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THE GOG BLOG by Rory Spears. Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy and to McQ’s Dome in Bolingbrook.
Do you remember when you used to spend your fourth of July week hanging out at places like Butler National or Cog Hill. Of course you do, they were fun times that we all hoped would never end. But they did.
The PGA Tour invented something called the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs, and before golf fans in Chicago knew it, fourth of July week and the Western Open became fall golf, and at times on chilly days in September.
156 players became only 70, there was no Monday qualifier at Village Links in Glen Ellyn, there wasn’t a local club pro or top amateur getting into the field. The championship was competing with local high school sports, Bears games, the NFL in general, baseball pennant drives, even Blackhawks training camp or pre season games. Tournament volunteers, many of them teachers were now back in school and not working the championship.
Yes, the Western Open sponsored by several companies over the years, had become the BMW Championship, which in addition doubles as the third round of the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs.
By all accounts from the good folks at the Western Golf Association (WGA), they say the BMW people have been great sponsors. They have donated plenty of cash to the Evans Scholars Foundation, and put a big number of caddies into college. When a touring pro makes a hole-in-one during the championship, bingo ! some lucky caddie has just won a full ride (not in a BMW) but to a college of his or her choosing. In spite of this, there are people at the WGA headquarters who miss the Western Open in July, and who can blame them.
I like BMW week here in September, when it’s actually here in September, which is every other year. (The out of town locations have been really good…but they are not here) This year the BMW Championship will drive into Lake Forest and Conway Farms (maybe for the last time) come mid-September. Next year it’s off to Philadelphia and then back in town to Medinah in 2019.
BUT NOW ALONG comes new PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and he is doing some thinking about the PGA Tour schedule.
First up could be some tinkering with The Players Championship. The tournament was held in March for years, and has been recently moved to May. Now the debate is on about moving it back to March, so the PGA Championship has a window to move up from August to May. In my books this is a split decision.
I like the idea of having The Players back in March, at TPC Sawgrass while the tour is making it’s swing through Florida. It makes the players tune up their game before they go hunting for a green jacket at Augusta. The island green on 17 makes for good drama while some of us are still in the house keeping warm and looking out the windows at snow.
When the PGA Championship moved up last year to July because of the olympics, fans didn’t really like the idea of having the majors all done before August. Imagine now if the PGA goes to May, the idea of all the majors done by mid-July and all the majors on American soil in the books by Fathers Day, that just doesn’t work for me. Memo to Monahan, work with the PGA of America and keep the PGA in August.
SECOND MEMO to Monahan, bring back the Western Open.
Monahan says he and the tour are thinking about making the playoffs a three-event series instead of four. Okay if so, which event do you drop, or move. How about this.
You take BMW and move it and it’s smaller field to the Greenbrier Resort and let the players stay on the East Coast for the duration of the playoffs. New York-West Virginia and Atlanta, with Boston getting dropped. Or Boston- The Greenbrier and then the Tour Championship with the over used New York market missing the cut.
Chicago gets dropped from golf’s edition of the fall classics, and takes the Greenbrier dates at the 4th of July, so Greenbrier owner Jim Justice can fill up his resort in July with guests on holiday.
The Western Open returns with a new sponsor, and Chicago plays “pack-the-place” at courses than can hold 40-50,000 a day like Cog Hill, Olympia Fields, Medinah or Kemper Lakes. Those four clubs would make quite a rotation. Conway Farms is always a possibility, if they are not hosting a few other championships that could come their way.
EVEN BETTER, the players then have the option of driving right down Rt.88 to the John Deere Classic the following week. What an idea, pork-chop sandwiches for everyone.
IF THE PGA TOUR is going to drop a playoff tournament, or move things around. Why not let Chicago get the Western Open back during 4th of July week, those were the days. RS