The PGA Tour "wants to avoid having its championship compete against the NFL and college football, perennial winners over golf in TV ratings," which "could mean the end" of TPC Boston's tournament being included in the season-ending FedEx Cup Playoffs, according to a front-page piece by Mike Kirby of the Attleboro SUN CHRONICLE. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is "actively pursuing shortening the golf tour’s season, ending it before Labor Day weekend with the Tour Championship." In addition, Monahan said it was “likely” the PGA Tour would shorten the playoff schedule from four tournaments to three. What that means for the Dell Technologies Championship, formerly the Deutsche Bank Championship, is "unknown at this time." Kirby notes there is a "good chance" that the tournament would "lose its Labor Day position." Besides the “tradition,” tournament organizers have also "emphasized the event’s unique status of ending on a Monday holiday rather than a Sunday." The tournament is "one of two playoff events in the Northeast -- the other is in the New York market -- so one of the events may be shifted to the regular season." Kirby notes the change is "far from a done deal." To do it, the Tour would "have to convince" organizers of the PGA Championship to "switch its traditional date." The shortened season is "favored by players, who say the current one, which has only a three-week break, is too long." The potential change "comes at a time when the Norton tournament is undergoing changes." Deutsche Bank, which "faced financial difficulties, turned over sponsorship last fall to EMC, the Hopkinton-based technology giant. EMC "then merged" with Dell Technology. In addition, the Tour is "now running the event at TPC Boston." In recent years, the Tiger Woods Foundation -- "the principal charity beneficiary of the tournament -- ran the event; it was originally managed by IMG" (Attleboro SUN CHRONICLE, 4/14).
