JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Jon Rahm returned from a month off and played like he was never gone. Justin Thomas took the advice of a 15-year-old and had his lowest score of the year.

Both opened with an 8-under 63 on Thursday at The Northern Trust as the PGA Tour’s postseason began with no shortage of bizarre developments.

Rahm, who missed his chance at the Olympics because of what amounts to a false positive test result for COVID-19, expected a little rust in his game. It just didn’t show on his card. He chipped in for birdie, saved par on the next two holes and was on his way.

Thomas had benched his putter for bad behavior after he spent too much of the year not seeing putts go in the hole. But during his junior event last week, a teenager asked why he wasn’t using his old putter.

He didn’t hole all of them, but enough to record nine birdies for his lowest round since a 62 last November in Mexico.

Bryson DeChambeau also made nine birdies. He was eight shots behind. His round of 71 was noteworthy because of the pars he made on No. 4 and No. 10. Those were the only pars he made all day. The nine birdies were offset by five bogeys and two double bogeys.

It was the first time in 10 years someone shot par or better with two pars or fewer.

Not to be overlooked was Dustin Johnson, one of the most stress-free players in golf at least he looks that way who uttered words rarely heard: “Threw me for a loop.”

He was hitting drivers on the range, and hitting them well, right before teeing off when a few of them came off the club funny and another one sounded funny. His driver cracked, and Johnson headed to the first tee with 13 clubs and one head cover for his 5-wood.

He had a spare 3-wood in the car but no driver and got that on the third hole. If that wasn’t enough, he decided on a putter switch at the last minute. He still managed a 70.

Otherwise, there was a range of good golf in surprisingly strong wind off the Hudson River across from the Manhattan skyline.

Harold Varner III had a 66 in the morning, boosting his postseason chances. He is No. 72 in the FedEx Cup standings, and only the top 70 after this week advance to the next tournament. With the points at quadruple value, some big movements are expected.

The six players at 67 included Adam Scott (No. 82), Robert Streb (No. 68) and Mackenzie Hughes (No. 67). Hughes sits tied for the fourth spot with Scott and Streb, putting him one off the lead heading into the second round.

British Open champion Collin Morikawa, the No. 1 seed, struggled to keep the ball in play and opened with a 74. Jordan Spieth at No. 2 opened with a 72.

Rahm has endured the strangest of times with COVID-19. He tested positive on the day he built a six-shot lead through 54 holes at the Memorial and had to withdraw, and then returned to win the U.S. Open for his first major.

And then after more negative test results than he can remember for the British Open he tied for third at Royal St. George’s he had two more negative tests prior to his departure for the Olympics before a positive result showed up. The next day, he took two more tests (both negative), but by then it was too late.

He returned from his bout with COVID-19 by winning a major. This is different. He never had a chance to win a gold medal because he never made it to Tokyo. But he wouldn’t mind the same result, which in this case would be a FedEx Cup title worth $15 million.

Thomas knows putts that don’t fall is not the fault of the equipment, but something had to change, so he benched his putter at he U.S. Open. Ultimately, it’s about getting the speed to match with the line of the putt, and he did that well for so much of the day.

He holed a 35-foot birdie putt for his first lead on the par-3 14th, gave it back with a poor chip, and then drove the 283-yard 16th green to set up a closing stretch of three straight birdies.

The day started with another development: Patrick Reed withdrew with a sore ankle, the second straight week he has had to withdraw.

Reed is No. 22 in the FedEx Cup, and there are only two tournaments left to qualify for the Ryder Cup. He is No. 9 in the standings, and only the top six automatically qualify. The idea was to give it another week of rest and being ready for the next one.

The Golf Canada Foundation has opened applications for bursaries to provide Canadian professional golfers with financial assistance for upcoming Q-school tournaments in support their journeys to the LPGA and PGA TOUR.

These bursaries are being made available this year in recognition of the increased travel expenses that many players have incurred due to the impact of COVID-19. For example, host family housing has not been available at many events, thus creating increased expenses for players. 

