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The PGA Championship will move to May in 2019

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According to insider information obtained by the Associated Press, the PGA Championship will permanently move from August to May starting in 2019, when the event is being held at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course.

The report also says that the Players Championship will move from its May slot back into March, when the event was held originally.

The AP News reports these changes were made because of golf’s reinstatement to the Summer Olympics.

Here is the report in its entirety below.

The Associated Press has learned the PGA Championship is moving to May for the first time in 70 years when it goes to Bethpage Black in New York in 2019.

The move from August to May has been in the works for the last four years, and it involves The Players Championship moving from May back to its original March date.

Two officials involved in the discussions say the PGA of America will discuss details of the move as early as Tuesday at Quail Hollow Club. They spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because it has not been announced.

The catalyst behind the change was golf’s return to the Olympics. The PGA of America is interested in moving into the middle of the major championship season instead of the end. It also loosens the schedule in Olympic years.

We will update this story as more details become available.

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11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Holly Sonders

    Aug 8, 2017 at 11:50 am

    What people aren’t talking about is that the biggest loser of all is Bay Hill! It already was losing its prestige. Will now have as much importance as the Byron Nelson. SAD!

  2. Gordy

    Aug 8, 2017 at 9:27 am

    Great move and I love it…I think a little adverse weather state side for a major could give the PGA the identity we’ve all been begging for. All the negative Nancy’s on this web site wouldn’t like any move to include keeping it where it is already. Good move PGA now if the USGA could figure a way to be smart on issues Golf will have a fighting chance.

  3. Hans

    Aug 8, 2017 at 9:21 am

    Makes a lot of sense with Olympics. Will make it harder to go to as many Northern courses as is in the past, but it will mean a ton of Southern courses that have weather issues in August will be become much more viable options. A major in Florida or Texas will be on the agenda now.

    The big question this begs imo tho is what do they do the playoffs now, do the move them up to avoid football (likely) and have the season end before Labor Day? If so, they are going to be putting Tour Championship on in August. When Atlanta started hosting the tour championship, it was in October or November, just glorious weather in Atlanta, it doesn’t get much better. Then in moved to late Sept, which can sometimes be hot, still while not the perfect weather later, overall nice. However, late August in Atlanta is pushing it. Sometimes it can be ok, but it’s going to hot and muggy a lot. East Lake can handle it, but I doubt the sponsor Coke is too excited about it.

  4. Sour Grapes

    Aug 8, 2017 at 7:41 am

    So much for Glory’s last shot… I personally do not like golf as an Olympic sport (is that is what you want to call it) and I think this move is a bad idea!

  5. gvogelsang

    Aug 8, 2017 at 6:49 am

    This will end the PGA Championship as an important major. It will become an afterthought. The big season ending tournament will be the Fraud-X Cup in Atlanta. Monaghan wins, PGA loses. History goes down the drain.

    • Bert

      Aug 8, 2017 at 9:24 am

      Exactly! The least of the majors anyway, now will be meaningless. The FedEx Cup is nothing to the history of the game, just big bucks in peoples pockets, and produces the continuous boring updates of the standings. I have a hard time remembering won won last year, and certainly can’t remember others, who cares!

      Maybe this will enable The Memorial to step forward into perhaps “Major” status.

    • Frankie

      Aug 8, 2017 at 1:27 pm

      It was ruined when the PGA Tour decided to place the WGC Bridgestone event the week before the PGA Championship, giving players a headache on whether they should play at the WGC Bridgestone or prepare for the PGA Championship on its host course the week before, as Tiger and Nicklaus did just that for every major. This is a great move by the PGA.

  6. Ronald Montesano

    Aug 8, 2017 at 6:15 am

    This could not be worse news. Has anyone paid attention to the 2002 and 2009 US Opens at Bethpage? Sunday in 2002 was cold and rainy, and they ran out of coffee (who sells coffee at golf tournaments?) 2009 was a cold, rainy mess, a nightmare for the tournament, which barely finished.

    Bethpage is not the Hamptons, where the soil is super sandy and drains beautifully. Watch the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock, and see if the rain impacts play (spoiler: it won’t.) This is interesting if true, as it makes one wonder exactly what will replace a major in the month of August.

  7. Chris C.

    Aug 7, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    Apparently, the players like the idea of getting the majors out of the way as soon as possible. The Players will start the “golf season” in March (Winter in Wisconsin). The Master will of course remain in April (still Winter). The new PGA will be in May (snow has finally melted and all courses have opened for play in Wisconsin). U.S. Open in June (the only Major that can be played in the Northern states). The Open in July can then close the “golf season”.

    • D

      Aug 8, 2017 at 2:28 am

      Well, now that the season is a wrap-around and there is no true Holiday break as in the past during the months of November and December, it’s a very long season for most as they play pretty much all year long. But this new scheduling with the Players in March and PGA in May will definitely mess up some players who won’t be able to shift their pace of so many big ones so close to each other to recoup from their injury-stricken bodies. So many big events run through like that is going to hurt a lot of players but may allow some of the fringe ones to grab a few.

  8. Ryan

    Aug 7, 2017 at 5:57 pm

    Won’t this take a lot of course is in the northeast and midwest out of the picture for this event? Average high of 68 an average low of 51 in May for Farmingdale, NY where Bethpage is.

    It also doesn’t leave a lot of “grow” time for the course in the north to even get ready.

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