The PGA Tour schedule is set for some monumental changes in 2027.
Harris English first leaked the news that the 2027 season may start after the Super Bowl, and be reduced to around 20 events. Signature events will be no more, as every tournament will be worth the same amount of FedEx Cup points and prize money.
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This would also mean some events would be moved or cut completely. The West Coast swing, which features iconic courses such as Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach, will be the most affected.
As will Riviera Country Club, host of the Genesis Invitational. The course is a favorite among players, and it’s an event hosted by Tiger Woods. Those are key reasons to keep it on the circuit.
But speaking before this year’s event, Woods explored the possibility of playing the event later in the year. That was put to Rory McIlroy, who gave his thoughts on the matter.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy says how Riviera would change if it was played in August
Woods suggested that Riviera could be played in August on the PGA Tour, and this was put to McIlroy. Currently, the course is softer, and therefore easier, because it’s played in the Spring. The same goes for Pebble Beach, which McIlroy mentioned last week.
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The 2025 Masters winner explained why he would love the change: “I think you’re looking at the condition of the course being — you know, it would play — like this week it doesn’t matter if you hit it in the fairway or not.
“It’s actually a benefit sometimes if you do hit it in the rough because the ball’s not going to come spinning back on you. So if you do get it in August where the greens are firm, there’s more of a consideration of strategy off the tee, especially, and it starts to make the guys think a little bit.
“It certainly becomes a much more strategic golf course in that way. Yeah, I mean, same as Pebble last week as well.
“We might not be able to play that in August because of the car show and everything else that goes on at that time of the year there, but even if you moved it a little bit later in the year there just to have the opportunity to have better weather and firmer conditions, that would be a good thing.”
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Rory McIlroy explains why Riviera has lasted 100 years on the PGA Tour
Typically, older golf courses don’t stand the test of time, as technology has made them far too easy for the world’s best players.
Not Riviera. What it lacks in length, it makes up for with genius complexity, as it still forces players to think their way around the course.
McIlroy explained why he thinks this course remains a difficult test for players: “I think the green complexes are a big part of it.
“Yeah, we haven’t been here in a year obviously, and I just, I don’t know why I was surprised but some of the movement and some of how much break you have to play on a lot of the putts out here, it just, I don’t know why I didn’t remember but it’s like wow, this is —
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“So the greens provide a challenge in themselves. Then you get a little bit of wind and it
starts to swirl in this valley a bit, and it starts to play pretty tricky.”
It’s got a bit of Augusta National to it in that sense, which McIlroy won last year, so he’ll be hoping for a successful week and his first win of the season!
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