Why doesn't the Players Championship complete the field with the next best money winners? 27 is almost funny!

Answer 1

You asked about the Players Championship, but you were THINKING about the soon-to-be-played Tour Championship.

I have listed qualifying for both:

A quick answer is that the Tour is made up of the Top 30 money winners and thats it. They do not use an alternate's list.

the Players Championship
The tournament's eligibility criteria are stringent and utilize the PGA TOUR money list and Official World Golf Ranking, as well as offering invitations to major champions, winners of the World Golf Championships and PGA TOUR winners in the past 12 months.

The result makes THE PLAYERS Championship one of the most sought-after dates in the game. Just ask Montgomerie.

Following is a list of the elgibility criteria for THE PLAYERS Championship.

* Winners of PGA TOUR cosponsored or approved tournaments, whose victories are considered official, since the 2003 PLAYERS Championship.
* The top 125 finishers on the 2003 Official PGA TOUR Money List.
* PGA TOUR members from the current Tournament Winners category.
* Members in the Top-125 Nonmembers category whose official money for the previous year equals or exceeds the amount of official money earned by the player finishing in 125th position on the 2003 Official PGA TOUR Money List.
* Winners of THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship in the last 10 years (1994-2003). Beginning with the 1998 winners of these events, winners will be eligible for five years.
* Winners of the NEC World Series of Golf from 1993-1997.
* Winners of THE TOUR Championship in the last three years (2001-2003).
* Winners of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in the last three years (2002-2004).
* Winners of the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational and World Golf Championships-American Express Championship in the last three years (2001-2003).
* Any player(s) not otherwise eligible, among the top 50 leaders from the Official World Golf Ranking through the Bay Hill Invitational.
* Any player(s), not otherwise eligible, who are among the top 10 money winners from the 2004 Official PGA TOUR Money List through the Bay Hill Invitational.
* To complete a field of 144, those players, not otherwise eligible, from the 2004 Official Money List below 10th position through the Bay Hill Invitational, in order of their positions on the money list.
* THE PLAYERS Championship Committee may invite a player(s), not otherwise eligible, who is a current inductee of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Such player(s) would be added to the field.

the Tour Championship
THE TOUR Championship (the capitalisation is official) is the final event of golf's PGA Tour season. Beginning in 1997, the event alternated between Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas and East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia; since 2004, East Lake has been the event's permanent home.

The top 30 money winners on the PGA Tour after the penultimate event qualify for the Championship, which is one of the richest tournaments on the tour.

It takes place in early November, the week after the comparable event in Europe, the Volvo Masters, which allows players who are members of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour to play in both end of season events. After The Tour Championship, the money list for the season is finalised. There are a number of additional events between The Tour Championship and Christmas which are recognised by the PGA Tour, but prize money won in them is unofficial. Also, because this tournament's field is not as large as other golf tournaments, there are no 2nd Round cuts, as there's simply no need for one(meaning, all 30 players are guaranteed to play all 4 Rounds, and are guaranteed a paycheque, no matter how badly they play).

In 2007, THE TOUR Championship will move from its November date to a date in mid-September, where it will end a four-tournament "Chase for the FedEx Cup", which was announced on the Wednesday of the week of the 2005 event. The season, however, will not end there — a slate of six or seven events will be used in the TOUR's inaugural "Quest for the Card," to determine the rest of the Top 125 players eligible for the FedEx Cup in 2008.