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PGA TOUR: If I were a player, I’d play a lot of fall events

By Kathlene Bissell

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 03: Phil Mickelson prepares to hit off the eighth tee during the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin on October 3, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 03: Phil Mickelson prepares to hit off the eighth tee during the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin on October 3, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The PGA TOUR fall schedule is often an afterthought for the truly elite class of players. Here’s why it shouldn’t be, regardless of a player’s status.

The fall tournaments on the PGA Tour are overflowing with opportunity.  If I were PGA Tour player, I’d be plugging them into my schedule with regularity.

If I were higher up than 50th in the world ranking, I’d play to give myself some scheduling options later in the season and to visit posh resorts.

If I were lower than 50th in the world, I’d play to get my ranking up and get some precious FedEx points early and to visit great golf locations.

If I were much farther down, I’d play to earn FedEx points and cash, and enjoy wonderful golf destinations.

For instance, last week, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka carved out space in their calendars for the Shriner’s Hospital for Children Open.  Ok, so maybe Brooks Koepka entered for the parties, but for at least two days, he played golf.

While Thomas and Koepka don’t have to worry about their world ranking right now, there are really important reasons to play for those who are lower down, like Mickelson, who has slipped to a shocking No. 46.

For him, playing in the fall, whether Greenbrier, Sanderson Farms, Safeway, Shriner’s or Houston is a good opportunity to upgrade his ranking and have a better chance to win his 45th PGA Tour tournament because the fall fields are less packed with true superstars. In the fall, he doesn’t have to beat Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose and a gaggle of similarly ranked players. And with two events in California and one in Vegas, they are short commutes for him.

In fact, fall has such good opportunities, if I were Mickelson, Thomas or Koepka, I’d certainly pick at least three or four and play them.

If I were Thomas, I’d be looking to do what I did a few years ago, and get a lead in FedEx points by February. If I were Koepka, I’d be looking to lighten up my spring and summer schedule so I could take a week or two off then.

Mickelson needs to stay inside the top 50 or top 60 in the world.  If a player is inside the top 50, he gets into the Masters. (OK, Mickelson is exempt, but a lot of people aren’t.) A No. 60 place in the world rankings gets him into the U.S. Open, so he needs to maintain his place to enter that without qualifying. Top 70 in PGA Championship points, which is a new stat to follow, gets him into the PGA.

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Anyone who is farther down the list in world rankings wants a leg up on guys who have played better than he has in the past. Maybe a guy just wants to get ahead of Jordan Spieth. If you look up Spieth, you’ll probably be shocked to see that he finished 44th in FedEx points for 2019 and that, remarkably, he’s still 38th in the world, despite an inability to find fairways in 2019.

Now, with the Olympics coming up in 2020, the PGA Tour schedule is packed tighter than a can of Spam. After the first of June, any player who wants a breather and hasn’t planned his schedule properly is going to be dragging by the end of August.  Getting in those fall events can certainly allow a week or two off in the spring and/or summer.

So, playing the fall events is a quadruple benefit package.

It’s a great way for PGA Tour players to pad their points, pad their world ranking and pad their bank account and maybe take a week off later.  And, some of the fall events are in great places.

Players who don’t qualify for the WGC HSBC in China can go to Bermuda, and if you’ve ever been, you know there’s nothing bad about that, unless you don’t look good in Bermuda shorts. Bermuda might be the best benefit to not qualifying for a WGC.

Who doesn’t want to spend a week in Napa for the Safeway? (Before the blackouts!) Who doesn’t like to take in a show or lose a little money in Las Vegas? Who doesn’t like posh resorts like the Greenbrier and Sea Island Resort, which start and finish the fall schedule?

At The Greenbrier, now the first event on the fall calendar, there’s the Treasury Suite which includes the seal of the Secretary of the Treasury in a rug on the floor.   And there is a suite with décor by one of America’s most well-known early interior designers, Dorothy Draper. Of course, The Greenbrier is also famous for the cold war bunker which was built in the 1950s to house the president, vice-president, members of the cabinet and all members of Congress in case of nuclear attack. Yes, folks, it was that serious at the time.

Much less frightening than the specter of a nuclear disaster is the five-star Sea Island Resort, location of the final fall event, the RSM Classic. It’s so high-end, you can fly your private jet into the small island airport and park it close enough to walk to the resort or the golf course if you want to.  But, of course, no PGA Tour player would have to do that because, naturally, the resort will pick him up! What a great way to head into Thanksgiving.

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So, I say, the fall might be the best time to be a PGA Tour player. Big career opportunities and great places to visit.  What could be better than that?

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