PGA Tour Releases Revised Schedule

The PGA Tour announced Thursday its revised tournament schedule for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season. As it stands, the season will resume on June 11-14 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, at Colonial Country Club.

New targeted return date for the PGA Tour: June 11-14, at Colonial.

No fans the first four events.

Here's the schedule for the rest of 2020, which, of course, is subject to change: pic.twitter.com/wLqYu3eVqj

— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) April 16, 2020

The only condition to this glorious news for sports fans? No fans will be in attendance for at least the first four events on the schedule. Following the Charles Schwab Challenge will be the RBC Heritage (June 18-21), Travelers Championship (June 25-28) and the Rocket Mortage Classic (July 2-5).

A week ago, golf leaders announced new dates for the Tour’s major tournaments. However, the only major tournament to be included in the ’19-’20 season is the PGA Championship (August 6-9).

Having a timetable for a return to sports can be exciting, but the Tour still has a lot of logistics to sort out. ESPN’s golf reporter Michael Collins says some players are concerned about the practicality of returning.

The FedEx Playoffs will commence two weeks after the PGA Championship and carry into September with the playing of the Tour Championship (September 4-7). At that point, the tour will quickly shift to the 2020-2021 season.

If all goes as planned, the ’20-’21 season will consist of six majors, including the rescheduled U.S. Open and Masters tournaments.

The new schedule hinges on a number of changes to player accommodations. As a result, the luxuries of the PGA Tour might have to give way in order for the season to happen.

Other Changes

In addition to releasing their revised schedule, the PGA Tour made a couple of other changes as well.

Three invitationals on the new schedule – the Charles Schwab Challenge, RBC Heritage and the Memorial Tournament – will increase their field size to 144 to provide additional playing opportunities.

Additionally, A Military Tribute at Greenbrier will no longer be apart of the PGA Tour schedule. The Greenbrier Classic had been a facet of the tour schedule for ten years.

Some Perspective

Of course, this announcement comes at the delight of any sane sports fan. However, even Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan acknowledged there are several steps left to complete before making the return.

“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,” Monahan said in a statement.

The Tour has discussed the possibility of testing players at tournaments. But Monahan and company haven’t released any official safety procedures at this point.

Augusta in November is certainly a prominent headline. But those involved with the PGA Tour have a lot of work to do to make that headline a reality.