The PGA Tour definitely did a good job when they set about moving some of their tournaments around to better handle the massive force that is football on television in August.
By moving the Players Championship back to March and the PGA Championship to May, that, along with quite a few other tweaks, allowed them to move the FedExCup Playoffs up so that they will be done right before college football season starts!
It’s a brilliant strategy and a much needed one.
Those are not the only changes to the schedule, though. The Valero Texas Open is replacing the Houston Open the week before the Masters. The Houston Open, along with the Greenbrier Classic, are not on the 2019 schedule, but will be added to the Fall portion of the 2019-2020 schedule. The RBC Canadian Open is moving into the FedEx St. Jude Classic’s spot the week ahead of the U.S. Open and the FedEx St. Jude Classic has been renamed and become a WGC event in the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and it will be played the week after the Open (which should be interesting to see as the top players will be playing in back-to-back weeks and doing some hustling across the pond.
There are two new events replacing the Houston Open and Greenbrier Classic. The Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club and the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities (which we’ve written about).
The biggest loser appears to be the Valspar Championship, which is now sandwiched between the Players and the WGC-Match Play.
The other big change is that the FedExCup Playoffs have been shortened from 4 events to just 3.
All-in-all, this schedule makes a lot more sense.
October
October 1-7 – Safeway Open – Silverado Resort and Spa-North Course
October 8-14 – CIMB Classic – TPC Kuala Lumpur
October 15-21 – The CJ CUP @ Nine Bridges – Nine Bridges
October 22-28 – World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions – Sheshan International Golf Club
October 22-28 – Sanderson Farms Championship – Country Club of Jackson
Oct 29-Nov 4 – Shriners Hospitals for Children Open – TPC Summerlin
November
November 5-11 – Mayakoba Golf Classic – El Camaleon Golf Club at the Mayakoba Resort
November 12-18 – The RSM Classic – Sea Island Resort
December
Dec 31-Jan 6 – Sentry Tournament of Champions – Kapalua Resort
January
January 7-13 – Sony Open in Hawaii – Waialae Country Club
January 14-20 – CareerBuilder Challenge – PGA West Stadium Course, multiple courses
January 21-27 – Farmers Insurance Open – Torrey Pines Golf Course
Jan 28-Feb 3 – Waste Management Phoenix Open TPC Scottsdale – Stadium Course
February
February 4-10 – AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – Pebble Beach Golf Links, multiple courses
February 11-17 – Genesis Open – The Riviera Country Club
February 18-24 – World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – Club de Golf Chapultepec
February 18-24 – Puerto Rico Open – Coco Beach Golf & Country Club
Feb 25-Mar 3 – The Honda Classic – PGA National Resort & Spa
March
March 4-10 – Arnold Palmer Invitational – Bay Hill Club and Lodge
March 11-17 – The Players Championship – TPC Sawgrass
March 18-24 – Valspar Championship – Innisbrook Resort
March 25-31 – World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play – Austin Country Club
March 25-31 – Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship Puntacana Resort & Club – Corales Golf Course
April
April 1-7 – Valero Texas Open – TPC San Antonio
April 8-14 – Masters Tournament – Augusta National Golf Club
April 15-21 – RBC Heritage – Harbour Town Golf Links
April 22-28 – Zurich Classic of New Orleans – TPC Louisiana
Apr 29-May 5 – Wells Fargo Championship – Quail Hollow Club
May
May 6-12 – AT&T Byron Nelson – Trinity Forest Golf Club
May 13-19 – PGA Championship – Bethpage State Park
May 20-26 – Charles Schwab Challenge – Colonial Country Club
May 27-June 2 – The Memorial Tournament – Muirfield Village Golf Club
June
June 3-9 – RBC Canadian Open – Hamilton Golf & Country Club
June 10-16 – U.S. Open – Pebble Beach Golf Links
June 17-23 – Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands
June 24-30 – Rocket Mortgage Classic – Detroit Golf Club
July
July 1-7 – 3M Open – TPC Twin Cities
July 8-14 – John Deere Classic – TPC Deere Run
July 15-21 – The Open Championship – Royal Portrush Golf Club
July 15-21 – Barbasol Championship – Keene Trace Golf Club
July 22-28 – World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational – TPC Southwind
July 22-28 – Reno-Tahoe Tournament – Montrêux Golf and Country Club
July 29-Aug 4 – Wyndham Championship – Sedgefield Country Club
August – FedEx Cup Playoffs
August 5-11 – The Northern Trust – Liberty National Golf Club
August 12-18 – BMW Championship – Medinah Country Club
August 19-25 – Tour Championship – East Lake Golf Club