New details have emerged regarding the PGA Tour’s brainstorming sessions, including a presentation being made by Tiger Woods and Brian Rolapp at last week’s Hero World Challenge. One schedule reimagination that’s been fleshed out and is generating significant chatter came from Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard. He was at the Hero and got some help from players who had been briefed on the ideas floating around. As expected, and not to be laughed off entirely, the brainstorming includes a desire to return to some key major markets abandoned by the Tour and to emphasize playing the few quality courses not made obsolete by juiced equipment.
But the schedule teardown and rebuild also includes all sorts of far-out fantasies, deletions, or changes to time-tested events. There is still a surprising plan bouncing around to abandon several weeks capable of drawing big audiences for networks, and which helps players stay sharp for the next major. And there’s some downright dumb stuff that anyone with a healthy chatbot relationship could fact-check as First Team, All League non-starters.
Since we only do majors and important Cup events here at The Quad, let’s consider the scheme to take two of the most important events in PGA Tour history, which also happened to be played at courses (again) hosting major championships in the near future.
“No part of the scheduling experiment would be impacted more than the postseason,” Hoggard writes. “This is where a West Coast swing could come into play, when the weather would be considerably better than in February. The venues would also lend gravitas.”
And it’s not going to happen. A scenario with annual playoff events at Pebble Beach and Riviera played in August, followed by a Labor Day weekend Tour Championship, sounds wonderful on paper, but ignores multiple realities.
Pebble Beach Golf Links is the site of the June, 2027 U.S. Open and, apparently unbeknownst to the Global Home whiteboarders or other 19th Hole geniuses, also hosts the Concours d’Elegance and surrounding Monterey Car Week each August. The event injects millions of dollars into the local economy, causes a one-day course closure to show off the four-wheeled works of art, and fills up the Pebble Beach Company-owned Lodge.
Fun fact: The Lodge’s occupancy rate also soars every late January and February during the AT&T Pro-Am, when it would otherwise not be busy. And today’s players with their “teams” staying in nearby rental homes will never replace the Concours crowd’s economic impact or green-fee-paying golfers who come west to play August golf on the Peninsula.
“It’s super complicated,” Brian Harman told Hoggard. “Of course we’d love to play Pebble in August, but so would everyone else on the planet.”
There is a reason that the USGA’s long-term “anchor site” partnership announcement did not include any future U.S. Amateurs to be played in August. Or that a return to Pebble Beach for the week-long event isn’t happening before 2036. Playing a major and a pro golf tournament within eight weeks of each other on the same course is also a terrible idea on multiple fronts. (Riviera hosts the 2028 Olympics and 2031 U.S. Open, so many of the same overexposure, agronomic, and market issues would be there as well.)
Killing off the traditional AT&T Pro-Am would be stupid from the standpoint of history, tradition, and influence-peddling with America’s CEO’s, who still turn up. Since becoming a “Signature Event,” the diminished 36-hole edition has lost some marquee names and sends the bigwigs home earlier. That’s diminished the enjoyment factor for a bunch of check-writing, real-world influencers. An August playoff event played minus those heavyweights would not fill up The Lodge or curry favor with anyone who signs off on major sponsorship deals.
Then there is the concept of attempting to condense the season into a 200-day window to avoid the NFL. Top players have already pretty unanimously suggested the current window for the four majors has grown too tight after the PGA’s 2019 move to May. Consider:
The timespan between the Honorary Starter’s ceremony at the 2026 Masters and the final putt that determines the Champion Golfer of the Year? Just 101 days in 2026.
While the physical, mental, and travel demands of golf are not quite the same as those of tennis, both sports are better suited to a spaced-out schedule thanks to the rigors of the competition and the multi-day nature of majors.
In 2026, there will be 244 days between the opening match of tennis’ Australian Open and the men’s U.S. Open final, more than double the men’s major total of 101.
In 2028 and 2032, those windows will expand a bit, but will also include the Olympic Games competition, where an additional two-day mixed competition has been added.
There are also ongoing suggestions that the PGA Tour plans to take the week off after a major. Other than the post-Open Championship slot, where this makes some sense, the concept is especially perplexing given the robust ratings that “Signature” events received this year following the Masters and U.S. Open. (The RBC Heritage and Travelers Championships ranked among the top 10 final round broadcasts of 2025 according to Sports Business Journal.)
