PGA first major sport to plan re-start, but no fans for 4 weeks; Expanded fields, new schedules include Hero WC

V Krishnaswamy

 April 16: The PGA Tour, the world’s biggest and most lucrative golf tour with the world’s best players playing on it, will become the first major sport to re-start action in June. The PGA plans to resume play with the first four events closed to the public. It will thereafter continue to monitor the situation.

As per the announcement, 14 events in 2020 Season right up to Tour Championships ending on September 7, and another 13 FedExCup events plus four others, including the star-studded Hero World Challenge headlined by Tiger Woods, were also announced for 2021 season, which falls in the 2020 calendar year.

“The health and safety of all associated with the PGA TOUR and our global community continues to be our No. 1 priority, and our hope is to play a role – responsibly – in the world’s return to enjoying the things we love,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan.

“Today’s announcement is another positive step for our fans and players as we look toward the future, but as we’ve stressed on several occasions, we will resume competition only when – working closely with our tournaments, partners and communities – it is considered safe to do so under the guidance of the leading public health authorities.”

The PGA TOUR had previously targeted the week of the Charles Schwab Challenge (May 18-24) as the restart of the TOUR season, which has been suspended since THE PLAYERS Championship was cancelled on March 12.

For health and safety reasons due to COVID-19, the latest announcement delayed that timeline by three weeks to June 8, starting with the Charles Schwab Challenge and have additional tournaments being repositioned till the season’s conclusion, which is the TOUR Championship, ending on September 7.

The first four events will be closed to the general public. The Tour will monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of local and state authorities in order to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market. The TOUR will continually review available COVID-19-related protocols that could be implemented at PGA TOUR events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved.

All three events that were previously scheduled between May 18 and June 8 – the Charles Schwab Challenge, Rocket Mortgage Classic and the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide – have been moved to later dates in the calendar.

The RBC Heritage, originally slated for this week (April 13-19) but cancelled on March 17, has been added back to the schedule in the week formerly occupied by the U.S. Open, which has been postponed to September.

Two events, the RBC Canadian Open and Barbasol Championship, are cancelled.

With 22 events having been played through the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the adjusted season-long schedule – subject to change – now consists of 36 events, including three FedExCup Playoffs events concluding with the TOUR Championship.

With the health and safety of all associated with the PGA TOUR tournaments being of utmost importance, the TOUR will be working with its media partners on production plans upon the restart to the season. CBS is scheduled to televise the Charles Schwab Challenge through THE NORTHERN TRUST (11 consecutive events, inclusive of PGA Championship), and NBC is scheduled to televise the BMW Championship and TOUR Championship.

The TOUR has also introduced the season-opening weeks of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season which has 13 FedExCup events, including, as announced earlier, the U.S. Open and Masters Tournament.

There will also be four other events, not counted towards FedExCup but sanctioned by PGA Tour and they include the annual star-studded Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas from December 3 to 6, 2020.

 

Revised 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season schedule:

  • June 8-14: Charles Schwab Challenge, Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
  • June 15-21: RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina
  • June 22-28: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut
  • July 2-July 5: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan
  • July 6-12: John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
  • July 13-19: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
  • July 20-26: 3M Open, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota
  • July 27-August 2: World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee
  • July 27-August 2: Barracuda Championship, Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California
  • August 3-9: PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California
  • August 10-16: Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina
  • August 17-23: THE NORTHERN TRUST, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts
  • August 24-30: BMW Championship, Olympia Fields Country Club (North), Olympia Fields, Illinois
  • August 31-September 7: TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia

 

2020-21 PGA TOUR Season: September 7, 2020 onwards (Fall portion):

 

  • September 7-13: Safeway Open, Silverado Resort and Spa North, Napa, California
  • September 14-20: U.S. Open, Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, New York
  • # September 21-27: Ryder Cup, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin
  • September 21-27: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, Corales Golf Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  • September 28-October 4: Sanderson Farms Championship, Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi
  • October 5-11: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • October 12-18: THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Nine Bridges, Jeju Island, Korea
  • October 19-25: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
  • October 26-November 1: World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China
  • October 26-November 1: Bermuda Championship, Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda
  • November 2-8: Houston Open, Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
  • November 9-15: Masters Tournament, Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia
  • November 16-22: The RSM Classic, Sea Island Resort (Seaside and Plantation), Sea Island, Georgia
  • November 23-29: Open week (Thanksgiving)
  • November 30-December 6: Mayakoba Golf Classic, El Camaleón Golf Club, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
  • # November 30-December 6: Hero World Challenge, Albany, New Providence, Bahamas
  • # December 7-13: QBE Shootout, Tiburon GC, Naples, Florida
  • # December 14-20: PNC Father-Son Challenge, The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida

# indicates unofficial event

 

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