News

Detroit could be getting a PGA Tour event

Published

2 years ago

Apr 24, 2018

As a business based in the Detroit metro area, GolfWRX is happy to hear this: the Motor City could be getting a PGA Tour event.

With the PGA Tour’s 2019-2020 schedule expected in the weeks ahead, the Detroit News reports the Tour could announce (Detroit-based) Quicken Loans will sponsor an event at Detroit Golf Club. The company ceased sponsorship of the former Quicken Loans National in Washington, D.C. last year.

The Detroit News quotes a source with knowledge of the Tour’s scheduling discussions as saying an official announcement is near.

While the Tour, Quicken Loans, and Detroit Golf Club are mum on the matter, Quicken Loans’ statement to the paper last year made clear the company’s intention to bring a tournament to the city.

“As we look to the future, we remain interested in exploring ways to highlight the energy and revitalization taking place in Detroit…A prime golf event, featuring the world’s best players, is certainly something we would be interested in pursuing as a way to showcase our great American city.”

If the Detroit tournament takes the calendar spot of the The National, it would be contested in late June/early July. Additionally, with the PGA Championship’s move to may next year, there’s some speculation the Detroit event could be contested in August.

As mentioned, we know the PGA Championship is moving to May in 2019. Additionally, The Players will move to March, TPC Southwind will take over WGC hosting duties from Firestone Country Club, and the FedEx Cup Playoffs will wrap before start of football season.

We’ll have to wait (eagerly) for official word on the Detroit event.

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Morning 9: PGA Tour schedule takeaways | Tour wants more coronavirus testing | Tiger’s 2020 schedule?

Published

2 days ago

Apr 17, 2020

Ben Alberstadt

1. Takeaways from the revised schedule

Excellent stuff from PGATour.com staff rounding up key takeaways from the schedule announcement…

“JUNE 11 START…The first round of the revised schedule is June 11 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Pazder said moving the Charles Schwab Challenge back three weeks was a key factor in determining when to re-start the season. “There’s a lot that can happen in a positive way in those three additional weeks with this delay, and that was, I think, what drove us,” he said. While Pazder said the TOUR is optimistic the date will hold, there are no certainties in the current coronavirus landscape. “I’m not going to say on this call that I have 110 percent certainty, but we are very confident that we will be able to play that second week in June,” he said. Pazder added that his level of confidence is based on the developments being made in regard to testing. “It gives us confidence that we will be able to develop a strong testing protocol that will mitigate risk as much as we possibly can,” he said. “We know that there will also be further developments over the next eight weeks before we were to resume play.”

“NO FANS. The first four events are slated to be played without fans, which will allow tournaments to stay in compliance with social distancing guidelines. Pazder said only people essential to conducting the tournament will be allowed – players, caddies, tournament rules officials, broadcast team, select number of people from the host organizations. Walking scorers also will likely be needed to “properly score the event and disseminate information across various platforms, whether it’s the telecast or digitally and so forth.” Other constituent groups are being evaluated for potential inclusion.”

“ON-SITE TESTING. Dennis said the TOUR is spending a “lot of time right now learning about testing” and that as it becomes widely available, it would be appropriate to use testing to help golf’s return. “We think that that’s critical for a lot of different reasons but certainly for the communities we play in and the 3,000-plus charities that we support,” Dennis said. “So we’re in an evaluation mode learning about the testing, building out what we think could work from a testing protocol, and we’ll certainly have more information on that over the next couple weeks and months.” Specifically in regards to players, Dennis said one possibility is to have them tested before they leave home, “then proper hygiene and travel protocols as you travel towards the venue, possibly then testing that would go on in a safe and as clean an environment as we can make, both in terms of what you’re doing in your daily routine at the golf course but also at the host hotel and dinners and all that.”

Full piece.

2. Tour wants more coronavirus testing

ESPN’s Bob Harig…”With numerous medical and government entities suggesting that widespread testing for the coronavirus is necessary as the country attempts to reopen, PGA Tour officials acknowledged Thursday that they are keen to study and see ramped-up testing as a revised schedule was announced.”

“We see changes and developments being made in the world of testing, available tests,” said Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour’s chief tournament and competitions officer. “We’re following very closely through the assistance of our expert medical advisers the development of more large-scale testing capabilities, more rapid-response type tests, whether it’s through finger pricks, testing for antibodies.”

“We obviously are aware that the FDA recently approved use of a saliva-based test. It gives us confidence that we will be able to develop a strong testing protocol that will mitigate risk as much as we possibly can. We know that there will also be further developments over the next eight weeks before we were to resume play.”

Full piece.

3. “You’re an independent contractor”

Geoff Shackelford…”The PGA Tour rolled out an ambitious 2019-20 schedule completion, followed by a 2020-21 schedule start (minus the suddenly-defunct Greenbrier Classic and cancelled Canadian and Barracuda stops). But this comment from the PGA Tour’s Andy Pazder is certainly accurate, though insensitive to players who have COVID-19 concerns.”

“From a teleconference featuring operations heads Andy Pazdur and Tyler Dennis in support of the schedule rollout”

“Q. What about the players who don’t feel comfortable? There are going to be players who don’t feel comfortable coming back. What happens to those players if you start and they’re not comfortable coming back playing again?”

