The Best Thing About The New PGA Tour Schedule

By: Kieran Clark | Tue 08 Aug 2023

Following months of lively behind-the-scenes conversations and various tweaks along the way, the PGA Tour has announced its schedule for 2024 as it returns to a calendar-year timetable with a January start for the first time in more than a decade.

There are 36 tournaments as part of the regular-season, including The Players Championship and the four majors, but much debate had surrounded the proposed eight 'Signature Events' that we are going to see in play next year.

Now we have confirmation as to what these are going to be in addition to context behind the process to qualify for them in the first place, the picture is somewhat clearer, even if the limited-size of the fields will likely continue to generate murmurs of controversy.

The 'Signature Events' (apparently now upgraded from their previous Designated moniker) in 2024 will be as follows:

The Sentry (January 1-7)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (January 29-February 4)
The Genesis Invitational (February 12-18)
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 4-10)
RBC Heritage (April 15-21)
Wells Fargo Championship (May 6-12)
the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 3-9)
Travelers Championship (June 17-23)

With expected fields of between 70 and 80 players, notably just three of these events will feature a halfway cut; The Genesis, the Arnold Palmer, and the Memorial, where the top 50 and ties and any player within 10 shots of the lead will make it through to the final 36-holes.

But how will these fields be determined? We now know that the top 50 from the 2022-23 FedExCup will qualify - making this week's FedEx St Jude Championship even more important.

Additionally, current season tournament winners, those PGA Tour members inside the top 30 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and four sponsors invitations will also be eligible to compete in these select weeks.

There was a real bone of contention over what this all means for lower-ranked and newer players on the PGA Tour, but they will have a pathway into the Signature Events too; namely the next ten players not exempt on the FedEx Cup Standings, and the top five points earners from those tournaments played between the Signature Events.

And breathe. We think that's right, anyway.

However, beyond trying to understand this process, a simple fact about one of the Signature Events stood out above the rest as offering something for golf fans to truly look forward to.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is Being Revamped!

Pebble Beach

Yes, rejoice, the old Crosby Clambake, a staple of the PGA Tour has been "reimagined" to the relief of almost everyone. For decades, this event has brought stars of the screen and sport together (with chino-clad banking executives) to compete alongside some of the best golfers on the planet.

Now, while there may have been a whiff of charm to this scenario when the likes of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Jack Lemmon were treading the fairways, the charisma of participants has undeniably declined in the ensuing years.

This fact - aligned with the interminable pace of play and a Saturday broadcast on CBS that nauseatingly fawned over the celebrities - made one of the world's most beautiful golf locations truly unwatchable.

How much more of Bill Murray's shtick could you stomach? Did you ever look forward to seeing the swing of a nondescript American television personality being analysed in forensic detail? And what even is a Larry the Cable Guy?

But next year, things will gratefully change.

The amateurs will still be part of proceedings, but only for the first two days, leaving the 80 or so players in the elite professional field free to compete unencumbered for 36-holes over the iconic Pebble Beach.

Now, forget about the obscene money in golf and whatever it means for the FedEx Cup points, THAT is something for us to relish next February as we brighten up the gloom of late-winter by sitting back and watching the best compete at one of the game's cathedrals without any danger of him from Ghostbusters appearing on your TV.