The end of the most interesting season on the PGA Tour has officially ended. The 2019-2020 PGA Tour Season started at The Greenbrier on September 12th, and the season did not end till September 7th. Just like the rest of the world, Golf got shut down in March and did not have their first tournament until the Charles Schwab Challenge, which took place from June 11th-14th. The 13 weeks off the golfers had was their longest lay off since Junior Golf. Golf was one of the first sports to start up competition again but with safety measures. Tests daily, golfers were unable to bring family to events, things of that nature. The PGA wanted to keep the players as safe as possible but also wanted things to be as normal as possible. For the golfers, it felt good to get back to playing and they picked up where they left off. Some tournaments were canceled all together, while others were rescheduled. The last event of the 2019-2020 PGA Tour Season happened a week later than scheduled but it did conclude on a holiday.
The Tour Championship
On Labor Day, the Tour Championship’s Final Round was played at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Dustin Johnson entered the Final Round with a five-shot lead over Xander Schuaffele and Justin Thomas. Xander got off to a good start by birdying two of the first three holes, but after that he rattled off seven consecutive pars. The golf course was set up for a low score that could challenge Dustin Johnson for the title of the Tour Championship but all the golfers who went low were too far back to catch him. Schuaffele did make a run on the back nine and got within two shots of Johnson but pared the last two holes and finished in a tie for second. Justin Thomas got off to a blazing hot start. He was four- under through seven holes but had two bogeys to cool him off just a little bit. Thomas, just like Xander, made seven pars in a row, starting from the 9th hole to the 15th hole. Justin birded the 16th hole, which was huge but then bogeyed 17 to put him two shots back of Dustin Johnson. Thomas still had a chance, he needed eagle 18 and hoped Johnson pared coming in to force a playoff, but Dustin birded 18 to secure the win, and Justin finished in a tie for second.
Dustin Johnson had control from the start of the tournament until the end. He started on Friday with a two-shot lead. He started with a two-shot lead entering the first round of the Tour Championship because he was first in the FedEx Cup Points Standings. How the FedEx Cup works is you are given points for wins and where you finish that week. During the regular season if you win the tournament you get 500 FedEx Cup Points.
When the playoffs start, if you win, you get 1500 playoff points. The top 5 in the FedEx Cup control their own destiny, meaning if they win the Tour Championship, they automatically win the FedEx Cup. If you enter the Tour Championship in first place, you start the week at 10 under par. If you enter in 2nd you start at 8 under, if you enter 3rd you start at 7 under, 4th starts at 6 under and 5th starts at 5 under. 6-10th start at 4 under par, 11-15th start at 3 under, 16-20th start at 2 under, 21-25th start at 1 under, and 26-30th start at even par.
The Tour Championship ended with Dustin Johnson winning by three strokes over Xander Schuaffele and Justin Thomas. Johnson shot a 2 under 68 on Monday to claim both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup. By winning the FedEx Cup, his payday was a pretty penny. He earned 15 million dollars for being the most consistent golfer all season long. He won three times and finished second twice. Dustin ended the season ranked No. 1 in the world, which means you are the best golfer, at least for the time being on the planet. Overall, Johnson had a good season and looks to continue to play consistently during the 2020-2021 season. He is going to take a little bit of time off to rest before his first event of the new season and then get back out on the course in competition
The 2020-2021 PGA Tour
The 2020-2021 PGA Tour Season will kick off on Thursday, September 10th, at the Safeway Open in Napa, California. You thought last season was crazy, well just wait for this upcoming season. The golfers will be playing 50 tournaments in 52 weeks, which is unheard of. During the season, there will be six majors played. Usually, there are only four majors per year, but this is not going to be your regular season. For the PGA Tour Season, the U.S. Open will be played twice, as well as The Masters. Then you have the PGA Championship and The Open Championship rounding out the six majors on the schedule for the 2020-2021 season. This season will be a grind for the players but welcomed, considering the long layoff they had this past season. COVID-19 safety measures will still be taking place on the PGA Tour, which means if everything goes according to plan, Golf will be welcomed by sports fans all over the world.
After a long season, one of the most popular events for the PGA and Golfers are the team events. There are two team events, The Ryder Cup and The Presidents Cup. Because of COVID-19, The Ryder Cup got canceled this year and was pushed back till 2021, and The Presidents Cup will now be taking place in 2022. These events are made by the fans, but they are also a huge deal for the players. If you are selected to be on one of these teams, it means you had a great year, or that the Captain for your side thinks you will thrive in the environment. With these events, there are two teams, for the Ryder Cup you have the US vs. Europe, but the Presidents Cup is the US vs. the World. These two events make up some of the best Golf you will see all year long. Look out Golf fans, I hope you are ready for a jammed pack Tour season, because it is going to be one for the record books. Here is my advice, enjoy Golf during the PGA Tour season. Sports are one of the best ways to unwind, so enjoy time with friends and family and watch some Golf.
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