The Truist Championship marks the sixth of eight Signature Events of the 2025 PGA Tour season and will be contested this week at Philadelphia Cricket Club, as its usual venue, Quail Hollow, will host next week's PGA Championship.
Now, if I were eligible for all four major championships and all eight Signature Events this year, the dates might find me in a bit of a quandary. But why?
For starters, let’s look at the dates of four of these Signature Events.
First, there's the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, which occurs the week before The Players Championship. Then, you've got the RBC Heritage the week after The Masters, this week's Truist the week before the PGA Championship, and then the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands the week after the U.S. Open.
If I were trying not to wear myself out the week before or after The Players or a major, I might be unsure about playing the Signature Events, which is perhaps why Scottie Scheffler is skipping the Truist this week or why Rory McIlroy skipped the RBC.
Sure, a $20 million purse would sway me to play, but let’s disregard the prize money for a few moments.
The Signature Events have smaller fields, and the more you play and do well in them, the more you will remain playing in them.
The biggest draw to me is that there are no cuts in three of the four tourneys mentioned, the exception being the Arnold Palmer.
If I were eligible, I would play in as many no-cut events as possible. Why? I know I will be around for four days. Would I put in extensive work in the days leading up to the first round? Despite what a fan might think, maybe not.
Would I if there were a cut? More likely, as I would not want to miss out on what goes with high finishes in Signature Events. With no disrespect to the various host clubs, sponsors, and the PGA Tour, I would view a no-cut event the week before a major as a warmup of sorts, and a wind-down for the events after.
In the case of the Truist and the PGA Championships, similarities and differences between the two courses abound. Players will be going from typically undulating Tillinghast A1/A4 bentgrass greens at the Wissahickon Course to Mini Verde Bermuda greens for the PGA, which might not be quite as ideal.
Personally, my PGA Section used to have a Section Championship. It was a different and separate event from the Section’s Professional Championship, the qualifier for the National PGA Professional Championship played in late April every year (won by Tyler Collett this year).
The Section Championship had been played at a popular tourist spot in one of the corners of our section, no cut, held in early September, well after kids went back to school, and played over three days. I played every year I was eligible and viewed it as a mini-vacation. My worst finish was 11th. Now the two events are one and the same.
I could understand Tour players who think of a no-cut event the same way. Same with LIV Golf players.
I could also understand what the PGA Tour sees in a no-cut event, as the big names are there all four days and are guaranteed a payday. Also, depending on how scores shake out, the Tour could get semi-creative with pairings on Sunday, like starting in the afternoon on both nines, so the big names can have some TV time even if they are well behind the leaders.
More broadly, I would like to see a bit more thought put into which events are Signature Events and where exactly they fall on the calendar. The week before or after a major might cause a degree of dread or delight, depending on the player.
Also, some consideration for the non-Signature Events would be appreciated for those event organizers and sponsors.
After The Masters, there was a Signature Event, then a team event in New Orleans (perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea), then Dallas, then a Signature Event, then the PGA. Did Dallas get a good field, besides hometown heroes Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth? No, they didn't.
The same question applies to the Colonial and the Canadian Open. Maybe, but not every non-Signature Event over the course of a season.
Nothing can obviously be done this year, but perhaps the PGA Tour will make some changes in 2026 and beyond. Only time will tell, I suppose.