Canadian professional golfers who anticipate expenses attempting to qualify for the 2021-2022 season on any tour that is affiliated with the PGA TOUR, European Tour, or LPGA tour are welcomed to apply through this link.

The application will be open until Monday, September 20 at 5pm ET. Bursaries will be awarded by mid-October in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $7,000, depending on a player’s competitive results and projected expenses.

For more information, please contact Emily Phoenix (ephoenix@golfcanada.ca).

On Sunday, Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson achieved a dream – reaching the PGA TOUR.

With the conclusion of the season-ending Pinnacle Bank Championship in Nebraska – the Korn Ferry Tour’s top 25 on the point list were finalized.

Pendrith, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont., finished at No. 5 and 27-year-old Svensson of Surrey, B.C., at No. 11, earning their PGA TOUR cards for the 2021-22 season.

For Svensson, it’s the conclusion of a two-year battle to find his way back to the PGA TOUR, after finishing outside of the playoff cut in 2019, sending him back down to the Korn Ferry loop.

But for Pendrith, it’s been a longer journey to make it to the top. After initially qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2016 season, Pendrith lost his card the following year due to injury and was sent back down to the Mackenzie Tour – where he’d have to restart the climb to the top.

Since then, Pendrith has been on the prowl – finishing second on the Mackenzie Tour in 2019 and continuing that momentum into the 2020-2021 Korn Ferry Tour season.

And although he’s receiving the coveted PGA TOUR card for the first time, Pendrith is not new to the top-level tour. In fact, he played in six events on the PGA TOUR over the course of the 2021 season, including both the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in 2020 and at Torrey Pines Golf Club in 2021.

In those six starts, he only missed the cut once, and finished inside the top 25 on three separate occasions, including a career-high finish tie for 11th at the Barbasol Championship. At the 2020 U.S. Open, in a field that included famously long-hitters Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson, Pendrith finished third in overall driving distance, behind just Matthew Wolff and Dustin Johnson.

For Svensson, it’s been nearly two years since he last played an event on the PGA TOUR, which resulted in a missed cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship in September of 2019. But Svensson was a dominate force this season on the Korn Ferry Tour, with 17 top 25 finishes, including a win at the Club Car Championship in March.

While Pendrith is still looking for his maiden Korn Ferry Tour win, his four runner-up finishes this past season were more than enough to place him safely into a position to secure his card.

Pendrith will join his former Kent State University teammates Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., who both re-earned their PGA TOUR cards for the following season.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C. and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., both also re-earned their cards, and Svensson will bring the B.C. contingent on tour up to three, and the Canadian total up to six.

As a result of winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2020, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford will also be on the PGA TOUR for the upcoming season.  

Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., and David Hearn of Brampton, Ont., both finished between 126-200 on the PGA TOUR this season, so they will get a second chance to re-earn their PGA TOUR cards at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

While Pendrith and Svensson have already secured their cards, they will have the chance to gain a higher ranking on the priority list by taking part in the three-event finals.

The first of said events will be the Albertsons Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club in Idaho from Aug 19 – 22.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Kevin Kisner made birdie on the second extra hole to win a record-tying six-man playoff at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

Kisner struck his approach to 3 feet on the 18th hole at Sedgefield and made the putt for his first PGA Tour win since 2019 and fourth of his career.

Not that it was easy. Kisner began four shots off the lead and shot 66, making birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to reach 15 under and the playoff. His birdie bested Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim and Branden Grace after all had made pars on the first additional hole.

With Scott looking at a 4-footer for birdie on the first extra hole, Kisner thought he would have to hole a pitch from short of the 18th green just to stay in the playoff, and he nearly did it. Kisner grimaced as his ball settled just right of the cup.

But Scott’s short putt missed badly and all six players went back to the 18th tee. This time, only Kisner stuffed his approach close on the 505-yard closing hole.

