Happy August! Summer is ending, and the kids are headed back to school soon (and some are already in school!).
What is left in 2025 in the world of golf? All four major championships are in the books, so what else is there?
If the PGA Championship were still in August, we would have one last major week. I wrote here about why May is a better time for the PGA, but there seems to be a bit of a void this time of year.
As to what is left in 2025, the lazy answers are the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which kick off this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and the Ryder Cup, although those are obviously technically correct in that they're huge stories to follow.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Tour Championship format, and who eventually lifts the trophy at East Lake certainly are not to be discounted. Interested? I certainly am.
Same with the Ryder Cup. Who eventually makes the team, who the captain picks are, who sits, who plays, who plays with who, and how the matches themselves play out will certainly rile up a New York crowd. Interested? I certainly am.
For now, let’s look past the playoffs and the Ryder Cup. What else is there? Disappointingly, but well documented, the golf world takes a back seat to football.
I see a countdown all over social media: Iowa State vs. Kansas State kicks off in Dublin, Ireland, on August 23, as do the other four games in the Week Zero lineup. College football begins in earnest on Thursday, August 28, with the remaining Week One games played out over the course of the Labor Day weekend.
College football not your thing? The NFL curtain raiser is Thursday, September 4.
Where is the PGA Tour during college football’s Week 1 or the first week of the NFL season? Nowhere. The following weekend, Week 3 of college and Week 2 of the NFL, the PGA Tour is visiting Napa Valley and the Procore Championship, which kicks off the FedEx Cup Fall schedule.
Other than the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour seems to accept its place in the background. Post-East Lake, the Tour plays a mere seven events. In fast forward, those are the aforementioned Procore in Napa Valley, Sanderson Farms in Jackson, Mississippi, Baycurrent in Japan, Bank of Utah in Ivins, Utah, World Wide Technology in Cabo San Lucas, Butterfield Bermuda in Bermuda, and the RSM in Sea Island, Georgia.
Will those events get the wide-ranging attention of the golf media? Unfortunately, no. Some of the media will be reassigned to cover football. It is a shame though. Each of those events have sponsors that are making a healthy investment, charities that benefit, host facilities that work hard to put their best foot forward, players who prep to advance their careers, a winner that gets an invite to the Masters, and so on.
What seems like a lifetime ago, I did an internship at a facility that became the host of one of these events. Trust me, to everyone involved with that event, it is not a lesser event to them.
Now, changing gears, what else is there to look forward to this fall?
PGA Championship qualifying. Yes, you read that right. Ever heard of it? It goes under the radar, mostly due to being called something else. Think of the PGA Professionals that work at your home course. As PGA Professionals, assuming they are "members" and not "associates," we can earn a spot in the PGA Championship. It is "our" championship after all.
PGA of America members, with some exclusions, enter their PGA Section’s Professional Championship. Most, but not all, sections double this event as their Section Championship. Top finishers in each Championship qualify for the National Professional Championship, and the top 20 finishers in the National Championship qualify for the PGA Championship.
This first stage varies throughout the second half the year. There is a Senior and an Assistant Championship set of qualifiers taking place around the same time. The corresponding National Championships are this fall.
What else? In fast forward …
College golf is starting. Some states play high school golf in the fall. Q-School starts in September. The LIV Golf Championship is in August. The LPGA Tour still has thirteen events left in the Race for the CME Globe before the CME Group Tour Championship.
The PGA Tour Champions has 10 events ahead of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. The Korn Ferry Tour has five events left before the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance. Who will win the PGA Junior League National Championship? Who will advance to the Drive, Chip and Putt in early 2026 at Augusta?
Other than that, there is golf news to look forward to. In fast forward …
What will the 2026 PGA Tour schedule look like? What about the LPGA, PGA Tour Champions, and the Korn Ferry Tour? Will the PGA Tour and LIV finally settle on something? Will something realistic emerge in the constant debate on slow play? Will anything else happen on the ball rollback that is set to go into effect in 2028? What will the new equipment lines look like? What about players who decide to change coaches, caddies, or equipment lines?
It might seem like golf is relegated to the background, but there is still plenty going on. And let’s not forget, the fall tends to have the best weather, and the courses are in the best shape all year. Once the first cool snap hits, the superintendent can take a deep breath.
Happy August!