If you follow golf, you may notice that the PGA Tour organizes the main professional golf tours in North America, including the flagship PGA Tour’s week-to-week professional golf events. Men primarily compete in the PGA Tour, while elite women golfers compete in the LPGA Tour. When chartering a domestic flight, check the PGA Tour’s schedule to see if a tournament or championship game will be held near you to add some excitement to your trip.
PGA Tour History
The Professional Golfers’ Association of America originally established the PGA Tour in 1929 as an organization for tour players as opposed to club professionals. Thanks to television coverage, PGA America experienced an increase in revenue in the 1960s. With the windfall came changes in leadership and disputes that caused the name of the tour to change a few times. After 1982, PGA of America primarily became an association of club professionals rather than tour players and retained control of two important golfing events, the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship. With expanded TV coverage and the addition of European players, the events became increasingly competitive.
Today, the PGA Tour operates three tours that are primarily contested in the United States:
- PGA Tour
- PGA Tour Championships for golfers who are 50 or older
- Web.com Tour, a development tour in which 50 players earn privileges during the following PGA Tour season
2019 marks the 104th PGA Tour Season, and the 52nd season since operating as the PGA of America. Since 2013, the tour schedule has spanned two calendar years. As a result, the 2019 Tour began in October 2018. In 2019, the Tour will be moved from August to May on the weekend before Memorial Day because of the addition of golf to the Summer Olympics and the cooler weather that comes with the change, allowing for a wider array of host course options.
In January 2019, to speed up the pace of play, tournaments started following the rules the R&A and USGA released. You may have noticed this change when golfers started putting on the green with the flag remaining in. Players can also make drops from knee height rather than shoulder height.
PGA Tour Schedule for the Remainder of 2019
Events in italics are major championship games.
- March 21-24: Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, FL
- March 27-31: World Golf Champions-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, TX
- April 11-24: Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA
- April 18-24: RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, SC
- April 25-28: Zurich Classic of New Orleans in Avondale, LA
- May 2-5: Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, NC
- May 9-12: AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, TX
- May 16-19: PGA Championship in Bethpage, NY
- May 23-26: Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, TX
- May 30-June 2: The Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide in Dublin, OH
- June 13-16: U.S. Open in Pebble Beach, CA
- June 27-30: Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, MI
- July 4-7: 3M Open in Blain, MN
- July 11-14: John Deere Classic in Silvis, IL
- July 18-21: Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville, KY
- July 25-28: World Golf Championships—FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, TN
- July 25-28: Reno-Tahoe Tournament in Reno, NV
- August 1-4: Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, NC
- August 8-11: The Northern Trust in Jersey City, NJ (FedEx Cup Playoffs)
- August 15-18: BMW Championship in Medinah, IL (FedEx Cup Playoffs)
- August 22-25: TOUR Championship in Atlanta, GA (FedEx Cup Playoffs)