Kim shot 64 in the final round. Scott had a 65 while Grace, Na and Sloan each closed with 66.

It was the third six-man playoff on the PGA Tour and the first since Robert Allenby won at Riviera in 2001.

It didn’t look like a playoff would be necessary after Russell Henley, who led after the first three rounds, recovered from a slow start to reach 17-under after a birdie on the 10th hole. But Henley bogeyed three of the next four and came to the 72nd hole needing par to stay at 15 under.

But Henley missed a 6-footer to go 0-for-3 this season with the 54-hole lead. He was in front after three rounds at Las Vegas last October and at the U.S. Open in June.

There was drama through the final round of the tour’s last regular-season event as players outside the postseason sought to get in.

It looked like former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, who started the week 138th, had done enough to make the 125-man field for The Northern Trust. But the Englishman missed a 5-footer for par on the final hole that dropped him to 126th – first outside the playoff field.

“Obviously it was in my hands up 18,” Rose said. “I didn’t do a very good job of that.”

Rose’s loss was Chesson Hadley’s gain. The veteran who finished second at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June made a hole-in one on the par-3 16th – complete with an awkward, leg-kicking celebration – and shot 62.

That was enough to sneak him into next week’s field at No. 125. And unlike Rose, Hadley needed to make the playoffs to secure full playing privileges for next season.

Sloan and Scott Piercy were two others who played their way into the playoffs. Canada’s Sloan moved from 131st to 92nd while Piercy came in at No. 126 and improved 10 spots.

Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, both of Abbotsford, B.C., finished tied for 10th at 13 under. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., finished tied for 37th and tied for 65th, respectively.

Three players who missed the cut this week fell from the top 125 after starting the week playoff-bound. Ryan Armour went from 122nd to 127th, Bo Hoag from 125th to 129th and Patrick Rodgers from 123rd to 128th.

Threatening weather for later Sunday led tour officials to move up tee times. They didn’t count on a mash-up at the top leading to the 12th playoff on the PGA Tour this season.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley was grateful to get through the round with the lead at the Wyndham Championship. He hopes to hold on for 18 more holes for his first PGA Tour victory in four years.

Henley shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead.

Henley, who tied the lowest 36-hole score on tour this year, couldn’t keep up that pace at Sedgefield Country Club. Yet, he rolled in a 33-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th and went on to finish at 15-under 195 as he tries to win his fourth career title and first since the 2017 Shell Houston Open.

Tyler McCumber, the son of 10-time tour winner Mark McCumber, shot a 66 and was at 12 under in second. He’s winless on the tour.

The group of six four shots behind at 11 under included three playoff outsiders in Rory Sabbatini, Scott Piercy and Roger Sloan now on track to tee it up in the 125-man field for the postseason that starts next week at The Northern Trust.

Sabbatini, the Olympic silver medalist last month, has used his momentum from Tokyo to make a charge in the playoff standings. His 69 included a birdie on the 17th hole that moved him from outside the postseason – he began the week at No. 141 – to a projected place of No. 122.

Piercy, too, continued his charge into the tour playoffs with a 68. He was first man out of the playoffs at No. 126 when the week began. But his third straight round in in the 60s projected him to 93rd.

Sloan also needed a big week to continue his season and he’s gotten it so far with a second straight 64 to move from 131st in the playoff standings to No. 102.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 15th at 9 under, while Nick Taylor of Abbotsford and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., are both tied for 28th at 7 under.

Others tied at 11 under were Branden Grace, Kevin Kisner and Kevin Na. Grace shot 64, Kisner 66 and Na 67.

Former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, who started the week 138th in the standings, shot 69 after a bogey on the final hole. He’s 126th in the projections.

There are no guarantees that current results mean anything come the next round – or next hole. Just ask Tyler Duncan, who made five birdies on his front nine to move up 61 spots in the playoff standings to 101st.

But Duncan played the back nine at 3 over for a 69 – and dropped to 150th by round’s end.

