2021 PGA Tour schedule changes for the Florida swing

[Darth Putter]

Oh boy... PGA Tour's Florida Swing events set for schedule shift in 2021 - Golf Digest

 

Let me see if I get this straight.

 

Genesis

WGC Mexico

Bay Hill

TPC

all in a row?

 

then Honda

WGC Match Play

Texas

Masters

The change has to happen as there is one less week between New Years and The Masters. The Valspar would move to 2 or 3 weeks after The Masters.

 

I don't see how this helps any of these tournaments. It won't help the Honda and will almost certainly crush either Mexico or the API.

[3jacker]

Now that Arnie's dead, the suits have no shame in switching things around to get dat $.

Same goes for Golf Channel relocating. Gotta wait for the legend to die, then we can do what we want.

Kind of like certain offspring of well-off parents.

[third-times-a-charm]

API is lucky enough to have invitational status in the CONUS, even with the 2020 change, will have an even stronger field than 2019 worth 66 points. WGC Mexico already had a paltry showing this year even as a guaranteed money event...so I'm a little biased, obviously, but I dont see the API faltering much. TPC has been the week after the API for years.

Valspar and Honda will continually suffer with a shift outside the 'swing'.

[Brock Savage]

God bless the people working on these second-tier events. I don't see how they maintain their enthusiasm, with the PGA doing all it can to keep them from attracting the top players.

[Hawkeye77]

"Let's move The Players, force the PGA to volunteer to move the PGA Championship, get those playoffs done even earlier because we will really get all those eyes we are losing to football ---- what could possibly go wrong?"

 

Almighty FedEx Cup "legacy", lol.

[Darth Putter]

Wait until the NFL moves the Super Bowl back two weeks to President's Day weekend due to week 17 and an extra bye week.

[smashdn]

Honda is dead in 2021.

 

The "gleam" of the Houston Open was you got to play the overseeded course a week before The Masters. They screwed that up on back. I see no reason for them to play in Texas ahead of The Masters unless they aren't in the field.

 

They are s c r ewing around and basically created a bunch of opposite field events up against time at the house.

[bladehunter]

Seems like if suits Tiger. Genesis. Off Mexico. Then API as warmup for players. Then off Honda on match play off Texas and then on Augusta.

[tiderider]

someone needs to tell the heads to eliminate one of the wgc events ... doesn't have to be the one in mexico, but it does need to be moved ...

[Titleist_PT23]

WGC Mexico and Shanghai are already a joke. Time to hire a restructuring firm and let them cut out the junk in the schedule.

API was in trouble a few years ago and then came roaring back. Not sure how it will be going forward.

[Holy Moses]

The sponsors have no say where their tournament falls in the schedule? It's 100% a PGA Tour decision?

[DrivingChamp]

This doesn’t help out the Honda at all

[00steven]

The new schedule is a disaster, way too compressed. The only thing I like is TPC in March but having the schedule end in August is a disaster.

[OldTomMorris]

I've never liked the schedule change from the outset but was willing to wait and see, nothing has changed my mind.

The lack of pushback from the players is a little sad.

[smashdn]

Wonder what the players want actually? Are they good with getting the season over in August basically?

[Holy Moses]

Yes, as long as they aren’t forced to play in the fall to keep up with FedEx points. The rookies love the fall swing.

[MattyO1984]

Another fine mess created by the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour alone. Can’t see how this works out good for the WGC Mexico or the API. To have a four week run where they go from an elevated status event, to a WGC, to an elevated event, to the 5th Major that they so desperately want. Honestly, the schedule is just ridiculous.

[golfer07840]

Golf Channel relocating is all about NBC, nothing more, nothing less.

Though I Feel bad for people who work for the GC, having to go from year round golf to, eeek.. CT where you golf 6 months of the year, if you're lucky.

Not to mention going from no State tax to playing one of the highest state taxes.

[golfer07840]

That move certainly seems inevitable doesn't it? It's just a matter of when.

