The US PGA Championship will move to May from 2019 in a major shake-up of the PGA Tour's schedule.
Officials announced the move at Quail Hollow, the host of the year's final major in 2017, on Tuesday.
Along with the US PGA move, the Players Championship will be held in March instead of May.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told the Wall Street Journal in January that he wanted to rearrange the schedule. He hoped to move the FedEx Cup playoffs away from the start of the NFL season.
The US PGA, which has long been identified as the season's fourth and final major, may have to find a new calling card.
It has always lacked the same ironclad identity as the other three majors, but it was starting to gain fame as being the players' final chance each year to bring home a major title.
"In weighing the complex evolution of the golf calendar, the PGA of America's key objectives were to promote the best interests of our signature spectator Championship, do what is best for the game and its great players, and find the most advantageous platform to fulfill our mission of serving our nearly 29,000 PGA professionals and growing the game," said PGA of America chief executive officer Pete Bevacqua.
"Our analysis began in 2013 and included an extensive list of factors, including having to shift the date every four years to accommodate the Olympic Games. In the end, we determined that playing the PGA Championship the week prior to Memorial Day in May, making it the second major championship of the golf calendar, will achieve those three objectives.
"The golf calendar is dramatically different, especially in the latter portions of the schedule, than it was in the 1970s when our PGA Championship took up residence in August. We are excited about this move to May. It provides our PGA Championship a strong landing spot on the calendar and a consistent major-championship rhythm that golf fans can embrace."
Monahan added: "We are thrilled to announce these two significant changes, which will greatly enhance the professional golf calendar starting in 2019.
"The calendar for the PGA Tour season is among the most important and challenging aspects of our business, and the changes we're unveiling give significant flexibility to create a schedule including the FedExCup Playoffs that is in the best interests of players, fans, tournaments, communities and our partners, from start to finish."
The 2019 US PGA Championship is set to be played at Bethpage Black.
Following the news, the European Tour announced the BMW PGA Championship will move from May to a new September slot from the 2019 season onwards.
Comments
SHARE