It won’t be a normal final round either as the PGA Tour will start earlier with the first golfers going off at 7 a.m. to beat expected bad weather later in the day. Golfers will also go off in threesomes and from the first and 10th tees.

Henley, who entered at No. 46, was locked into the playoffs long before this event began. He’s focused on finishing out the victory, something he could not two months ago when he was in a three-way tie for the top after three rounds of the U.S. Open.

Henley shot a final-round 76 at Torrey Pines to fall back.

He looked as if he’d regained his form with his eagle on No. 15. But Henley missed a 13-foot par putt on the 18th to drop a shot.

Henley hopes to get away from golf for a few hours tonight, knowing he’s got an earlier start than normal.

McCumber’s career best came this year with a second at the Puntacana event in the Dominican Republic last September. He had missed his past six cuts before getting hot this week.

“You’ve got to stay in the process and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well and getting rewarded for it through the first three rounds this week, so taking that momentum into tomorrow,” he said.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to open a four-stroke lead halfway through the Wyndham Championship.

Henley was at 14-under 126, tying Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage in April for the lowest 36-hole score this season in a tournament Cink went on to win.

Olympic silver medalist Rory Sabbatini was tied for second with past champion Webb Simpson and playoff bubble man Scott Piercy.

Sabbatini shot a 64, Simpson 65 and Piercy at 66.

Former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, outside the playoffs at the start of the week, continued his surge toward the postseason with a 65 that left him at 9 under in a group with Tyler Duncan and Brian Stuard.

Duncan had the lowest score of the round at 62. Stuard shot 66.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., fired a 63 and is the top Canadian at 7 under.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (71) and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., (64) are both 5 under, while Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor (71) and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., (66) are 4 under.

When Henley teed off, the first-round leader had already been passed by Sabbatini, Piercy and Simpson. Henley, who opened on the back nine, got going with four straight birdies on Nos. Nos. 14-17 to regain the lead.

Henley added three more birdies on his final nine. It was a couple of months ago that Henley shared the halfway lead at the U.S. Open. He was among three leaders after 54 holes until falling off with final-round 76.

Henley hopes he can keep the same drive and mentality on the weekend. After all, this is not the U.S. Open and pars here will probably lead you out of contention.

It was a good day for Sabbatini, Piercy and Rose, all who began the week outside the 125-man postseason cutoff, but have played themselves into next week’s Northern Trust with 36 holes to go.

Sabbatini, buoyed by his Tokyo experience, has moved from 141st in the FedEx standings to a projected 95th. He tied his career low 36-hole score of 130, last accomplished in 2003 at the Shriner’s Children’s Open.

Piercy started this week as first man out at No. 126. His 64-66 start has him projected at 80th for the playoffs.

Rose, who won the 2018 FedEx Cup, was also outside at No. 138 when he teed off Thursday. He’s inside the playoffs at 117th after shooting 66-65.

It was not the case for playoff outsider Rickie Fowler, who missed the cut after shooting 71-72. He had needed to finish 21st or better to keep his 11-season streak of advancing to golf’s postseason intact. Instead, Fowler will have a few weeks off before next season.

Sabbatini said his game kicked into gear in Tokyo – he finished with a 61 for the silver behind gold-medalist American Xander Schauffele – and has continued at the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event.

His play at Sedgefield Country Club has him pointing toward the playoffs. “I do potentially have a flight reservation, but I don’t know which direction.”

Piercy had made the playoffs the past six seasons.

Rose said his first two rounds have him thinking about more than the top-10 finish needed to continue his season: He’s aiming for his first PGA Tour win since the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019.

“I know I need to finish top-10, but at the same time there’s no point limiting yourself to that kind of thinking,” he said. “Winning would go a long way to kind of feel like you can compete in the playoffs.”

Among those missing the 3 under cut were Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and veteran Ryan Moore, who will miss the tour playoffs for the first time since it began in 2007.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley shot an 8-under 62, his lowest round in more than two years, to take the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Wyndham Championship.

