Bob, I'm not lobbying for a larger field as much as I'm just trying to understand the thought process an organization like the CGA goes through when planning their events. 156 is certainly sufficient to cover both exemptions for those that deserve them and many qualifying opportunities as well. There are just so many good players here in California that I think you could increase the field size and not decrease the overall quality of golf; I saw the names of several very good players that didn't qualify for this year's event.
Andrew-- To give you some insight on the thought process-- If you set 15 mins a hole as pace of play limits (subject to penalty if you exceed it) and play in threesomes with a "cross-over" (starting on both 9s), 156 is the max for a single round-- If you have more than that then you have 2 waves (an AM and a PM field)--
Some of the problems a double wave creates-
1- even though its the longest days of the year, SoCal still has less daylight time than the north-by about 20 mins a day-
2- Many Metro Clubs in the LA/SD area which are surrounded by homes have noise abatement laws in effect which prohibit green mowing before 7am--Hence a 7:30 time is about the earliest you can plan to start if you are going to mow greens-
3- When we went two waves at Poppy we started at 6:30 am--that facility is staffed for tournament play and early starts and late finishes--That is not possible at many clubs if you wish to prepare the course, and in SoCal such a time is still cutting it close (I had the US Open Sectional at Bear Creek with a field of 79 --36 holes -- and we finished in the dark less than a month ago)-
3- Clubs don't like two days of overtime staff--requiring staff to get there early for carts and keeping the locker rooms and cart staff there until the competition is completed for a full field-- Most clubs would prefer not to see 36 two days in a row--
4- If we get delays (fog is not unheard of any where in Calif in June), then you are toast to even finish, much less handle a playoff.
If you are using two courses, especially at different venues, and attempting 36 holes of play on each, then you are compounding the difficulties.