LOS ANGELES \u2013 Professional golfers rarely reach consensus, but if anything could do the trick, it was a bone-chilling few days at a rain-soaked Riviera Country Club.<\/p>\n
The Genesis Invitational moving to a later, warmer date on the calendar? Jordan Spieth summed up the thoughts of many: \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the PGA Tour\u2019s decision-makers continue to brainstorm ways to improve the product, it\u2019s clear that a schedule overhaul is of high priority. Sources say the process, even for 2027, is still ongoing, and players gleaned as much from leadership in a meeting Tuesday night inside Riviera\u2019s player-dining area.<\/p>\n
But Tiger Woods, Genesis\u2019 host and a player director on the Tour\u2019s policy board, did confirm that moving his event to the end of the season, perhaps into the playoff rotation alongside potentially new venues, was among ideas still \u201con the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to get weather not like this; that\u2019s No. 1,\u201d Woods said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have perfect days. It\u2019s always perfect in SoCal here in August. So, yes, we\u2019re looking at things like that, looking to go to bigger markets later in the year for the playoffs. Just trying to make our competitive model better.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Riviera\u2019s case, its traditional spot on the schedule has often produced rain delays and soft conditions, neither of which are conducive to exciting, elite golf.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you\u2019re looking at the condition of the course \u2026 this week it doesn\u2019t matter if you hit it in the fairway or not; it\u2019s actually a benefit sometimes if you do hit it in the rough because the ball\u2019s not going to come spinning back on you,\u201d explained Rory McIlroy. \u201cSo, if you do get it in August where the greens are firm, there\u2019s more of a consideration of strategy off the tee especially, and it starts to make the guys think a little bit. It certainly becomes a much more strategic golf course in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Viktor Hovland: \u201cThe few times I\u2019ve been here when it\u2019s firm and fast, I think it\u2019s just such a great test.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some players, such as two-time tournament champion Adam Scott, believe Riviera \u201ccan be whatever it needs to be,\u201d playoff or not, February or August, it\u2019s clear there are few cons, if any. Even Genesis, which extended its title sponsorship through 2030, seems flexible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a possibility,\u201d Jose Munoz, Genesis president and CEO, said of the potential date change. \u201cWe\u2019re very open minded and willing to make things better.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s safe to assume that if Woods endorses the move, it will probably happen.<\/p>\n
Most else seems more complicated, as the Tour looks to formulate a model that serves not only its members but fans, sponsors and partners. As a result, Woods said the reimagined schedule would likely be rolled out over a \u201ccouple-year period.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may not be able to implement all of it in 2027,\u201d Woods added, \u201cbut there will definitely be parts of it integrated or changed than from what it is now.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s focus on 2027. Stand on a Tour driving range for a few hours, and you\u2019ll hear all sorts of rumors and recommendations regarding next year\u2019s schedule. Already reported, in some fashion, is the likelihood of the Tour leaving Hawaii and starting the season stateside, either the week of the Super Bowl or the week before. The WM Phoenix Open seems to be the ideal launching point and loves its overlap with football, though with the Big Game being played on Valentine\u2019s Day next year, that leaves one fewer week in \u201927 between WMPO and the Masters.<\/p>\n
Does WMPO shift sooner, or does an event get rescheduled or nixed? Moving the Genesis to the summer would easily solve that.<\/p>\n
And if the WM Phoenix Open does stay Super Bowl week and the Tour wants to start the week before, it would make most sense to keep Torrey Pines on the schedule and kick off the season there. Sentry, signed on through 2035, needs a home, and Farmers\u2019 deal ended this year. And what about The American Express, which has produced strong fields, compelling drama and great winners in recent years? Is there still room for that; AmEx is signed through 2028.<\/p>\n
If Riviera would be better served in August, so, too, would Pebble Beach, though the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has one big issue: Pebble\u2019s annual car show, the Concours d\u2019Elegance, which the resort runs, is scheduled for mid-August next year, the same week where the first playoff event would typically go. Regarding the West Coast swing, it seems grouping events as such, especially if there are fewer of them, is no longer of concern.<\/p>\n
And as for those big playoff markets Woods speaks of, both FedEx and BMW are signed on as title sponsors through 2027. But in 2028? The Tour would have the freedom to completely reimagine how it concludes its season \u2013 and, as we\u2019ve learned this week, there would be few complaints if Riviera was part of that equation.<\/p>\n
If this is all still up in the air, we should get some form of clarity during CEO Brian Rolapp\u2019s press conference in three weeks at The Players. There is a Players Advisory Council meeting during next week\u2019s Cognizant Classic. Surely, the schedule will materialize enough over the next few weeks to give Rolapp some exciting news to share.<\/p>\n
The Tour has also been pushing the message of \u201cowning the summer,\u201d as Players Championship executive director Lee Smith told Front Office Sports recently.<\/p>\n
Starting the playoffs at Riv wouldn\u2019t hurt that objective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES \u2013 Professional golfers rarely reach consensus, but if anything could do the trick, it was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-494261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}