The PGA Tour is in Sea Island, Ga. this week for the RSM Classic, and much conversation has been around “potential changes” to the tournament in the face of a reworked PGA Tour schedule, according to Derrick Davis of the BRUNSWICK NEWS.
The “evolving schedule” has left some uncertainty around what tournaments like the RSM could look like two years from now, under the updated non-wraparound PGA Tour season. Going forward, events in the fall will likely “serve as an opportunity for those outside top 70 to retain their playing cards.” Tournament Sponsor and Golf HOFer Davis Love III said the tournament is not sure “what’s going to happen a year from now, two years from now,” But he is “optimistic that this is all going to work out” (BRUNSWICK NEWS, 11/16).
GOLFCHANNEL.com’s Rex Hoggard notes “few, if any,” are exactly sure what the fall season will look like in 2024, but that there is “sure to be a substantial change.” PGA Tour member Mackenzie Hughes said the new fall set-up will change his mentality from “playing for FedExCup Points,” to just “playing for cash.” Hughes: “It’s kind of odd because I’ve always played the fall thinking I want to get my card locked up in the fall. It’s going to change a lot and it’s unfortunate because it’s going to take away from some great events that have been around a long time and have meant a lot to the Tour” (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 11/16). In Jacksonville, Garry Smits notes the RSM is “likely to continue,” given its connection to Love, “popularity in a golf-made resort area” and the tournament raising nearly $30M in charity since it began (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 11/16).
FALL FOCUS: Golf Channel’s Tripp Isenhour said with the schedule, “I would have a fall series and I would allow the players trying to play for their eligibility, which is going to be part of the story and that’s always compelling,” to compete in the series. Isenhour: “I would have a points system and a thing other than just playing for your job that (creates) some excitement.” Golf Channel’s Jaime Diaz said the fall events are an attempt to attract “more eyeballs” to the PGA Tour and it is a “pragmatic solution that was driven by the LIV threat” (“Golf Central,” Golf Channel, 11/16).
The PGA Tour is at the RSM Classic this week, but with the new schedule format there are questions about its futureGETTY IMAGES
Source : Sport Business Journal