Henley birdied three of his final four holes for a two-stroke lead over Sung Kang, Ted Potter Jr., Chris Kirkand, Hudson Swofford, Scott Piercy and Michael Thompson in the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event. Adam Hadwin also was 6-under, but had two holes left when darkness ended play.

Canadians Michael Gligic and Nick Taylor are both tied for ninth at 5 under. Mackenzie Hughes is tied for 108th and Roger Sloan is tied for 130th.

A storm halted play for 2 hours, 7 minutes, with 22 players unable to finish.

Past champion Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner led a group of 10 another stroke behind at 65 at Sedgefield Country Club, where many competitors are scrambling to make it into top 125 to advance to the playoffs that start next week at the Northern Trust.

Henley, at No. 46 in the standings, had no worries about the postseason, but came out fast with a bogey-free round in chasing his first PGA Tour victory in four years.

He moved in front with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th before closing with birdies on 17 and 18, the last with a 20-foot putt. He had with his lowest round on the tour since a career-low 61 at the John Deere Classic in 2019.

Henley has played some solid golf of late. He was tied for the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open in June, then had two straight top-20 finishes before missing the cut at the British Open. He returned this week, hoping he can carry his strong play to the end.

“My mindset,” Henley continued, “is I feel if I can play my game, play my normal game, then I can maybe give myself a chance and that’s kind of where I’m at.”

There are several big names competing to keep their season’s alive. Adam Scott, who started at No. 121, and Matt Kuchar, at No. 124, both had strong starts at 66.

Rickie Fowler, who came at 130th and needing a good week, didn’t help himself with a 71. Justin Rose, the Payne Stewart Award winner this week, has to finish in the top 10 to advance after coming in 138th. He opened with a 66, tied for 19th.

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama was at 69, tied for 89th.

Olympic medalists Rory Sabbatini and C.T. Pan also are playing after the Tokyo Games. Sabbatini, who took silver for Slovakia behind U.S. gold medal winner Xander Schauffele, started with a 66.

Pan, from Taiwan, won a seven-man playoff for the bronze. He shot a 68.

Louis Oosthuizen, the only top 10 player in the FedEx standings entered, withdrew because of a neck injury.

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) – Erik van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, finishing with 50 points in the modified Stableford scoring system.

Canadian Roger Sloan climbed 10 points on Sunday after finishing the third round tied for 16th. Sloan completed the fourth round with an eagle and 6 birdies to rocket him up to the 6th spot. Richmond Hill, Ont.’s Taylor Pendrith joined fellow Canadian inside the top 15, completing the fourth round with 34 points.

Van Rooyen, the 31-year-old former University of Minnesota player from South Africa, eagled the par-4 eighth and closed with a birdie on the par-4 18th for a five-point victory over Andrew Putnam at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Course.

Players receive eight points for an albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par. A point is subtracted for a bogey, and three points are taken away for a double bogey or worse.

Van Rooyen had a 16-point final round, making the eagle, six birdies and a bogey.

Putnam scored 11 points on the first four holes with an eagle on the par-5 second and three birdies, then had two birdies and a bogey on the final 14 holes. He won the 2018 event for his lone PGA Tour title.

Scott Piercy was third with 44 points after an 11-point day. Third-round leader Adam Schenk had a five-point round to finish with 43.

Van Rooyen jumped from 139th to 78th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 125 after the Wyndham Championship next week earning spots in the playoff opener at Liberty National. He earned a spot in the PGA Championship next year but not the Masters because the event is being played opposite a World Golf Championship the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee.

Putnam went from 104th to 75th, Piercy 144th to 126th and Schenk 113 to 95th.

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) Adam Schenk birdied the par-4 18th in smoky conditions from wildfires Saturday for an 11-point round and a four-point lead in the Barracuda Championship, the only PGA Tour event that uses the modified Stableford scoring system.