Though, I heard if they get a 17th game, there won't be an in season bye, so that means the Super Bowl would still finish up on the same Sunday. But that's another discussion elsewhere.

[Hawkeye77]

14 games were plenty for an NFL season and the well being of the players long term - but everyone was greedy. Expansion, more games, realignment - but people still paying to go and buying all their crap. Golf is the only pro sport I keep in touch with and the PGA Tour seems determined to disabuse me of that interest.

[Titleist_PT23]

Thursday night football may be the only thing dumber than the current/proposed PGA Tour schedule.

I'm all for free markets and the athletes taking as much as they can get. But the inflation/growth over the last 20 years (or so) in these entertainment products is really amazing. In some ways it is almost kind of sad in that it is a sign of what society values vs. someone actually fixing many of the everyday problems that exist.

[Darth Putter]

The NFL only used a 14 game schedule from 1961-1978, 18 years.

16 games has been used for 42 seasons now.

Considering the popularity of the game in those years, it's a miracle the NFL isn't playing 20 games a year by now.

 

In the same time frame, top college teams have gone from 11 regular season games and a bowl game to 12 regular season games a conference playoff and a bowl game or two if you play for the National Title for a 15 game total.

[golfer07840]

14 games? They haven't played 14 games since 1977.

[RichieHunt]

I don't see it crushing API. In fact, it will probably hurt Genesis more than anything.

 

Genesis and API have the same purse size (API pays out more since it has a smaller field). Far more players live in Florida than they do in California. They do have a lot of players living in Arizona and Las Vegas, but it's still not as close as living in Orlando or Jupiter. And there's no income tax from Florida on your purse.

 

Mexico should survive because the purse size is bigger and there's no cut. But even that struggled to get top players in the field whereas API does not since Sawgrass is the next week (only about a 90 minute drive to get to as well.

 

In fact, this may hurt Honda and Pebble Beach even more. The purse sizes are less and for the most part, these Tour players like to keep their schedule to 3-4 weeks in a row and then take a break. I can see guys having little issue with playing LA, then Mexico City, then Orlando and then Sawgrass all in a row.

 

 

 

RH

[golfer07840]

If Tiger invites them, they will come. That's the one thing the Genesis has going for it. Plus, they all seem to love Riviera.

Pebble is hurt because of the format. As stated above, a lot of guys don't want to deal with the Ray Romano's of the world.

This kills Honda and Valspar though.

[RichieHunt]

Much more Valspar than Honda. They play the Honda because tons of players live nearby in the Jupiter/Palm Beach area.

 

I see Valspar turning into more like San Antonio.

 

 

 

RH

[nichho]

It would be interesting to find out but you can rest assued that the Tour will be doing the utmost to ensure that we don't find out.

Meanwhile we can get an idea about Rory's feelings regarding the schedule. He wants smaller elite, no cut fields but doesn't want to appear to be elitist. Rory McIlroy calls for 'streamlining' of golf tournament schedule"I don't want to come across as elitist," McIlroy told reporters. "But I think some smaller fields, maybe a few more events with no cuts. Look at the international properties the PGA Tour have started to go towards, like Korea and Japan, with 78-player fields and no cuts.

"I get so many playing opportunities, there are so many tournaments and there might be an over-saturation in golf in a way. You look at the NFL and they play 16 games a year, 20 games a year max and people want it all the time.

[dcmidnight]

Mexico should survive because the purse size is bigger and there's no cut. But even that struggled to get top players in the field whereas API does not since Sawgrass is the next week (only about a 90 minute drive to get to as well.

I was stunned at how many people in the Mexico field that I didn't know - and I dont mean I didnt know much about them. I mean didnt know, period.

[golfortennis]

McIlroy is my favorite player but he is way off base here. The issues have come from the tours' "playoff" formats, and WGCs. These are the no-cut smaller field events he talks about, and he wants more of them?

[nsxguy]