PGA Championship to move to May starting in 2019

[Howard Riefs]

The PGA of America is moving its major championship to May for the first time in 70 years when it goes to Bethpage Black in 2019 as part of a long-term plan that involves a major shift in the golf calendar, including The Players Championship going back to its March date.


Keeping it GCA-related…
 
Said Zach Johnson: “…Now, as far as where they are going to go in the future with that earlier date, that’s the part that I don’t really know how that is going to work. Oak Hill coming up [in 2023] … can you play in the northern part of the country in May? You can, but you probably shouldn’t. You’ve got to get lucky [on the weather].”
 
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-pga-championship-is-moving-to-may-and-players-are-on-board
 
https://www.apnews.com/40306a21451a4f1ea1cb55bd7b3f2e84/APNewsBreak:-PGA-Championship-to-move-to-May-in-2019
 
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-pga-championship-will-be-moving-to-may-sources-say
 
https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/pga-championship-will-move-to-may-beginning-in-2019-at-bethpage-black/

[David Wuthrich]

I think that it is a good move for everyone but some of the northern most courses that might not be able to host in May.  But it is better for the southern courses!!!!  Maybe they will get a chance to get back on the Major rota.

[PCCraig]

It certainly takes many northern courses out of the rotation for PGA Championships. For example, there is almost zero chance Hazeltine hosts a May PGA. But as stated above it certainly brings into play many great southern courses that typically would not be able to host in August.

[David_Tepper]

It is a little curious as it "front loads" the PGA Tour season so that the US Open in mid-June is essentially the last meaningful event of the year, at least in the U.S. Once the Open is played in mid-July, the rest of the tournaments are just a money grab. 

[David Wuthrich]

Agree David, unless you are the PGA tour and they feel the most important tournaments are the four that lead up to the FedEx and the FedEx itself!

[Peter Pallotta]

Does suggest fewer tournaments in a shorter season. Maybe there are less sponsors out there willing to cover the cost/fee of a non prime-time tour stop; and maybe those fees go up for each of the fewer/remaining/now more valuable events of the tour season -- with the dollars the networks pay in the next contract reflecting a shorter but more potent schedule. Win-win in the post-Tiger viewing environment.

[Amol Yajnik]

Does suggest fewer tournaments in a shorter season. Maybe there are less sponsors out there willing to cover the cost/fee of a non prime-time tour stop; and maybe those fees go up for each of the fewer/remaining/now more valuable events of the tour season -- with the dollars the networks pay in the next contract reflecting a shorter but more potent schedule. Win-win in the post-Tiger viewing environment.

It is going to be fewer tournaments.  IMO, the PGA Tour wants to end their "season" on Labor Day weekend so that they don't have to compete on weekends with the NFL.  It's not exactly a secret that the TPC Boston playoff event is probably going away in the next year or two, which would fit the timeline of the changes occurring in 2019.

Keeping it to GCA: the PGA has gone to Whistling Straits multiple times since the start of this century.  Could a tournament be played there in May?  Also, Texas already hosts a number of PGA Tour events, but could we see a course not currently hosting one of those events get a PGA Championship in May?

[Matthew Essig]

I have seen a lot of criticism of the move being about the weather in May.


Cause the weather has been so much better in August........ 

[Terry Lavin]

This is too bad, as Olympia Fields was hoping to snare this championship in the coming years. The North Course would be a perfect host for another Major. Maybe the Ryder Cup?

[Tyler Kearns]

In regards to northern courses, the change to May is more difficult not because of the weather that month, but because it gives a short window to rectify any damage caused by a particularly bad winter.


TK

[Rob Marshall]

It's too bad. Oak Hill will undoubtedly lose the 2023 PGA. I've been very fortunate to attend 3 PGA's, 1 US Open, and a Ryder Cup all in my hometown between 1980 and 2013.

[Joe Zucker]

I agree.  It's disappointing that that this will likely take a tournament away from a northern course and city.  I know the tour favors warmer climates early in the season, but there only 10-12 events in the north.  The south and west are already spoiled with golf and this will exacerbate that inequality.  I put the 2017 continental US schedule on a map to see what it looks like and it shows how much of the country the tour misses.  Playing the PGA in Texas seems like a possibility, but does the state need a 6th event? Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon are all essentially out of the picture. 


Side note: Why are the Barbasol and Barracuda played in Alabama and Nevada?  Those seem like perfect events to hold in Detroit or Minneapolis in the summer. 

[V. Kmetz]

Another hallelujah! My second in as many weeks...Jesus, they finally did wake up and smell the coffee. This has been so long coming...