Players receive eight points for an albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par. A point is subtracted for a bogey, and three points are taken away for a double bogey or worse.

“I like the course,” Schenk said. “It’s just weird, I drove it really well last year, so I guess I just like the way the course sets up, suits my eye.”

Schenk, the 29-year-old former Purdue player seeking his first PGA Tour title, had seven birdies and a bogey in the third round to reach 38 points on Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Course.

“The course firmed up a little bit,” Schenk said. “Just driving it so nice so far this week, so the putter has not been as good as it’s been the first day, but I’m still rolling it nice. And if the driver continues tomorrow, it should be a fun day.”

Taylor Pendrith and fellow Canadian, Roger Sloan are in the hunt after the third round. Sloan sits tied for the 16th spot, locking in 11 points on Saturday.

Andrew Putnam, the 2018 winner for his lone PGA Tour title, was tied for second with Erik van Rooyen.

Putnam had a nine-point day, dropping three points with a double bogey on the par-4 16th.

Van Rooyen scored 10 points.

“I think at the end of the day the player that plays the best is going to win,” van Rooyen said. “I don’t see why I have to be more risky.”

Scott Piercy (8) and first-round leader Joel Dahmen (7) had 33 points. Second-round leader Emiliano Grillo (2) was at 31, and Taylor Pendrith (14) at 30.

Because of concerns about the smoke, the tee times Saturday were pushed back.

The top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings after the Wyndham Championship next week will earn spots in the playoff opener at Liberty National. Schenk entered the week 113th, Putnam 104th, van Rooyen 139th, Piercy 144th and Dahmen 78th.

The winner will earn a spot in the PGA Championship next year but not the Masters because the event is being played opposite a World Golf Championship the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee.

The PGA TOUR and European Tour today unveiled new details around their Strategic Alliance, with the PGA TOUR also releasing its 2021-22 PGA TOUR Season schedule.

The landmark agreement, announced in November 2020, further enhances and connects the ecosystem of men’s professional golf through a number of areas, including global scheduling, prize funds and playing opportunities for the respective memberships. 

In terms of scheduling, the most significant piece of collaboration is the fact that three tournaments will be co-sanctioned in 2022 and therefore count on both the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup and the European Tour’s Race to Dubai next season: the Barbasol Championship; the Barracuda Championship; and the Genesis Scottish Open.

The latter event also has a new title sponsor in Genesis, the luxury automotive brand from South Korea, who will now title sponsor two tournaments on the PGA TOUR, with the Genesis Scottish Open joining The Genesis Invitational, which Genesis has titled since 2017; The Genesis Invitational will once again be played at The Riviera Country Club next year (February 14-20).

The Genesis Scottish Open (July 4-10), which is part of the European Tour’s Rolex Series, retains its place in golf’s global calendar the week ahead of The Open Championship (July 11-17), a date confirmed through to 2025. The player field will be a split between members of both Tours. 

The tournament will also benefit from the continued commitment of the Scottish Government, managed by Visit Scotland – the agreement also running through 2025.

“We are delighted to welcome Genesis as a title sponsor of a European Tour event for the first time,” said European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley. “Genesis has a strong history of sponsorship on the PGA TOUR through The Genesis Invitational, and their commitment to the Scottish Open will further enhance one of our premier events of the season.”

Although it will be on the PGA TOUR’s official schedule for the first time, the Genesis Scottish Open has a rich history on the European Tour, appearing in the Tour’s first two official seasons (1972 and 1973) and as part of the Tour’s International Schedule since 1986. It has also been part of the Rolex Series – the European Tour’s premium series of events – since the Series’ inception in 2017.

“Adding an existing, strong title sponsor in Genesis to our Strategic Alliance in the form of the Genesis Scottish Open – to be sanctioned by both Tours – is a significant step for the global game,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Coupled with their support of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera, we’re incredibly proud to forge a deeper relationship with this premier brand across the global game.”

