Remember “Glory’s Last Shot”? That used to be the PGA Championship’s slogan until “The Season’s Final Major” overtook it. Well, now, neither tagline works, since the event was pushed up from August to May, beginning in 2019. It’s now the second major on the calendar, coming a month after the Masters and a month before the US Open.
Starting with Brooks Koepka’s second Wanamaker Trophy at Bethpage Black, every PGA Championship has been held in May, save for the return to August in 2020 due to COVID. And now that we’re five tournaments deep, we polled our brightest golf minds to see if this calendar change has worked.
The decision to shift the date was due to the realignment of the FedEx Cup season, addition of golf to the Summer Olympics (typically held in late July/early August) and to keep away from the behemoth that is the NFL. Things have been fine so far – and yet, we have some questions.
Does May actually work? Should we shift it back to August? Is there actual momentum throughout the golf season now? All that and more are debated below.
Christian Iooss, Executive Producer: ✅ vote for May. I like the cadence of one big tournament per month, starting in March with the Players, ending in August with the Tour Championship. March-Players April-Masters May-PGA June-USO July-British August-Tour Champ
Will Irwin, Social Media Senior Manager: May. 100 percent
Stina Sternberg, Golf Digest Studio VP: I’m on Team August, with moving the Players back to May – mainly because of weather. March is a total crap shoot weather wise for the Players, and holding the PGA in May limits where the PGA of America can host it and sometimes means horrible weather there, too. (Plus, nobody really cares about the Tour Championship anyway …)
General view of fans as they use umbrellas in the rain during the third round of the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill [Michael Reaves]
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E. Michael Johnson, Equipment Editor: The question of whether the PGA Championship belongs in May or August is easy to answer: the former. Forget that we don’t have to worry about swamp ass from sweltering heat. Or that we don’t have to deal with contrived slogans such as “Glory’s Last Shot.” The quality of champions since moving to May suggests the timing syncs up better with players’ peak performances. The May champions have been Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Koepka again and Xander Schauffele. Not a Jason Dufner, Y.E. Yang or, god forbid, Rich Beem or Shaun Micheel in the lot. Keep it where it is.
Brad Clifton, Editor-in-Chief, Australian Golf Digest: May, August…. who really gives a toss. The real point of contention is how much longer will golf’s US-based brass remain tone deaf to the real happenings in world golf? Surely we can all agree this major can be the glue that unites fans and truly promotes the sport outside those star-spangled states. Make the PGA Championship the ‘world’ major and take it to Australia, South Africa, Canada, South America, Japan, China, Korea, New Zealand, [fill in the blanks here]… Think about the PGA professionals around the globe who’ve given so much to the game. What a way to doff our collective cap and give back. Worry about the location before the dates. Until then, it’s just another elevated ‘American’ golf event with a big trophy and an even bigger cheque for the winner.
Greg Gottfried, Web Producer: I like the simplicity of May, creating a major season with one big event after another for four months. It all makes sense to me. And it’s worked so far with strong winners, one after another, ever since the move. Staying away from the NFL is always a good idea. Plus, this creates a bit of momentum (sorry, momentum deniers) from major to major, throughout the season, ending with the FedEx Cup Playoffs and an ungodly amount of money on the table. It’s working. Keep it.
Drew Powell, Associate Editor: August. I’m a “Glory’s Last Shot” guy. The major championship season finishing in mid-July is cruel, nay, dumb, considering that golf season for most people has three-plus months left. BUT FOOTBALL! I know, I know. With the PGA in May, the majors come too quickly now that it favors the players who simply get on a bit of a hot streak at the right time. With the PGA so close after the Masters, and the US Open right after that, players, fans and media don’t get a chance to catch their breath. Draw it out a little bit. Also, the Players was much better in May versus March. A baked-out Sawgrass on Mother’s Day with the US Open on the horizon? Yep.
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Patrick Andrews, Audience Development Analyst: I’m Team August. Opens up the PGA Championship to more courses in the Northern parts of the US when they will be at their firmest and fastest, not in cool, wet conditions in May. Courses on the recent and future rota, like Bethpage, Baltusrol, Aronimink, Olympic, Oak Hill and Congressional, are better played in August, not May. Also, this opens the move for the Players back to May under tougher conditions, which is a great lead-in for the US Open in June. Another thing it hopefully does is get more guys to play the really tough courses on the Florida Swing in March (PGA National, Bay Hill, Innisbrook).
Christopher Powers, Staff Writer: A co-worker who shall remain nameless said on a recent Zoom call that the move to May has proven to be a bad one for the PGA Championship. All I can say is thank goodness I was off-camera because my facial expression in reaction to that take may have possibly gotten me fired, at minimum suspended without pay. The PGA, in my opinion, has ascended in the major rankings since getting slotted in May. It’s given the season as a whole such a nice cadence with one massive event every month of prime golf season (March through July). Tucking it away at the end of August always gave it an “oh, right, one more” feeling to me. Not to mention the extreme weather that always made it feel like the slog of all slogs and the fact that every sports fan’s brain is already occupied with which third-string running back is having a great camp, so they know who to take a flier on in R7 of their Fantasy Drafts. People criticise the venues (last year’s and this year’s especially), but for me as a viewer, what matters more is the best players in the world battling it out on the back nine on Sunday. If that’s the case, like it has been in all May editions, it could be played at Knoll East in New Jersey for all I care.
