The 2019 PGA Tour Schedule
On Tuesday, the PGA Tour unveiled the highly anticipated 2019 schedule. For the last few weeks, slow leaks have given golf fans an idea of what the new schedule was going to look like. The Tour finally revealed the full schedule with all of the changes. Much of the anticipation was prompted by the joint announcement of the PGA of America and the Tour that the PGA Championship would return to May and the Players Championship would return to March. This move means that there will be a “major” golf championship every month from March to July.
The move also ensures that the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs are concluded before the NFL and college football seasons start. On that front, the biggest change revealed by the schedule is the elimination of one of the playoff events.
While you can check out the new schedule for yourself, here are the biggest changes and biggest losers of the new schedule.
New York and Boston
Since the FedEx Cup’s inception, both the New York and Boston sports markets have played a premiere role in hosting two of the events. With Dell bowing out of their sponsorship of the Boston event, The Northern Trust announced that their tournament, the first playoff event, will alternate between New York and Boston. Next year, the event will be staged at Liberty National in New York and return to Boston in 2020.
The Canadian Open
In our estimation, the Canadian Open is the biggest loser of the new PGA Tour schedule. The Canadian Open previously occupied a spot right behind The Open Championship which would still draw an above-average field.
Next year, the event will be played the week before the US Open. In years past, US Open contenders would play the week before at TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN because of the resemblance to a US Open setup. None of the courses in the Canadian Open rotation have the length or difficulty to present any type of tune-up to players competing in the US Open.
Valspar Championship
The Valspar, which has drawn players such as Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth in recent years, now sits between The Players and the Dell Match-Play. That’s a rough spot to attract the best in the world who are going to be coming off playing the “fifth major” of the year and preparing for a 5-day tournament in Austin, Texas. Tough break for the Tampa Bay Area.
Houston Open
In the last few years, the Houston Open was played the week before The Masters. This year it moves to the fall with a new sponsor courtesy of the Houston Astros.
The move also ensures that the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs are concluded before the NFL and college football seasons start. On that front, the biggest change revealed by the schedule is the elimination of one of the playoff events.
While you can check out the new schedule for yourself, here are the biggest changes and biggest losers of the new schedule.
New York and Boston
Since the FedEx Cup’s inception, both the New York and Boston sports markets have played a premiere role in hosting two of the events. With Dell bowing out of their sponsorship of the Boston event, The Northern Trust announced that their tournament, the first playoff event, will alternate between New York and Boston. Next year, the event will be staged at Liberty National in New York and return to Boston in 2020.
The Canadian Open
In our estimation, the Canadian Open is the biggest loser of the new PGA Tour schedule. The Canadian Open previously occupied a spot right behind The Open Championship which would still draw an above-average field.
Next year, the event will be played the week before the US Open. In years past, US Open contenders would play the week before at TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN because of the resemblance to a US Open setup. None of the courses in the Canadian Open rotation have the length or difficulty to present any type of tune-up to players competing in the US Open.
Valspar Championship
The Valspar, which has drawn players such as Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth in recent years, now sits between The Players and the Dell Match-Play. That’s a rough spot to attract the best in the world who are going to be coming off playing the “fifth major” of the year and preparing for a 5-day tournament in Austin, Texas. Tough break for the Tampa Bay Area.
Houston Open
In the last few years, the Houston Open was played the week before The Masters. This year it moves to the fall with a new sponsor courtesy of the Houston Astros.
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