The Zurich Classic is back this week, with its two-man team format, the smell of chargrilled oysters wafting across the TPC Louisiana grounds, and the occasional strains of jazz music mixed in with the sounds of birdies and eagles.
There is literally nothing quite like it on the PGA Tour — or the upstart LIV Golf circuit.
But there is something the Zurich has in common these days with a lot of its PGA Tour counterparts — an air of uncertainty like an ominous cloud on the horizon.
In response to the star player cherry-picking by LIV Golf, the PGA Tour is planning unprecedented changes to its schedule. Starting in 2024, the PGA Tour slate will feature eight “designated events,” tournaments with $20 million purses and no-cut fields limited to 70-80 players.
Four of those events will definitely be the Tournament of Champions and three well-established invitationals: the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles (hosted by Tiger Woods); the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida; and the Memorial Tournament (hosted by Jack Nicklaus) just outside of Columbus, Ohio.
The other four designated events have yet to be named, but reports are three of them will be the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina; and the Travelers Championship outside Hartford, Connecticut.
If true, that leaves one designated event slot to fill. Could that tournament be the Zurich Classic?
Tournament director Steve Worthy said it’s at least possible.
“We’re certainly having conversations about it,” Worthy said Wednesday. “They (PGA Tour officials) feel like they’re probably 3-4 months from getting there. The Tour is talking to all the sponsors who are interested, to see how it fits the schedule and how they can make it work.
“We’d like to be (designated). A lot of tournaments would like to be. If we can continue to do the right things as that process is ongoing over the next several months, hopefully we’re putting ourselves in the right position to end up where we want to be.”
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