Given what we know about the way the modern game is approached by top players and the value they get from arriving rested to soak up course details, it’s curious that the week before majors is not considered for the bye concept. Only one Grand Slam winner this year played the week prior to lifting a trophy: Scottie Scheffler finished T8 in the Genesis Scottish Open before going on to win at Royal Portrush.
But hey, these schedule dreamers at least have a sense of humor: one scenario floats a week off after The Players, even though it’s in the heart of the non-NFL, Florida swing season leading up to The Masters. I don’t think this will convert the fifth of four a major. But it’s yet another nice try!
Two housekeeping items before this week’s notes: Lawrence Donegan and I discussed last week’s Australian Open and several other vital topics on the latest McKellar.
And while I hate to bother you with newsletter hard sells, here’s a less-than-subtle reminder that if you’re looking to give a gift more refined than a dozen juiced golf balls destined for the bottom of a lake, The Quadrilateral can be given as a gift subscription.
Wins last week by Kristoffer Reitan at the Nedbank and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen at the Crown Australian earned the emerging Europeans trips to The Masters.
As Doug Ferguson notes in his AP notes column, only the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa and the Mauritius Open remain as 2025 opportunities for players to move into the year-end world top 50 and a Masters invite. It’s also noteworthy—and possibly not the best statement about the accuracy of the current OWGR—that two Americans who were not on any major tour to start the year have made it via the top 50 (Michael Brennan was on the PGA Tour of Americas and Johnny Keefer played the Korn Ferry Tour.)
According to X’s Nosferatu, there are only four players who could move into the top 50: Ryan Gerard needs a top-4 finish in Mauritius, Thriston Lawrence needs to win the Dunhill, Daniel Brown needs to win in Mauritius, and John Parry needs a win and a top-3 finish in the two events.
Now live on YouTube: this year’s official Ryder Cup film.
Keep this one away from Keegan Bradley. We want the Captain to find peace this holiday season.
Anna Davis drives off from the ninth tee during the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club.
The USGA’s Teams Selection Committee invited 12 players to attend January 16-18th’s Curtis Cup practice session at Bel-Air Country Club, site of the 2026 matches. Congrats to all:
Anna Davis, 19, of Spring Valley, Calif. (Auburn, class of 2027)
Mary Hollenbaugh, 21, of New Albany, Ohio (Ohio State, class of 2026)
Jasmine Koo, 19, of Cerritos, Calif. (USC, class of 2028)
Chloe Kovelesky, 18, of Boca Raton, Fla. (Wake Forest, class of 2028)
Farah O’Keefe, 20, of Austin, Texas (University of Texas, class of 2027)
Macy Pate, 20, of Winston-Salem, N.C. (Wake Forest, class of 2027)
Catherine Park, 21, of Irvine, Calif. (USC, class of 2026)
Kiara Romero, 19, of San Jose, Calif. (University of Oregon, class of 2027)
Andie Smith, 22, of Hobe Sound, Fla. (Duke, class of 2026)
Asterisk Talley, 16, of Chowchilla, Calif. (high school class of 2027)
Kelly Xu, 21, of Claremont, Calif. (Stanford, class of 2026)
Avery Weed, 20, of Ocean Springs, Miss. (Mississippi State, class of 2027)
View above No. 2 green and the recent purchase of 1535 Palermo Way
Golfweek’s Adam Schupak reports that the Pebble Beach Co. has “acquired a 5,886-square-foot, six-bedroom home at 1535 Palmero Way that sits directly behind the second green of the iconic golf course for $13.75 million.”
Given the rumblings from a few years ago when some thought the resort might shift the 18th green farther back after buying a nearby property, Schupak explores the possibility of the company buying the home to stretch its 516-yard par 5, second hole into a par 5 again. Since the era of players meditating and adding more fiber to their diets, the hole has been played as a par-4 in recent United States Opens. Repositioning the green could stretch the second to 600 yards.
“I’m not aware of any plans along those lines,” the USGA’s John Bodenhamer told Schupak when asked for comment after the Pebble Beach Company declined to address their plans for the property. “We’re aware that they purchased the property. We’re focused on ‘27, and I think there’s no way that any major renovations would take place. They just wouldn’t be able to happen agronomically, let alone anything else, as busy as Pebble is before ‘27.”
Given the safety concerns that would be exacerbated by moving the green closer to the busy Palermo Way, it’s hard to envision how the green could be pushed back without bringing the street into play even more than it already is. Given the Pebble Beach Cos. focus on maximising profit, it’s unlikely that they spent $14 million to get the course par back to 72 and have the second hole play as intended by Chandler Egan and friends. But it’s a situation worth monitoring while adding the purchase to the current running total of $892 million spent renovating courses worldwide, all to keep the perpetually miserable equipment industry from whining even more about their plight.
