The PGA TOUR today announced an expanded 2019-20 season schedule of 49 FedExCup tournaments, featuring a dramatically changed opening segment and several late-season adjustments to accommodate the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The schedule reflects a net increase of three tournaments over the current season. Eleven of the 46 regular season events will be conducted in the opening portion of the schedule between September and November. This segment includes two new tournaments in The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan and the Bermuda Championship, plus the return of A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier and the Houston Open following one-year absences due to their transition from 2018 mid-season dates.
Later in the season, the TOUR will have an open week during the men’s Olympic competition (week of 27 July-2 August) before resuming with the Wyndham Championship and three FedExCup Playoffs events. Several changes also have been made leading up to the Olympics, most notably: the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit moving one month earlier to late May; and the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship shifting from late July to the first week of the month, exchanging dates with the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota.
‘After a very successful first year with our new schedule, we are thrilled to expand the number of events to 49 while maintaining a great flow from start to finish, allowing our fans to better engage and follow the TOUR throughout the season,’ said PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan.
‘For the second year, we’re excited about kicking off the Season of Championships with THE PLAYERS in March, bookended by the FedExCup Playoffs in August, and the return of the Olympics in that window. As for the early-season portion of the schedule, our players grasp the importance of a strong start in the Race for the FedExCup and this has translated into growth and momentum for the events played in the fall.’
With the PGA TOUR season now ending in August at the TOUR Championship, the 2019-20 season will open the week of 9-15 September with A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. The Sanderson Farms Championship follows with its first-ever standalone date (16-22 September), before the TOUR moves on to the Safeway Open, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and Houston Open.
The TOUR then embarks on a three-tournament Asian swing, beginning 14-20 October with THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES at Jeju Island, Korea. The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP debuts at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba Prefecture 21-27 October, followed by the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, the week of 28 October-3 November, which also marks the debut of the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Club in Southampton.
Following a week off, the TOUR continues the 2019 segment at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (11-17 November) before concluding with The RSM Classic. While that marks the end of FedExCup competition until the first week of January 2020, the 13th Presidents Cup returns to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia the week of 9-15 December. It was there that the International Team claimed its lone victory over the US Team in 1998.
Once the TOUR resumes in January in Hawaii, the scheduling sequence remains unchanged from the current season until the Rocket Mortgage Classic’s move from the last week of June to 25-31 May. The next four weeks remain the same before the move of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship to 29 June-5 July and the 3M Open to 20-26 July, the week before the Olympic competition.
Following the Olympic Games, the Regular Season wraps up at the Wyndham Championship (3-9 August), where not only the FedExCup Playoffs field will be finalised, but the added drama of the season-long Wyndham Rewards Top 10 will be determined. Introduced this season, the $10-million competition caps the regular season by rewarding the 10 leaders in FedExCup points, with $2 million going to the winner.
Due to the off week for the Olympics, the FedExCup Playoffs will begin one week later and conclude the final week of August: THE NORTHERN TRUST 10-16 August; BMW Championship 17-23 August; and the TOUR Championship 24-30 August.
The FedExCup Playoffs wrap up the Season of Championships, which begins with THE PLAYERS Championship (9-15 March) and continues through the Masters Tournament (6-12 April); PGA Championship (11-17 May); US Open (15-21 June); and The Open Championship (13-19 July).
Several new or familiar venues are included during this stretch, beginning with the PGA Championship visiting TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, the US Open returning to Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, and The Open Championship going to Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England.
Additionally, THE NORTHERN TRUST will be held for the first time in the Boston market at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, while the BMW Championship will visit Olympia Fields Country Club in suburban Chicago.