Genesis will take over the title sponsorship of the event from abrdn, who are exploring ways for the decade-long partnership with the European Tour to continue moving forward. The venue for the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open will be confirmed at a later date.

“We are extremely excited to become title sponsor of the Scottish Open at this historic moment, as the PGA TOUR and European Tour announce details on their Strategic Alliance,” said Jay Chang, Global head of Genesis. “Genesis and golf share a culture centered on respect, mutual admiration and innovation. We will continue to strengthen our partnership with both Tours to deliver this spirit to golfers, communities and individuals around the world through successful tournaments.”

Paul Bush, Director of Events at VisitScotland, said, “We are thrilled the European Tour and PGA TOUR have identified the Genesis Scottish Open to further develop their Strategic Alliance, and there is no more fitting stage than Scotland, the Home of Golf, on which to embark on such a historic journey.”

In addition to the Genesis Scottish Open being co-sanctioned, there will also be access for 50 European Tour members to each of two PGA TOUR events in 2022 for the first time – the Barbasol Championship, which will be played concurrently with the Genesis Scottish Open, and the Barracuda Championship, which will be played alongside the following week’s 150^th Open Championship at St. Andrews. Both events will be added to the Race to Dubai for European Tour members.

It was also confirmed today that as part of the Strategic Alliance and collaboration between the two Tours, the Irish Open will see a significant increase in prize money for its annual European Tour event – to $6 million, starting in 2022 – nearly double the amount on offer at Mount Juliet last month. In addition, the PGA TOUR will continue to work with the European Tour on commercial opportunities across the Tour.

“When we announced the Strategic Alliance at the end of last year, we said it was a landmark moment for global golf’s ecosystem that would benefit all members of both Tours,” said Pelley. “Today’s announcement underlines that promise, with further enhancements to the Genesis Scottish Open, a strengthening of the Irish Open for our members, and direct access for European Tour members to two PGA TOUR events.

“There has been considerable collaboration behind the scenes between our two Tours since November’s Alliance was unveiled, and we are delighted to share these initial developments, which demonstrate our commitment to working together for the betterment of our sport globally.  We will have more to announce in the coming months – this is most definitely just the beginning.”

“With today’s news, I am pleased to say that the PGA TOUR and the European Tour are both stronger than at any time in our history, as we are positioned to grow – together – over the next 10 years faster than we have at any point in our existence,” said Monahan. “We are committed to continuing to evolve and adapt, and with our ever-strengthening partnership with the European Tour, to take the global game to the heights we all know it is capable of.”

PGA TOUR Schedule Highlights

The 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule includes several significant enhancements and features a total of 48 official events – 45 during the FedExCup Regular Season along with three 2022 FedExCup Playoffs events.  

The 2022 portion of the schedule will kick off the PGA TOUR’s new, nine-year domestic media rights agreements with ViacomCBS, Comcast/NBC and ESPN. As part of the agreement, all three 2022 FedExCup Playoffs events will be broadcast domestically on NBC network television, beginning a rotation that continues with CBS hosting all three events in 2023.

Headline news includes the change in location and venue for the kickoff of the FedExCup Playoffs to TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, starting in 2022, replacing the Regular Season event that has been held in Memphis since 1958. FedEx will serve as the title sponsor of the event, to be known as the FedEx St. Jude Championship (August 8-14), replacing existing title sponsor Northern Trust after this year’s playing of THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. 

“FedEx is excited that the first event of the 2022 FedExCup Playoffs will be hosted in our hometown of Memphis, Tennessee,” said Raj Subramaniam, President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation. “We are proud of our history and the community impact we’ve had since becoming title sponsor of our hometown TOUR stop in 1986. We look forward to the impact it will bring to our local community and will continue to use it as a platform to showcase the groundbreaking work being done by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to golf fans around the world.”

