Winners and losers from the 2019-20 PGA Tour schedule release
The PGA Tour released a revamped schedule for the 2019-2020 season on Monday. Some reshuffling was done to accommodate the 2020 Olympic Games in Toyko and the three new stops added to the rotation.
Now that the dust has settled, here are the winners and losers from the new-look PGA Tour schedule:
Winners
Japan
Japan is the biggest winner after collecting two new stops for PGA Tour pros.
First, the inaugural ZOZO Championship will take place from Oct. 24 to 27 as part of the PGA Tour's Asian swing. Additionally, Japan's Hideki Matsuyama will reportedly host Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day for a skins-game competition on Oct. 21 prior to the event.
Then there's the Olympics. The PGA Tour had to find a way to give those who qualify a chance to represent their country on the world's biggest stage. The Tour did so by clearing the week of July 27 - Aug. 2, which falls two weeks after The Open, for the tournament in Japan to take place.
Fall swing season
The PGA Tour shortened the 2018-2019 season so the FedEx Cup Playoffs could end in August, ensuring less competition against the NFL. Consequently, the fall swing season gained three additional tournaments, giving die-hard fans seemingly endless golf to watch.
A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier (Sept. 12-15) will kick off the new season followed by the Houston Open (Oct. 10-13) after neither event was featured in 2018-19. The Bermuda Championship (Oct. 30 - Nov. 3) makes its debut as an alternate-field event to the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Sanderson Farms
Since 2015, the Sanderson Farms Championship was scheduled on the same week as the WGC-HSBC Champions event in China.
Now the Sanderson Farms event stands alone on Sept. 19-22 after the reshuffle, which means the purse will jump from $4.4 million to $6.6 million, and the champion will receive a Masters invite. Perhaps we'll see one of the bigger names in the game hoisting the iconic rooster trophy in Jackson, Mississippi.
WGC-FedEx St. Jude
After spending one season in the less-than-ideal spot directly after the Open Championship, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (July 2-5) will get its chance to shine in 2020.
Positioned two weeks after the U.S. Open and two weeks prior to The Open, the city of Memphis, Tenn. will be treated to a mini major before the game's best head overseas for the season's final marquee event.
Losers
3M Open
Talk about a slap in the face to the state of Minnesota.
One year after the inaugural event, the 3M Open (July 23-26) gets the shaft in 2019-2020. The tournament is now positioned the week after the Open Championship - already a tough spot on the schedule - and the week before the Olympics.
There's no chance any of the game's biggest stars fly from England to Minneapolis, then back to Japan for the Summer Games in a three-week stretch.
Irish Open
The Irish Open was resurrected over the past few years to become a premier stop on the European Tour in the lead up to The Open. Recent fields have featured McIlroy, two-time winner Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, and nearly all the top players across the pond.
However, that will likely change with the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational now scheduled on the same week as Ireland's championship. The guaranteed money, FedEx Cup points, and world-ranking points associated with WGCs will put the Irish Open back on life support unless it's rescheduled.
Canadian Open/Travelers Championship
The condensed schedule creates the busiest month of June in recent memory. Here's how it looks:
- June 4-7: Memorial Tournament
- June 11-14: Canadian Open
- June 18-21: U.S. Open
- June 25-28: Travelers Championship
- July 2-5: WGC-FedEx St. Jude
Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament is always well attended, and both the Canadian Open and Travelers Championship have gained traction over the past few seasons. With the WGC now scheduled after the Travelers, top players will be looking for a week off somewhere in June, and the Canadian Open or Travelers Championship will suffer.
Malaysia
Rest in peace, CIMB Classic.
Malaysia will be without a PGA Tour stop for the first time since 2010, as Japan stole the country's lone tournament with the invention of the ZOZO Championship. Golf fans likely won't miss the event, but sponsors and charities in the Kuala Lumpur area certainly will.