PGA Championship to move to May from 2019
The PGA Championship date change has been confirmed and from 2019 will be the second major of the season.
When the tournament heads to Bethpage Black in two years’ time, it will be played in May. As a result, the Players Championship will move back to March, while the European Tour have reacted by moving its flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, to September.
The PGA of America opted for an earlier slot in between the Masters and US Open in the hope of maintaining more interest in the tournament.
March: The Players
April: Masters
May: PGA
June: US Open
July: The Open
August: PlayoffsYep, dig it.
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) August 7, 2017
It appears that the PGA of America have already informed some of the players and Rickie Fowler has welcomed the news.
“I think it doesn’t matter from the standpoint of the PGA being in August or May because it’s a major and we’ll all be ready no matter when it’s played,” Fowler told Golf Digest.
“From a scheduling standpoint, it might be a lot better for us to have an actual off-season like every other sport. The schedule will be more uniform from March to August as far as big events, which will probably be a good thing.”
Phil Mickelson, who won the event in 2005, echoed Fowler’s sentiments believing it will be a better long-term solution for the tournament.
“I think it will be a really good thing for the PGA, because it would be earlier on in the rotation when there is maybe more excitement for the majors,” Mickelson said.
“We get to August, and that excitement kind of dwindles a little. It’s at a time of year where golf seems to linger on, so maybe there will be more energy behind the PGA earlier in the year.”
On the BMW PGA Championship decision, the European Tour’s chief executive Keith Pelley told the body’s website: “Significant changes to the global golfing calendar have given us the opportunity to move the BMW PGA Championship to a more favourable date from 2019 onwards.
“This is a new chapter for the event but we expect similar interest in the autumn, as was shown historically by the World Match Play Championship when it was played at Wentworth Club at that time of the year.”
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Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
