It’s a topic that just won’t go away: the PGA Tour’s schedule.
This week, there’s a lot of chatter about who’s not playing the Cadillac Championship (five of the top 15 players in the world, including Rory McIlroy). The $20 million signature event, which, without a 36-hole cut, guarantees players a payday. However, it’s sandwiched in a part of the schedule where two majors and three signature events are being played in a six-week span.
Still, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is teeing it up this week; though, he has opted not to play next week’s signature Truist Championship at Quail Hollow, where Scheffler won the PGA Championship last year. This year’s PGA Championship at Aronimink follows the Truist.
How does Scheffler feel about the current schedule structure?
“If I had it my way, I would play every single week out here,” he said. “But just the nature of our sport and the demand on our time and everything, it’s not really possible. I have to set up my schedule in a certain type of cadence. And for me, playing three, four weeks in a row is a challenge. Like, if y’all were to walk with me each day of the tournament and to see what we have to do in order to play one week, having to do that four weeks in a row would—I wouldn’t be able to perform my best.”
The inception of signature events came in 2023, created for the Tour’s top players to compete against each other regularly, and new PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp recently said he wants to increase the amount of those tournaments (there are nine this year). Three years ago, players would incur a fine if they skipped more than one signature event, but no such penalty exists anymore.
The majors are still the focus for the Tour’s best
The schedule continues to be a work in progress. In 2024, for example, the Memorial Tournament led into the U.S. Open and was then followed by the Travelers Championship, another signature tournament. Scheffler won the Memorial and Travelers, but finished T41 at the U.S. Open.
“I was whipped showing up to the U.S. Open,” the four-time major champion said. “So that’s kind of how I adjusted my schedule to be like, ‘Oh, you know, maybe the week before the major it’s not wise to go out there and beat myself up a little bit. Maybe it's best for me to stay home and get ready for the tournament.’ Just because you look at the demands of a regular week, a major championship is times 10.”
Yes, winning and playing the Memorials, Arnold Palmer Invitationals and Genesis Invitationals are special, but a major is the golden prize. And Justin Rose, after contending at the Masters this year, opted not to play the signature RBC Heritage the ensuing week.
“I knew what a big run of events were coming, obviously with the PGA Championship being on the back of this three,” Rose said. “For me personally, after the Masters, I feel like I needed that week extra to reflect and get the recovery going into this big run of events. So, yeah, when you’re having to miss great events to prepare for other great events, it’s not ideal.”
Yet, several years into the signature event model, there are still things that need to be ironed out.
“I’m sure there’s a group of players and people, the [Future Competition Committee] or whatever it’s called, looking at the best practices going forward,” Rose said. “So I’m sure there’s been a lot of talk about our schedule next year, the year after, whatever it is. I’m sure that this period of time will be refined, for sure.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose Offer Thoughts on Crowded Schedule: ‘Not Ideal’.