“Since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007, we have made a number of changes to enhance the quality of the FedExCup Playoffs for our players, fans and partners,” said Monahan. “Thanks to the continued support from FedEx as the TOUR’s umbrella partner, we’re proud to bring the start of the FedExCup to Memphis and a course loved by our players. Not only will it be a great test worthy of Playoff golf, but we also anticipate tremendous enthusiasm from a community that has steadfastly supported the PGA TOUR for more than 60 years. And, of course, the important work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will continue to be front and center.

“In totality, the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule, combined with the momentum we have with our now-entrenched partnership with the European Tour, puts the PGA TOUR in a position of strength within professional golf like never before. We’re confident this schedule will give the world’s best players the opportunity to do what they do best – inspire and entertain our fans around the globe while helping our tournaments make a significant impact in their respective communities.”

The 2022 FedExCup Playoffs will continue to include the BMW Championship (August 15-21), which rotates next year to Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, and the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship (August 22-28), once again slated for East Lake Golf Club. 

The PGA TOUR’s flagship event, THE PLAYERS Championship (March 7-13), will anchor a true Florida Swing in 2022, which features four consecutive events through The Sunshine State in the spring, including the Valspar Championship, which was played in April/May this past year. THE PLAYERS will be in year three of its March date and as a kickoff to the Season of Championships, with Justin Thomas returning as defending champion.

The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (May 30-June 5) enters the first year of a 10-year agreement in 2022 with new presenting sponsor, Workday. Founded in 1976 by golf legend Jack Nicklaus and held annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, the tournament partners for the first time with three-time NBA champion and two-time MVP Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, and Ayesha Curry, an entrepreneur, host and New York Times bestselling author. 

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the RBC Canadian Open (June 6-12) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, returns to the schedule in 2022 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Rory McIlroy won the last RBC Canadian Open, played in 2019.

Other notable items and changes to the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule include (in chronological order):

2021

• As previously announced, the Fortinet Championship (September 13-19), with new title sponsor Fortinet, kicks off the 2021-22 FedExCup Regular Season at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California.
• The Ryder Cup will be played the week following the Fortinet Championship, with nine official events played during the balance of 2021 for a total of 10 events to be played in the fall.
• The reconfigured Asia Swing will begin with THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT (October 11-17), which moves to the United States for the second year in a row and will be staged at The Summit Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, delivering back-to-back weeks of PGA TOUR golf in Las Vegas, as the Shriners Children’s Open will be contested October 4-10. 
• Following THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT will be the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, with additional details to be available in the near future.
• As previously announced, World Wide Technology embarks on its first year of title sponsorship of the TOUR’s original event in Mexico, the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba (November 1-7).

2022

• The Sentry Tournament of Champions – a PGA TOUR winners-only event – leads off the 2022 calendar year (January 3-9).
• The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (January 31-February 6) and the Waste Management Phoenix Open (February 7-13) trade spots in the schedule, as the TOUR’s event at TPC Scottsdale remains in its traditional date of Super Bowl week.   
• The Puerto Rico Open (February 28-March 6) will be played as an additional event alongside the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.
• The Corales Puntacana Championship (March 21-27), in its first year under an extended term, will be played as an additional event alongside the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.
• The Mexico Championship (April 25-May 1) returns to the calendar as a PGA TOUR co-sponsored event, no longer under the World Golf Championships umbrella. With the field of 132 players, there is an anticipation of additional Mexican golfers in the field to help in inspire and grow the game in one of golf’s key emerging markets. 
• With the biennial Presidents Cup being held at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte in 2022, the Wells Fargo Championship (May 2-8) will be contested for one year at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac, Maryland.
• The John Deere Classic (June 27-July 3), traditionally played the week prior to The Open Championship, moves one week earlier.
• Following The Open Championship, the 3M Open (July 18-24), Rocket Mortgage Classic (July 25-31) and Wyndham Championship (August 1-7) close out the FedExCup Regular Season.

The European Tour will announce the initial portion of its 2022 schedule later this month, with the full season announcement to follow in due course.