PGA Tour revamps qualifying process

School is out for the PGA Tour -- Qualifying School, that is.

The pressure-packed tournament known as the Qualifying School for years has determined which newcomers and journeymen will earn playing privileges on the tour for the following year. However, this year's Q-School will be the final edition before a new qualifying process is introduced in late 2013 for the 2014 tour.

The most direct route to PGA Tour qualification will be through the Web.com Tour (formerly known as the Nationwide Tour). The top 25 finishers each year in the second-tier league will automatically move up to the big leagues the following year.

The top 75 players from the Web.com Tour and players ranked Nos. 126-200 on the PGA Tour (the top players who failed to retain their PGA Tour cards) will enter a three-tournament series of $1 million events to be held in the fall.

The first 25 from the Web.com Tour standings will play in the series in an attempt to enhance their playing priority for the following year, though they already will be assured of PGA Tour cards. Twenty-five additional players will move up based on their results in the three-event series.

The Web.com Tour regular-season champion and the playoff champion will get full exemptions for the PGA Tour and invitations to the Players Championship.

"I think it's great for the Web.com Tour," Web.com Tour president Bill Calfee told PGAtour.com. "I think it's a better system where performance matters over the entire season. We still have the top 25 getting PGA Tour cards, and now you will add even more excitement to the final events with a lot of up for grabs with the next 25 PGA Tour cards available."

Starting next year, there still will be a tournament that's the equivalent of the Q-School, only it will award places on the Web.com Tour, not the PGA Tour. That will prevent players from moving directly from the amateur ranks to the major league tour, essentially requiring them to spend at least one year in the minors.