at Payne's right hand during the annual state of the Masters address.

"Well, he didn't really mean that," Ridley said, drawing a withering sideways stare from the chairman, who clearly was serious.

AS IT STANDS NOW, the Masters has devised ways of paying tribute to all of its global partners in golf. The USGA is represented by its highest finishers in the U.S. Open, Amateur, Mid-Amateur and Public Links. The R&A is represented by top finishers in the British Open and Amateur. The PGA of America gets berths for the top four finishers in the PGA Championship. The European and various Asian tours get strong representation through the Official World Golf Ranking.

Then there is the PGA Tour, which has four qualification categories designated especially for it -- a three-year pass for the Players champion, most tournament winners, the top 30 money leaders and Tour Championship qualifiers.

Seeing as Americans have been in the minority at the Masters since 2007 as the world rankings skew globally, the PGA Tour players deserve as much help as they can get for playing on the deepest, most competitive tour in the world.

That said, if Ridley is looking for a place to pare the field and create a little breathing room, he should look no further than the FedEx Cup finale. It is the weakest back-door link into the most exclusive major in the world.

No offense to both Kevins in the field -- Streelman and Na -- but each got in by virtue of third-place finishes in "playoff" events that shouldn't hold as much merit as a major championship.

When the Masters revamped its qualifications in 2007 concurrent with the launching of the FedEx Cup series, it gave a trusting nod to an unknown system. That the PGA Tour has had to tweak its point system several times already speaks to the weakness of the standard.

Three players reached Augusta based entirely on getting into the Tour Championship in both 2009 and 2010. None of those players managed to make it into the top 30 on the money list or top 50 in the world rankings.

The money list has proven to be the better overall barometer. Only three times since 2008 has a player qualified exclusively from the final money list (Steve Flesch in '08, John Rollins in '10 and Heath Slocum this year). Each was rewarded for a full season of consistency instead of a timely decent finish.

Ironically, the PGA Tour would benefit from the Masters rewarding only money leaders, forcing golfers to continue playing its Fall Series events instead of resting on Tour Championship laurels.

THE WORRY IS THAT the PGA Tour winners will draw the most scrutiny. A record 10 players reached Augusta this year based entirely on winning an event, compared with five in 2010, seven in 2008 and only one in 2009. Ridley called that surge "a bit of an anomaly."

"The trends vary every year, and we do look at that and we'll have a thorough evaluation after the tournament this year, and we'll make adjustments if we think it's necessary," he said.

Considering that actually winning a PGA Tour event is far harder than just finishing decently in one, it is worth the reward of a Masters invite. One of the best changes the Masters has made to its qualifications was reinstituting that opportunity, creating priceless moments such as the ones shared by Masters rookies Jhonattan Vegas, D.A. Points and Gary Woodland this season.

So if the Masters is determined to keep its field below the century mark, here's hoping they make the right choice.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 orscott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.