PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua said that none of the northern venues signed on to host the PGA Championship in future years -- Bethpage Black ('19), Trump Bedminster ('22) and Oak Hill ('23) -- "had an issue" with moving the tournament from August to May beginning in '19, according to Bob Harig of ESPN.com. Bevacqua does not believe the move will "preclude other such venues from hosting the championship," while it "does open up the possibility to others." He said, "We are taking nothing off the table at this time. And it opens up more parts of the country. It's more comfortable in the Southeast. It's more comfortable in Florida. It's more comfortable in Texas" (ESPN.com, 8/8). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Rex Hoggard said it was a "good move" by the PGA of America, but there "are some issues" with the decision. The PGA is "giving up some northern venues with the new date and what has been the event's identity -- the year's final chance to win a major." GOLFCHANNEL.com's Ryan Lavner noted his only problem with the move is "what will the PGA be known for." The tournament will fall "into a weird spot, as the second major of the year." Lavner: "As for eliminating the northern venues, I'm not buying it -- yet." The move could rule out past PGA sites like Whistling Straits in Wisconsin and Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, but Bethpage and Oak Hill hosting the tournament in the spring will "tell us more." Hoggard: "It adds new venues in the south and southwest, which may end up being a good trade off; but the best thing about this move is it keeps the PGA from becoming an afterthought every four years during the Olympics. It was their only option" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 8/8).
CARRYING THE FLAME: Bevacqua in a special to GOLF DIGEST wrote the PGA of America "realized that moving our major championship around every four years to create space for the Olympic Games was not a good formula for extended success." Bevacqua: "We proudly support and continue to support the Olympics, but we were not thrilled with the prospect of having our date in August altered every four years." Talks about moving the major began in '13, but they "picked up speed as we approached" last year's PGA Championship. The organization was "well down the road in our analysis of moving the PGA Championship to May" when PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and his team "walked us through a complete calendar-year vision that they believed would benefit the game at the elite men’s level across the board." Their vision "included moving the Players Championship back to its original March date." Not "knowing how deeply we were in the weeds of our own analysis, they asked how we felt about potentially moving the PGA Championship to May." Bevacqua: "The pieces were starting to fall into place" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 8/8). GOLF DIGEST's Jaime Diaz wrote while Bevacqua "insists that his overriding priority was making sure that any change would be a benefit to the PGA Championship, the overall professional game is the biggest winner." The schedule will now "present a symmetrical and uninterrupted succession of four months in which a major championship is played." Because the Olympic golf competition will "no longer cause the PGA Championship to move its date every four years, the professional golf calendar will not be as compressed in an Olympic year as it was" in '16. There is now a "strong possibility that players (and fans) will get essentially a month-long break from official tournament golf" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 8/8).
PIN HIGH: USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes moving the PGA to May "gives the tournament its proper due as a major, making it a centerpiece in the schedule." Bumping The Players to March "gives the PGA Tour a strong, six-month stretch without any lulls -- for players and fans alike." Playing the PGA Championship in August has been an "awkward fit for years, even if tournament organizers didn’t want to acknowledge it." Aside from years when the career Grand Slam was in play, or "one of the hot young stars was gunning for his first major, what should be one of golf’s biggest deals had less buzz than some pro-ams" (USA TODAY, 8/9). MORNINGREAD.com's Mike Purkey writes every golf entity "gets something out of this new arrangement." It "makes sense for the major season to end at the British Open, which long has been the event on the calendar that seems to cause the game to reach a crescendo each year." Because of that, there "always had been somewhat of a letdown when the PGA Championship came around." The "perception of the PGA being an afterthought has been a result not of the field or the venues but because of the schedule." Purkey: "That has now been fixed" (MORNINGREAD.com, 8/9). The Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw said the move is good since the PGA had "always gotten lost in August" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 8/8).
BEING TOO SELFLESS? GOLF.com's Michael Bamberger wrote the new schedule is "good for the Players," as the event is "back in the leadoff spot, on a course that is more interesting and alive in March than it ever was in May." It also is "good for the marketing people at FedEx, trying to get as much bang for their sponsorship money as possible," as well as the Open Championship. The "event you might worry about in this scenario is the PGA Championship." Bamberger: "Will inserting the PGA Championship in the fast eight or nine weeks between the Masters and the U.S. Open serve the event well?" (GOLF.com, 8/8).
CHANNEL SURF: GOLFWEEK's Geoff Shackelford noted the PGA Championship in May is a "more attractive television property" than it is in August. The NBA and NHL postseasons are in "full motion then, but those games are generally at night and unlikely to run into golf programming." Bevacqua said, "We feel the television markets in general are stronger in May." Shackelford noted while ratings "might take a slight hit on Preakness Saturday compared to August," execs at both CBS and NBC have "made clear that the 'second quarter' is a better time to draw advertisers." The PGA of America "stands to do very well when its next television contract commences" in '20, even if it "loses a rating point or two some years" (GOLFWEEK.com, 8/8). MORNINGREAD.com's Alex Miceli writes of the "many reasons for the Players to have moved from March to May, the only measurable one was television, specifically the ratings." From '99-'06, when the Players was held in March, the "average Sunday overnight TV rating was 4.13." After moving to May in '07, the ratings dropped to an average of 3.56. It is "possible that the course might be in better condition in May, and that the weather and attendance could be better than in March." However, for a sport that is "almost totally dependent on sponsorship and TV ratings, the return of the Tour’s flagship event to March could have unintended positive consequences" (MORNINGREAD.com, 8/9). In Boston, Ron Borges writes the PGA Championship, the Players and "more significantly the FedEx Cup playoffs won’t be up against Alabama or the Patriots for viewership" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/9).
