PGA Championship Officially Moved to May Starting in 2019

With the PGA Championship set to start in just a few days, much focus has been paid to who is the favorite to win the tournament. On Tuesday, however, news about the tournament itself was finally made official.

After months of speculation, it was officially announced in a press conference at Quail Hollow that the PGA Championship will be moved into May and be played the weekend before Memorial Day starting in 2019 when the tournament is hosted by Bethpage Black. As a result of this move, it was also announced that THE PLAYERS Championship will be moved to a date yet to be determined around mid-March.

This move seems to be supported by the players, including Phil Mickelson. “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,” said Mickelson. “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.”

Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of America Peter Bevacqua speaks…

Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of America Peter Bevacqua speaks at a press conference prior to the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 8, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

According to some rumors, this move has been considered by the PGA since as early as 2013 but finally came to fruition this year. The main reason to want to make this move harkens back to Mickelson’s point about excitement. Rather than have to compete with the likes of the NFL, it made more sense to move the major up in the schedule when excitement is still high.

This move does have the potential to cause problems, however. A lot of the courses that are set to host the PGA Championship over the next few years are all northern locations, such as Oak Hill in Rochester, NY, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straights in Wisconsin and Hazeltine National in Minnesota. These locations could have bad weather, causing more delays and postponements than usual.

Despite the weather concerns, it seems like the PGA has made a good decision to alter the schedule and maximize excitement for the PGA Championship. It will be interesting to see how the change will work once 2019 hits.

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