Scottie Scheffler on his two-major-winning season. “Any season which you’re able to win major championships I think is very special, especially being able to win multiple majors. I think especially, I mean the PGA and The Open Championship, The Open Championship, the Claret Jug is a pretty cool trophy to have in your possession. I think I underestimated what that feels like and I’ve really enjoyed having that at home and being able to celebrate with that.”
Rory McIlroy on “looking forward” to a little break. “I’ve played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer with Irish Open, as you said, Wentworth, Ryder Cup, and then I’ve sort of been globe-trotting a little bit here the last couple of months. I’m excited to have a little bit of downtime and finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I, I’ve not really let myself do that too much. So yeah, looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back about what an unbelievable year.”
J.J. Spaun on his U.S. Open-winning season. “The whole season has been such a blur, like it’s sometimes hard to recollect what I’ve done, more detail-wise. Like, I couldn’t tell you what I shot every day at the U.S. Open. You know, it was weird. But it’s fun to see that trophy and remind myself every day that I won the U.S. Open, played in my first Ryder Cup.”
LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler, speaking on Five Clubs with Gary Williams, when asked about his stance on the forthcoming change in equipment testing rules. “This is not necessarily an issue we want to get in the middle of. While I do understand it’s important for a variety of folks, we actually have the benefit of being able to move our tees forwards or backwards given our course setup. Our primary job is to protect our athletes and to grow the sport in every way we can.”
Scheffler received two votes in the 2025 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year award, which went to Los Angeles Dodger Shohei Ohtani for the second straight year and fourth time overall.
Ellen Port is the 2026 recipient of the Bob Jones Award “in recognition of her exemplary sportsmanship, character and lifelong contributions to the game as one of the most accomplished amateur golfers in history and a devoted educator, coach and mentor.” Port is a seven-time USGA champion, tying her for second all-time among women’s greats with Carol Semple Thompson and Anne Quast Sander, and just one behind JoAnne Carner. She’s also a two-time Curtis Cup participant (1994 and 1996) and captained the victorious 2014 USA side in her hometown’s St. Louis Country Club. She will be honored at the 2026 U.S. Open.
According to The Scotsman’s Martin Dempster, a “Last Chance” Open qualifier field at the 2025 edition would have featured Jacob Bridgema, Samual Stevens, Gavin Tiernan (Amateur runner-up), Paul O’Hara, Sam Bairstow, Ronan Mullarney, Moldovan Maxwell, Joe Dean, Anirban Lahiri, Matthis Besard, John Gough and Callum Farr. The new Monday qualifying for 12 spots debuts in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.
The St Andrews Pilgrim Foundation has installed a plaque at 1 Albany Place to commemorate four-time Champion Golfer Tommy Morris. The four-time Open Champion passed away 150 years ago on Christmas Day. (McStravick/X.com)
The new plaque for Young Tom (Roger McStravick/X.com)
🇦🇺Mike Clayton on the keys to the 2025’s Australian Open success.
🤦🏻 Alan Bastable on golf courses being targeted as locations for AI data centers after a Harrisburg, PA public course sold for $50 million.
🏴 Martin Dempster checks in at Muirfield in advance of next year’s Women’s Amateur and believes moving greens to accommodate more Open fans would be a mistake.
👑 Alasdair Ferguson on the Duke’s Course in St Andrews, originally named for Prince Andrew who blessed it on opening day, eh em, and now becoming the Craigtoun Course.
⛷️ Andrew Dampf on lackluster ticket sales for February’s Winter Olympics.
🤑Adam Crafton and Henry Bushnell on World Cup hotel price gouging, including in Los Angeles, when the Curtis Cup will also be taking place.
🏛️ Carla Russo on Frank Gehry’s most iconic California designs.
✍️ Matthew Teitelbaum on what he learned working with Gehry, who was more concerned with the way his spaces functioned than people realize.
On a personal note, I regularly walk by his less-famous final home in Santa Monica. It’s where the great architect passed away last week at age 96. Having experienced several of his firm’s creations here in Los Angeles, his attention paid to function and how spaces feel often gets lost in the focus on those wacky exteriors. The parallels with his philosophy and golf architecture are many. His legacy as a creator of spaces people want to spend time in and enjoy should serve as a lesson to those who design public-facing products. Including golf courses.
Frank Gehry’s home in Santa Monica.
