Sports Then and Now

Now that the PGA has wrapped up an abbreviated 2019-2020 schedule, they are preparing to immediately begin a 2020-2021 season that will be unlike no other.

The jam-packed season will feature 50 FedEx Cup Tournaments, including 14 events that were postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It marks the most tournaments in a single season since 1975.

In addition, there will be a total of six majors on the schedule, with the U.S. Open (September 14-20) and the Masters (November 12-15) completing their 2020 events and then hosting their 2021 events at their traditional time.

Unlike those of us who are able to take time and enjoy a relaxing round of golf with a cool product like a Sunday Golf Bag, there will be no rest for the weary as the PGA professionals are beginning the 2020-2021 season just three days after the end of the 2019-2020 season.

The first event of the new season is teeing off in Napa, California with the Safeway Open from September 10-13.

Following right behind is the first of six majors on the schedule with the 2020 U.S. Open being played at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York.

While the 2020-2021 schedule is a full one, it does not include the Ryder Cup, which was originally scheduled for September 25-27, 2020 at Whistling Straits Golf Course in Wisconsin will now take place on September 24-26, 2021.

Instead of the Ryder Cup, September will end with the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic, which will be the first of seven straight weeks of tournaments before the 2020 Masters will take place on November 12-15 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Following three more weeks of play in 2020, golfers will finally get a bit of a break with no tournament between December 14^th and January 6^th.

The 2021 portion of the schedule will be more familiar as it starts with the annual trip to Hawaii and follows a generally similar schedule to previous years. The biggest adjustment is in the Florida swing, which will take place in early March, instead of closer to the Masters. The 2021 Masters is back in its normal place the second weekend of April.

The PGA Championship will be played May 20-23 at the Kiawah Island Resort in Kiawah Island,  SC. The U.S. Open will be played June 17-20 at Torrey Pines in San Diego, CA.

After being canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Open Championship is set to return to the schedule in July 2021 at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England.

It will be followed July 29-August 1 with the Olympic Championships at Kasumigaseki Country Club,  Saitama, Japan.

The busy season will then conclude with the final run of FEDEX Cup Playoff Tournaments that culminates with the Tour Championships September 2-5, 2021 in Atlanta.

Due to COVID-19, tour players did not lose status at the end of the 2019-2020 season based on final performance, but that will not be the case for the 2020-2021 season. Therefore, with 50 tournaments there will be a lot of players looking to have big tournaments that will help secure them a spot in the top 125 at the end of the season.