Justin Thomas Takes Bold Stance on PGA Tour’s Schedule Around Major Championships

Between the Masters and PGA Championship are three signature events, so many pros will play five out of six weeks. Justin Thomas shared his thoughts on it at Harbour Town.

Thomas tied for 41st at the Masters last week. | Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

The PGA Tour schedule is bound to change in the next few years. For now, though, it is what it is. 

And that means two majors and three signature events within six weeks. 

Justin Thomas is less than thrilled. 

“It’s tough,” Thomas said Tuesday at the RBC Heritage. “I mean, it’s not how I would prefer to draw it up, I would say.”

The RBC Heritage, a signature event, follows the Masters. Next week is the Zurich Classic, which will be an off week for many of the game’s top stars, before two consecutive signature tournaments—the new Cadiallac Championship a Trump Doral and the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow—lead into the PGA Championship. 

Players sometimes skip signature events. For example, Rory McIlroy isn’t playing this week, and in past years, Scottie Scheffler has sat out the Truist. But with extra FedEx Cup points at stake and a $20 million purse without a cut, it’s not in players’s best interests to take the PGA Tour’s top events off, especially if they’re qualified. 

Yet that can make it difficult for players to squeeze in a look at an upcoming major venue. 

“Especially when it comes to majors, because majors are—the season is important,” Thomas said. “Obviously, it’s very important for your FedEx Cup standing, how your season is going, getting into events, not in events, whatever it may be. But majors are kind of what guys will generally build their schedule off of, in a sense, of what they need to do to prepare for a major, and it’s also how kind of your legacy in the game is remembered for a lot of people.”

In the three weeks between the Players Championship and Masters, there were no top-tier tournaments and McIlroy decided to skip the PGA Tour stops. Instead he flew to Augusta several times and played the course. It’s fair to say that worked out well for him.

This year, the Truist will be at Quail Hollow, the site of last year’s PGA Championship. So essentially, the Tour is playing consecutive major venues.

“Going to very difficult courses into a major I don’t think is probably how it would be drawn up for a lot of guys,” Thomas said.

New PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said last month the circuit is looking at about 21 to 26 tournaments on a “first track of elevated events” with the top players competing for higher purses. That includes the Players Championship, majors and the FedEx Cup playoffs, which is expected to remain at three events.

It remains to be seen, though, if any changes are made surrounding the majors. And it’s possible the schedule, playing for nearly eight months of the year, will never please everyone. 

“We’ve had some changes and probably will continue to see some in the next, I don’t know, couple years,” Thomas said. “It’ll never be perfect, but at least something that’s maybe a little more ideal for guys in their eyes.”

---