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Excited Lahiri gives thumbs-up to new PGA Tour schedule

Anirban Lahiri is very excited about the changes and the latest schedule released by the PGA Tour for 2018-19.

By Chitrangada
Lahiri

Ponte Vedra, July 11: Anirban Lahiri is very excited about the changes and the latest schedule released by the PGA Tour for 2018-19. The PGA Tour has unveiled a revamped tournament schedule with changes for players and fans with significant championships every month and culminating with the FedExCup Playoffs in August.

The most important changes, which had been indicated earlier, are the movement of THE PLAYERS Championship from May to March (March 11-17) and the PGA Championship moves from August to May 13-19.

Also, the FedExCup Playoffs will feature three events, instead of four, with the Northern Trust (August 5-11 with 125-player field); the BMW Championship, (Aug 12-18 with 70 players); and the TOUR Championship (Aug 19-25 with 30 players).

The final World Golf Championships event of the season, until now staged in Akron, Ohio, will be held July 22-28 at TPC Southwind in Memphis as the WGC - FedEx St. Jude Invitational and that replaces the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Two new tournaments will also come in.

The Houston Open and A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier will move to the fall and will be played next as part of the 2019-20 schedule, and will therefore not feature in 2018-19.

Lahiri, who has been on the PGA Tour since 2015, said, "It is very exciting. With Majors moving, and the Players moving, we were all waiting for the schedule to figure out how to attack next year. It is going to be very interesting with the schedule becoming more compact as well. You will see a lot more players in the Fall Season."

He added, "The biggest thing in next year's schedule is that we are going to have 2-3 events less. So, people will play a little more early in the season to get a head start, as the next few years go the Fall season will get a lot more important. Till five years ago, there really was no schedule as such for Fall. Going ahead it will have 20% of the season, which goes longer and deeper. The approach to the Fall and the rest of the season will also be different."

The FedeXCup will also end before the start of the football season, allowing for more spectator interest. "So more people will be watching and the new format of the FedExCup will change the view people look at it from. There will be more drama and excitement all around. I am really looking forward to see how all this pans out."

Story first published: Thursday, July 12, 2018, 16:32 [IST]
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