By Rahul Banerji
The PGA Tour’s 2020-21 season will have 50 official FedEx Cup tournaments – including 14 that were postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and end with the Tour Championship in September next year.
The schedule will see one tournament more than the original 2019-20 list, and features the most events in a season since 1975 (51), the PGA Tour said in a statement.
Meanwhile, at the ongoing FedEx Cup decider currently under way in Atlanta, the world numbers 1 to 4 stood in almost that order on the leaderboard after Friday’s first day.
World no. 1 and FedEx standings leader Dustin Johnson led the way at East Lake Golf Club on 13-under par after starting with a 10-stroke advantage thanks to his ranking.
Sharing the Tour Championship lead was no. 2 Jon Rahm who opened with an 8-shot advantage and carded a 5-under 65 to Johnson’s 3-under 67 to share the lead.
World no. 3 Justin Thomas was third on 11-under with a 66 while new daddy and world no. 4 Rory McIlroy was fourth on 9-under with a day’s top round of 6-uner 64, the same as fifth-placed Abraham Ancer.
Twice over
Three events postponed in 2020 – US Open, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship and the Masters – will be played late in 2020 and again on their traditional dates during the 2021 calendar year, the PGA Tour said.
This is in addition to 11 tournaments that were cancelled and not rescheduled as a result of the pandemic, including The Players Championship.
In addition, the men’s Olympic Golf competition will take place from July 26 to August 1, 2021, as a standalone event for the first time.
“We are excited to present the full 2020-21 PGA Tour schedule, a ‘super season’ of 50 fully sponsored events and capped by the 15th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.
“If you’re a golf fan, this is a dream season with more significant events than ever before, including the Olympic Games.
“Building our schedule is always complicated, but never more so as over the past several months as we continue to navigate challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We appreciate the collaboration with our title sponsors, tournament organizations and golf’s governing bodies that has brought us here to the conclusion of an extraordinary 2019-20 season this week, and on the brink of a season of 50 events, beginning next week.”
New start
The 2020-21 season will begin from September 7 to 13 at the Safeway Open in California which will serve as the season-opening tournament for the sixth time in seven years, the tour statement said.
The US Open (September 14-20) at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, follows, being played in the month of September for the first time since 1913.
There is also the rescheduled Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship (September 21 to 27), which will award full FedEx Cup points (500) for the first time.
The Sanderson Farms Championship (September 28 to October 4) will precede a three-event swing on the West Coast with the relocation of two of the Tour’s Asia Swing events.
Following the annual stop in Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (October 5 to 11), The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges, held usually in Jeju Island, Korea, will be played at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, and will be renamed for the stand-in venue.
Another shift
The following week, Japan’s Zozo Chapionship will be played at Sherwood Country Club in California (October 19 to 25), and will also be renamed for 2020.
The final event of the traditional Asia Swing, the WGC-HSBC Champions has been cancelled, with the Bermuda Championship (October 26 to November 1) occupying the week on its own and awarding full FedExCup points.
The Houston Open moves a month later on the 2020-21 schedule (November 2 to 8) and precedes the Masters (November 9 to 15).
The fall portion of the schedule concludes with The RSM Classic (November 16-22), and the Mayakoba Golf Classic (November 30-December 6) the week after.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 4 to 10) opens the new year with the same sequencing as the 2019-20 season until March, as there have been adjustments made to a number of Florida-based tournaments.
The Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 1 to 7) and The Players Championship (March 8 to 14) will follow the WGC-Mexico Championship and Puerto Rico Open (both February 22 to 28), while The Honda Classic (March 15-21) moves to the week after.
The Valspar Championship (April 26 to May 2) will now conclude on May 2, between the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (April 19 to 25) and the Wells Fargo Championship (May 3 to 9).
Long stretch
After the 40th Honda Classic, the Tour’s longest-running title sponsored event, an eight-week stretch begins that includes six tournaments that were cancelled and not rescheduled during the 2019-20 season prior to the PGA Championship.
These include the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (March 22 to 28) to the AT&T Byron Nelson (May 10 to 16), set for the first time at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, the PGA Tour said.
Additional tournaments that return to the schedule include the RBC Canadian Open (June 7 to 13), John Deere Classic (July 5 to 11), The Open Championship and the Barbasol Championship (both July 12 to 18).
The men’s Olympic Golf competition will be played the week after the 3M Open (July 19 to 25) as a standalone event for the first time.
It will be followed by the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Barracuda Championship (both August 2 to 8), before the FedEx Cup regular season concludes at the Wyndham Championship (August 9 to 15).
The FedEx Cup Playoffs will consist of the Northern Trust that returns to Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship at East Lake that will conclude on September 5.
Major championship venues include Kiawah Island Golf Resort (PGA Championship), Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, (US Open), and Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, (Open Championship).
Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan will host the men’s Olympic Golf competition.
Also read: Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup postponed by a year each
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