Agree with PPal's assessment "win-win" ...I add further "wins" to:


The Players...there's no empirical reason for it, but it's just better exhibition/show/competition as a kick-off to the true "meat" of the season -- the way the Daytona 500 is the first race of the season, yet one of stock car racing's most important and prestigious...they are in Florida, heading north...their golf games are getting in top seasonal shape, injuries and rust have been tended, first time all the boys come together en masse in the medal terms of how the season will be decided... on a course that lets you (and us) know how sharp or not you are...it was, for me, getting a bit lost in May, whereas I felt the final top run-up position to Augusta lent it focus... I won't speak for all regions, but it always seemed to me that my northern regions are just ready to bust out for golf in that late March period...its very dodgy still out on the links, (there's was great, lasting snow this year on March 15) and the Players isn't The Masters, but it's got that "it" factor of a wild and tremulous course nonetheless, which both satisfied and sustained the appetite for that year's traditional major season... (Interestingly, Tiger is the only one to win a Players and then, the Masters in the same year...his 'slam" year of 2000-01... so if it is the "fifth major" ...perhaps THAT is the true Tiger Slam...all 5 at once.)


All Four Majors and by proxy, Golf's profile from April 1 - July 24... Holy smokes, like the Triple Crown horse racing season (which this also seems to be wedged neatly in and around) - these 100 days, which also has popular events (Heritage, Nelson, Colonial, Memorial, Travelers, Greenbrier) dotted within are a feast for the Golf fan and one big reason will be...

The Single Year Slam is More Likely... we all know how the creme players from Jones' runs, to Nelson's records, to Nicklaus, Miller, Faldo, Norman, Woods, Mickelson, Rory, Spieth, DJ whole blocs... we know how these peaking Olympian players (remember Tom Lehman and Nick Price's runs in the 90s?) can saw through a field when they are on. If any of these deemed even marginally "worthy" wins the Masters, the now 4 week run-up to the PGA will cast a laser on that player, his competition and the profile of that tournament... if he should win it and/or lose it dramatically it now may be the most remembered PGA, where I struggle to recall very many memorable ones, enjoyable watches yes...blow by blow/significant shots...just a scant few. but more importantly, the Slam is now more possible and the PGA is the gate keeper...any player can win the Masters, but now you can't have a Slam without the PGA....and we don't have to wait 10 weeks to know the answer.

I comprehend the worry that this will forestall opportunities for truly northern sites (Hazeltine, Whistling[wish it would go anyway], Medinah, Oakland Hills, etc) to host because of possible long winters and turf damage. And while I wouldn't know the first thing about the details of it, am I wrong to think in this highly technological age there are a great number of scientific steps that the PGA and premium host clubs will take to protect the greens and the most sensitive areas of these courses in that run-up winter...? Won't turf and maintenance and the top supers and industry companies be enlisted to consult? Won't they be doing this years out, with a big-time action plan for that last 9 months? I understand; if you still have much snow on top of and ice below the ground on April 15th, it's going to be a challenge and it may well reduce the number of northern places turns in the rotation, but I think if there's any genius way to marginalize those impacts, they are more likely to find it than not. And still, with some venues out of the mix, fans who don't see major golf up close at all anymore are back in the mix with May. 

As to JZ's map, a few jots...

1a. What existing northern tournament is likely lost? If you meant the loss of potentially hosting the PGA Chmp (not just any tournament) then...
1b. First tell me the courses notoriously worthy and willing to host the PGA in OK, KS, SD, ND, NE, CO, ID, UT, NM, ARK? Many if not all are as in the mix in May as in August, some moreso...I don't think the PGA was ever going to Idaho, Utah, Montana or North Dakota anyway...and much of this map would be blank under any regimen.
2.  This map's clusters also show the most established centers of golf in the country, the places where the most golf is played, the most wizened, historic and traditional areas of its play and most importantly, the urban clusters of the country where the tournament has the most access to the greatest number of people. Outside of Pennsylvania's and NJ's absence, (albeit seeing major championships regularly) the map is not illogical in the least.

3.  In fairness to the allegedly suffering John/Jane Q GolfFan at large, you ought to also lay the Senior, LPGA and USGA event dots on the screen too. Yes I understand it's not Rory, Phil, DJ, Spieth, Stenson, Day, Sergio, etc...but those guys probably weren't going to the Montana tour stop either and again, what PGA-hosting courses are up there that were bumped by this move to May?

cheers vk

[BCowan]

PGA in September @ Northern courses and Cup's in October below the Dixie.  That's too much common sense and we now cow-tie to the football crossover types. 

[BHoover]

First they allow the players to wear shorts for practice rounds. Now this. Worst week ever in the making.

[Tom_Doak]

Joe Z:  re:  your side note:  Where the PGA Tour plays their events is all about who sponsors the event and where they want it played.  All you need for Minneapolis is for one of your big companies to pony up $8 million a year to get a regular Tour event minus a lot of the top players, and they'll abandon Alabama or Nevada as soon as those contracts expire.


Of course, since the economy has not been kind to jobs in the Great Lakes region in the past 20 years, sponsors of Tour events have also moved to other locales.

[Peter Flory]

I always found the gap between the Masters and the US Open annoying.  Definitely can't host in the upper Midwest in May though- not even sure if the leaves are fully in by then.  But it would be interesting to see some Southern courses host it. 



The PGA Championship has needed differentiation.  If it's not going to be a return to match play, then maybe it could become the US Open of the South. 

