FLOURTOWN, Pa. — “It’s not ideal.”
That was Rickie Fowler’s response when asked how he likes playing a PGA Tour signature tournament the week before a major championship.
Such was the case at the Truist Championship. After finishing 72 holes at the A.W. Tillinghast-designed Philadelphia Cricket Club, the majority of the world’s best players were en route to Charlotte, North Carolina, shortly after for next week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club.
MORE: Results, payouts from the Truist Championship
Since 2023, the PGA Tour has been saying the quiet part out loud by granting its biggest tournaments an elevated status and essentially requiring the world’s best players to tee it up together and vie for a $20 million purse plus increased FedEx Cup points. Many signature events do not have a cut; therefore, everyone secures a weekend tee time—and a payday.
Some of the golf’s household names echo Fowler’s sentiment, though.
“I’m not sure. I think it can be tough (the week before a major), but it’s very specific on the venue,” Justin Thomas said.
The Truist was the only time this season in which a signature event is played before a major; however, the Arnold Palmer Invitational led into the Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event. Last year, the Memorial Tournament was played before the U.S. Open, but in 2025, the RBC Canadian Open is sandwiched between those two tournaments.
And many believe the tougher tests are good preparation for golf’s four most prestigious championships.
“I really like playing the week before, if it makes sense,” Rory McIlroy said. “I think, again, this week was a great indication of where my game is and what I need to think about and what I need to work on going into next week.”
Added Patrick Cantlay: “I like playing the week before a major, get some rhythm, get some reps in. I think it’s great.”
However, the flip side of the coin is what players are most apathetic to.
“I feel like the majority of guys would say they would pick the week before versus the week after,” Fowler said.
That occurs twice this season. The RBC Heritage followed the Masters and the Travelers Championship in Connecticut immediately follows the U.S. Open.
“To be perfectly honest, I think playing the week after the U.S. Open at Oakmont is going to really suck,” Thomas said. “Oakmont is hard, and it’s going to take a lot out of us. That’s really different than playing at a place where you’re shooting 15, 20 under, but it is what it is. We’ll all be more than happy to tee it up, and there will be a winner at the end of the week.”
And, of course, there was a champion this week: Sepp Straka. Following his triumph at Philadelphia Cricket Club, he enters the PGA Championship as the Tour’s other multiple-time winner this season alongside McIlroy.
Heading to the City of Brotherly Love, the Austrian knew the upcoming two events were going to be a grind, so he had a deliberate preparation plan.
“Last week I actually didn’t touch a golf club,” Straka said. “So this week was kind of a see-what-I-got situation.”
Now, he will be teeing it up in the year’s second major with all the momentum in the world.
Will the adrenaline hold up? Or will there be a crash landing in just five days?
But with the PGA Tour being a weekly enterprise, the schedule can’t appease everyone.
“There’s so many events and there’s only so many spots they can go,” Fowler said, “so we’ll see if that changes down the road.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as PGA Tour Stars Say Signature Event Schedule Isn't 'Ideal,' but There's Pros and Cons.
