Doral Returns to the PGA Tour Schedule as a Featured Event
The Trump National Doral will once again be part of the PGA Tour calendar next year as a featured event. This tournament promises to test the willingness of elite golfers to compete in an extraordinary spring, with five major tournaments in a six-week period. Doral traditionally marked the start of the season in Florida, an unmissable event as the PGA Tour attracted international stars. Next year, this tournament will become a marquee event with a $20 million purse, to be held on the first weekend of May. It will be part of a series that begins with the Masters, culminates with the PGA Championship, and will feature three marquee tournaments in the four intervening weeks.Rory McIlroy missed three marquee events this year, one of them early on in Kapalua, where he rarely plays, as he usually starts his season in the Middle East. McIlroy commented that it’s a considerable workload for the players to participate in so much golf in that period. However, he highlighted that it doesn’t involve traveling to the other side of the world, as they are easy stops on the east coast for the most part. This also implies that players not eligible for these major events would only have two tournaments to play, one of them with a minimum purse, in that six-week span. There are practically no changes to the 2025 calendar, except for some tournaments that change their dates, the Mexico Open that moves to the fall, and the opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic that moves from March (against Bay Hill) to July (against the British Open). The PGA Tour lost the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California, which opposed the British Open. It was the only tournament that used the modified Stableford scoring system. The main sponsor for what is now called the Miami Championship has yet to be determined. Doral joined the PGA Tour calendar in 1962. It became a World Golf Championship in 2007, and then the PGA Tour had difficulty finding a title sponsor when President Donald Trump acquired the resort. After 2016, it moved from Trump Doral to Mexico City, which led Trump, the then presumptive Republican nominee, to express: “I hope they have kidnapping insurance.” The famous “Blue Monster” at Trump Doral hosted the Saudi-backed LIV Golf for the last four years. Miami is not part of the LIV schedule for 2026, although its Trump National outside Washington will be used. When the concept of these limited-field, big-purse tournaments was conceived, the idea was that all the best players would compete against each other. Justin Thomas reflected that, on the one hand, he believes in the idea of all players participating in all these events, as that is their purpose. However, he also noted that some fields, regardless of the purse, are not suitable for certain players. McIlroy mentioned that he never felt comfortable playing at Hilton Head. Thomas admitted that he eventually started skipping a World Golf Championship in China for that reason.We are excited to showcase the best players in the world competing on the most iconic golf courses.
Brian Rolapp, new CEO of the PGA Tour
Tommy Fleetwood believes this period is a great opportunity that could change a player’s entire season if they perform well. Fleetwood commented that each player has the option to participate or not, and that they can schedule their participation as they wish. If a player wishes to participate in all of them, it would be an incredible series of opportunities in terms of major events. The PGA Tour season begins a week later, on January 8 in Kapalua, giving players a little more time after the holidays to prepare. This implies that the WM Phoenix Open, which prefers to finish on Super Bowl Sunday, will take place from February 5th to 8th. The AT&T Pebble Beach moves one week, followed by the Genesis Invitational, both highlighted events with a $20 million purse. Previously, the Mexico Open was held after the West Coast Swing, a week before the start of the Florida Swing. Now, the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, will follow two prominent events at Pebble Beach and Riviera, and precede two more significant events at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. Scottie Scheffler is not participating in the Truist Championship in early May because he wants to support events in his hometown area of Dallas. The question for the PGA Tour is how many other players will not want to play as much in the middle of the first two majors of the year. In another move, the Rocket Classic in Detroit moves from the last week of June, two weeks after the U.S. Open, to the first weekend of August, two weeks after the British Open. The autumn part of the calendar has not yet been published.So, if there are places where I think people view it that way, then you have to do what’s best for that particular person. Obviously, the perfect model would be for us all to be at all events as often as possible.
Justin Thomas