[Joe Zucker]

V Kmetz,

I agree with a lot of your points.  The move to May is probably a good decision for them and their tournament.  Better TV ratings and a spot on the schedule are probably worth millions of dollars to the organization.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t losers in the move and I was merely lamenting that it’s a bummer that many northern cities are without the best golf has to offer.  This move will make that shortcoming worse.

1a) I was referring to the loss of the PGA, which is generally held in the north.  But some of the reports I read today said the shortened schedule is going to mean one of the playoff events will be dropped.  Rumors are this will be the Boston event. So this move effectively cuts two tournaments from the north.

1b) I did not mention those states.  I agree they are sparsely populated and unlikely to ever hold an event. I called out much larger states like Washington and Michigan that will not host a PGA in May. 

2) I agree the map makes logical sense with the climate constraints the north faces.  That doesn’t mean it’s not unfortunate that some major northern cities don’t see the tour very often.  This won’t help that inequity and that’s really my only point.

3) I’m not sure the other tours are direct substitutes for the PGA tour.  Sure it’s professional golf, but it is quite the step down to go from seeing the PGA Championship to a senior event or the USGA Fourball. I never said anything about Montana, but a lot of northern courses have already been mentioned as losses in May. Olympia in Chicago, Whistling Straits in WI, Hazeltine in MN, Oak Hill in NY, and Oakland Hills in MI.  These are all cities not regularly hosting a tour event.

Tom,

I fully agree about the sponsors not being in those cities.  If the people with the money want it there, it will be there. It’s just a little surprising that Jackson, MS, Opelika, AL and Reno, NV have tour events when Seattle, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh do not.

[Tom Hooker]

In regards to northern courses, the change to May is more difficult not because of the weather that month, but because it gives a short window to rectify any damage caused by a particularly bad winter.


TK

FWIW, Bethpage Black didn't open until early June a couple years ago because of winterkill.

[Jud_T]

Anything's better than having it last. Second seems about right.  Start and finish strong.

[Jim Nugent]

Could Shadow Creek in LV now work? 

[Tony_Muldoon]

The weather in July is usually too benign for true links golf and The Open. So here’s for a date in early October to keep the magic there.
(Oh well back to my daydreaming.)

[Jonathan Mallard]

No more endless loops of Jim Nantz hyping "Glory's last shot."


Also, much less chance of death due to electrocution from thunderstorms.

[Tim Gavrich]

Is moving the PGA back to August just for the existing northern future host sites entirely out of the picture?

[V. Kmetz]

In regards to northern courses, the change to May is more difficult not because of the weather that month, but because it gives a short window to rectify any damage caused by a particularly bad winter.

TK

FWIW, Bethpage Black didn't open until early June a couple years ago because of winterkill.

Concerns over that oddity (of which I wasn't aware) would also dampen/scrub the planning of a June US Open at a number of northern sites as well, including Bethpage which has hosted two opens and two (?) Barclay's. I have only a layman's knowledge of the climatology or science of it, but I usually see innovation and great expense used to do the utmost.


Overall it seems like this Board's biggest reservation is the possible preclusion of Midwest/Rust-Belt sites from hosting a PGA. This concern, while appreciable, can be tempered by:


1. It's been called "likely" and just about automatic, fait accompli that this is the consequence when we do not know that for anything approaching "sure," nor is the resources and maintenance technology devoted to prepping these venues given adequate credit.


1a. And in the egalitarian vein which rebuffed critique of what kind of exhibition Erin Hills produced in the name of top golf being played in an underrepresented locale - they had a course available to tinker, study and prep for six or seven years and it STILL closed from the autumn until the US Open in an abundance of caution. I understand a month earlier is a month earlier, but why won't similarly spartan and procedure be in effect for PGA? If its worth it for the upper-Midwest to be represented, why won't they make a May PGA site a controlled hothouse too?


2. Even so, if six or seven courses/regions indeed cannot be readied in May, it doesn't mean these courses will not be represented for...US Opens...Ryder-President Cups...new/rotating stops on the Tour/WGC events. In the case of something rumored to be "now-lost" (like Boston's stop) who's to say that the new FedEx/Tour championship regime won't simply bounce an improved rotation of sites in accord with who's getting the action that year... who's to say that OlyFlds, Hazeltine, Oak Hill, OaklHls will now not be the Tour Chmp site...or one of the August lead-ups...


3. And in the end, how many raw opportunities for top golf being exhibited in the northern climes are actually being lost that exist currently? We have a physical slate of PGAs and USOps in front of us for six or seven years...doesn't seem like those are changing/were going to change regardless...so we're talking from 2022 onward and for now, just thinking about Oak Hill in 2023 and beyond?...Yet in interim, from 2019, we could have a revision of the August slate, WG slate...maybe even the Match Play (which would as matter of viewing be much better suited to August, when we could see the major seasons unsettled claims be decided). These possible revisions, besides the future profile events that may garner northern courses indeed found unsuited to May represent a likely balm for a tiny bit of harm in the face of a lot of good.


cheers  vk