“ANDY PAZDER: That’s a question I think you need to direct to individual players. My only experience with anything like this I guess would be the first few tournaments following 9/11. We had players that were uneasy about air travel. That’s one of the beauties of being a PGA TOUR member; you’re an independent contractor. You’re not required to be at any PGA TOUR event. So they have that discretion to play tournaments where they favor the golf course or tournaments in this instance, to your question, they may or may not feel comfortable. But that’s an individual player decision.”

“So I would direct you to reach out to some of the players that you know to get their direct perspective. I can’t speak on their behalf as it relates to that.”

Full piece.

4. Tour/Greenbrier contract finished

AP report…”The PGA Tour has scrapped its contract to hold annual golf tournaments at a resort owned by billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice after turnout lagged and federal prosecutors eyed the lavish retreat.”

“The Greenbrier resort issued a statement Thursday saying it came to an agreement with the Tour to cancel this year’s tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic and to cancel future golf contests that were scheduled at the resort through 2026.”

“The yearly tournament, A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier, has struggled to draw fanfare after moving from summer to fall. Last year, attendance dragged as the matches went up against college football home games, even as one of Justice’s family mining companies bought 30,000 tickets to give to fans.”

Full piece.

5. Tiger’s 2020 schedule?

Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport believes it’s most probably TW won’t tee it up again until the Memorial…

“Memorial, Muirfield Village G.C., July 16-19, Dublin, Ohio…Likelihood of playing: 9…“It’s Jack Nicklaus’ tournament. It’s a hyper-elite field. Woods has played in this event every year he’s been healthy, including in 2019, when it was the only non-major he played between March and the FedEx Cup Playoffs in August. He’s a five-time winner at Muirfield Village, and it falls three weeks before the PGA Championship. There’s a chance this is Woods’ first tournament back, and the only start he makes before the PGA.”

And then not again until…”PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, Aug. 6-9, San Francisco…Likelihood of playing: 10…It’s a major championship, and Woods has played well at Harding-he beat John Daly in a playoff to win the WGC-American Express in 2005 and was 5-0 in the Presidents Cup in 2009. If he’s healthy, he’s playing.”

But his full breakdown of the chances of Woods playing each event is worth a read.

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PGA Tour unveils new schedule; June return with no fans for first 4 events

Published

3 days ago

Apr 16, 2020

Gianni Magliocco

The PGA Tour has unveiled its revised schedule for the remainder of the 2019/20 season and the fall part of the 2020/21 season.

The new schedule will see golf return to the PGA Tour on June 8th at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

The RBC Heritage which had previously been canceled has now been reinstated on the schedule and will take place from July 13-19. Both the Canadian Open and Barbasol Championship have now been canceled.

The first four events will be closed to the general public, but the Tour says they “will continue to monitor the situation” in reference to the current Coronavirus pandemic.

The three invitational events on the schedule – the Charles Schwab Challenge, RBC Heritage and the Memorial Tournament – will now have a revised field size of 144 to allow players more opportunities to compete.

The Tour has also announced that A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier will no longer be on the schedule, which according to the Tour is a mutual agreement by The Greenbrier and the PGA Tour.

Read the full announcement from the Tour here.

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 2-5: 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

Speaking on the announcement of the new schedule, Tour chief Jay Monahan stated

“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,. 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.”

2020-21 PGA Tour Season Schedule (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, Tiburón GC, Naples, Florida

• # December 14-20: PNC Father-Son Challenge, The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida

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One-on-one fittings via Zoom: Ping introduces Tele-Fit Experience

Published

3 days ago

Apr 15, 2020

Ryan Barath

Ping has always been a leader in custom fitting golf clubs, and once again they are at the forefront of technology and consumer innovation thanks to the introduction of the Ping Tele-Fit Experience.

Launching immediately, the Tele-Fitting Experience offers a private face-to-face consultation with one of Ping’s Master Fitters via Zoom conferencing. This includes fitters responsible for the VIP fitting experience at Ping headquarters in Phoenix, as well as reps that work on both the PGA and LPGA Tours.

I had the chance to connect with Ping VP of Fitting Marty Jertson to talk about the new initiative and how it came to be.

RB: Is Tele-Fitting Experience this something you’ve been working on for a while, and you just decided to release now?

MJ: We have always been about innovation and have had this in the works for some time now, but the current situation certainly allowed us to expedite part of the process so we could introduce this to consumers. As many people might know, PING has had a number of online fitting tools available for customers to use on their own, but with Tele-Fit you we give golfers the opportunity to go through our new WEBFIT program along with one of our PING master fitters. We’ve been using data for a long time and have a number of internal pieces of software for both research and development purposes, and to help offer the best information to our fitters to help golfers play better golf.

RB: How “into the weeds” can you get through the Tele-fitting experience?

MJ: We still encourage golfers to see a fitter in person whenever possible for a dynamic fitting, but the benefit of working with a fitter while going through WEBFIT tools means we can get quite in-depth. We can utilize video of both full swing and putting strokes to go beyond just the question and anser process thanks to Zoom and it gives our fitters the opportunity to look at player dynamics.

Not only that but if a player has their current specs, and their launch conditions available our Master Fitters can go into further detail by utilizing software on the backend to offer club specs.

For more information or to book your Ping Tele-Fitting Experience, check out the company website.

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