{"id":713029,"date":"2026-06-03T17:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713029\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T17:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:31:14","slug":"jack-nicklaus-like-most-in-golf-is-anxious-to-see-what-the-revamped-pga-tour-will-look-like-heres-his-worry-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/713029\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Nicklaus, like most in golf, is anxious to see what the revamped PGA Tour will look like. Here\u2019s his worry \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Photo: Ben Jared]<\/p>\n

Jack Nicklaus has only a rudimentary understanding of what the PGA Tour intends to do with its schedule changes in the coming years. What he does know, though, is what kind of schedule worked for him throughout his career and already sees that a slate packed with big events and major championships is not in the best interests of the players or the game.<\/p>\n

Never one to hesitate to offer his opinion<\/a> on the game he once dominated and to which he still is involved as host of the Memorial Tournament, Nicklaus said Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club that he is \u201cnot exactly in favour of what they\u2019re doing right now.
\u201cI mean, I hate to see tournaments bunched too much together with too many big tournaments too close together,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a problem, I think. And I think that\u2019s going to be a problem for the tour in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Memorial, which Nicklaus created in 1976, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and the limited-field signature event comes three weeks after the PGA Championship and two weeks before the US Open. Two signature events, in Miami and Charlotte, NC, preceded the PGA at Aronimink in Philadelphia. Another signature event in Connecticut follows the US Open at Shinnecock Hills in New York.<\/p>\n

Related: Masters 2026: Rory McIlroy reveals the NSFW advice Jack Nicklaus gave him before the first round<\/a><\/p>\n

A similar crunch occurred in February and March with just one \u201cregular\u201d event, the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, squeezed between two signature events in California before and the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players afterwards.<\/p>\n

Jack Nicklaus admits he’s not a fan of the current PGA Tour schedule and says events are too bunched together, “I think its harder for your tournaments to stand out” + “Its hard for the players to really be focused and play that much and be on top of their game.” pic.twitter.com\/lg0QiEUf9t<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris McKee (@mrmckee) June 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t have brought it up,\u201d Nicklaus, 86, said with a chuckle. \u201cI\u2019ll get chastised for that later. Anyway, I think it\u2019s harder for your tournaments to stand out. I mean, if you looked at the schedule, we\u2019re involved in the Cognizant down in Florida [the Nicklaus Children\u2019s Health Care Foundation is the charitable beneficiary]. And we have Pebble Beach and Los Angeles, Tiger\u2019s event, and then Cognizant, and then we had Bay Hill and The Players. I mean, what chance does that tournament [Cognizant] have? I mean, it sits right in the middle of those. They don\u2019t have a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicklaus positioned the Memorial from the start as an event that would stand out in the schedule, offering a quality test of golf on a well-conditioned course and striving to treat players better than at any other tour stop. He also offered an event with a unique theme, honouring the greats of the game and other figures who contributed to golf.<\/p>\n

Today, it\u2019s difficult for a tournament to differentiate itself from others, but that\u2019s not what the Hall of Fame legend worries about; the Memorial is still a premier event with a $20 million purse. Nicklaus is more concerned about the pressure on the players to continually bring their best to every event and the challenge in doing so. That affects them in several ways and potentially compromises the quality of the competition.<\/p>\n

Related: \u2018This was for my legacy and for my family\u2019: How Jack Nicklaus got his company back<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for the players to really be focused to play that much and be on top of their game. And that, to me, is\u2026 I look at it from the way I was as a player. I could play a couple of weeks in a row, maybe three, but I needed some time off to recharge my batteries. And I think everybody needs to recharge their batteries.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you have so many tournaments back-to-back, first of all, you\u2019re going to give a guy an opportunity to have an injury because you just can\u2019t play that much. And the quality of your play is not going to be as good. You want the guys to be able to have their best quality of play every time they play.\u201d
Nicklaus continued by noting how he liked to spread out his starts. \u201cI tried to pace my schedule and I played two weeks, maybe sometimes three. I felt like it worked that way. But I\u2019ve never [played] more than that. I don\u2019t think I ever played more than three weeks in a row. And because your efficiency leaves you, your desire leaves you. You get burnt out. You get stale. That\u2019s what you don\u2019t want. And that\u2019s what I worry about. I worry about that, not from the tour standpoint, but from a player standpoint. Big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp is making himself available to the media on Wednesday to perhaps shed more light on what the tour plans for the coming years. He laid out broad ideas at the Players in March and said there would be more specifics coming in June during the week of the Travellers Championship. Nicklaus hopes to sit down with Rolapp and commissioner Jay Monahan to get a better handle on the subject and what it could mean not only for his event but for the tour he helped create in 1968 when the touring pros broke from the PGA of America.<\/p>\n

If anyone understands and can appreciate the growth of the PGA Tour, it\u2019s Nicklaus.
\u201cThe players wanted to control their own destiny more,\u201d Nicklaus said, recalling the period in which he, Gardner Dickinson and Arnold Palmer were the leaders in the movement to create a tour separate from the PGA of America. \u201cArnold and Gardner and I were on the board and we were the ones that\u2026 broke away from the PGA of America and formed what was then the ATP, I think we called it, Association of Tournament Players. And we hired a fellow named Sam Gates as an attorney to put that thing together. We then hired Joe Dey as our first commissioner. And the tour\u2019s just grown from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably fortunately, I haven\u2019t been in the middle of it and know exactly what\u2019s going on,\u2026 but I think that the PGA Tour is probably the healthiest it\u2019s ever been. I think it\u2019s doing well. The players are, I mean, we got a great group of players, it\u2019s an international game. I\u2019m proud that back in 1968, we were able to start something that\u2019s gotten to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n