What’s old is new: Florida Swing successful as part of PGA TOUR’s new schedule

It was a staple out on the West Coast Swing this year – great fields, marquee leaderboards, terrific golf courses. Turns out, it was a production that traveled nicely, because when Paul Casey successfully defended his title at the Valspar Championship, he did more than win his third PGA TOUR tournament; he also put a pretty bow on a rousing four-week Florida Swing.

From Palm Beach Gardens to Orlando to Ponte Vedra Beach to Palm Harbor, the month of PGA TOUR action in Florida kept your attention to the very end. Three of the four tournaments were decided by just one stroke, another by two. The first two stops – Keith Mitchell winning The Honda Classic, Francesco Molinari the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard – were sealed by memorable birdies on the 72nd green, while the last two stops – Rory McIlroy at THE PLAYERS Championship, Casey at the Valspar Championship – weren’t done deals until they made pars at demanding par-4 closing holes.

Competitively, it was as stern a test as the Florida Swing has ever offered. Consider that just four times in this 2018-19 season has there been an over-par cut in a stroke-play tournament, and three of those times occurred in the Sunshine State: Honda Classic, 2 over; API, 1 over; Valspar, 1 over. At the end, 16 players were within five of Casey’s winning score; at THE PLAYERS there were 15 within five of the lead; and there were 13 and 10, respectively, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Honda Classic.

Yes, there are deep and talented fields out there.

What’s more, in this age of premier global golf, the international membership shined brilliantly in Florida: Molinari, the Italian who is the reigning Open Champion, won at Bay Hill; McIlroy, the hugely popular Northern Irishman, grabbed THE PLAYERS to take over the No. 1 position in the FedExCup standings; while at the Valspar Championship, England’s Casey became the first back-to-back winner of a PGA TOUR event since Brooks Koepka captured U.S. Opens in 2017-18. The only American to win was the rising star, Mitchell, and his dramatic 15-footer to birdie the 72nd hole denied a couple of behemoths, Koepka and Rickie Fowler, an opportunity to be in a playoff.

Koepka and Fowler are two names who highlight another positive dimension about this year’s Florida Swing – just how deep the PGA TOUR’s bench has become in recent years. Koepka and Fowler each played in three of the four tournaments in Florida, joining notables Jason Day, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland and Sergio Garcia. Another healthy list of names played in two of the four stops – McIlroy, Molinari, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, and Marc Leishman. If not for a late withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger Woods would have been among those names as well. The point is, more than ever, fans can enjoy who is playing each week on the PGA TOUR rather than focus on who is not.

It was a Florida Swing filled with other positive outside-the-ropes news, too, as THE PLAYERS bumped its purse to a whopping $12.5 million; Valspar officials, in addition to a series of spring-break incentives that added great flavor, extended their title sponsorship through 2025; and at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Expo, a new addition for 2019 to help celebrate the legacy of golf’s greatest ambassador, was a huge hit all week with fans.

As for the future of the Florida Swing, as happened with the debut of the wrap-around schedule in 2013-14, players need time to consider changes and how best to adapt. The wraparound had its critics at first, but gradually, players absorbed it, understood the importance of playing well throughout the season, and figured what worked best for them. There’s no reason to think this won’t happen to further enhance the Florida Swing in the coming years.

What to watch for with the 2018-19 schedule the rest of the season? The most significant changes are as follows:

• The Valero Texas Open has a new date, April 1-7, the week prior to the Masters.

• The AT&T Byron Nelson moves to May 6-12, and along with the Charles Schwab Challenge (May 20-26), are bookends for the PGA Championship now played in May after a long run in August. Both Texas events are riding a wave of momentum -- the AT&T Byron Nelson enters year two at Trinity Forest Golf Club in South Dallas, while new title sponsor Charles Schwab partners with Colonial Country Club for the first time, with reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose expected to defend his title.

• The RBC Canadian Open shifts to June 3-9, the week prior to the U.S. Open. Golf Canada, the host organization, feels strongly that this move – closer to the beginning of the golf season in Canada – will help fuel its grow-the-game initiatives.

• Two new events, the Rocket Mortgage Classic (June 24-30) in Detroit and the 3M Open (July 1-7) in Minneapolis complement the John Deere’s classic traditional date (July 8-14) prior to The Open Championship and provide a tidy Midwest Swing.

• The last World Golf Championships event of the season, the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, has moved from Ohio to Memphis, to be contested at the home of the former FedEx St. Jude Classic, TPC Southwind (July 22-28).

• While the Wyndham Championship (August 12-18) remains the final event of the PGA TOUR Regular Season for the 13th straight year, there is more at stake that week than ever before. While players hovering around No. 125 on the FedExCup points list will be sweating out their last opportunity to qualify for the Playoffs, those near the top of the standings will be jockeying for a $10 million bonus pool as part a new program, the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. A total of 10 players will earn bonus money at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, with $2 million going to the player who completes the Regular Season No. 1 in the FedExCup standings.

• The FedExCup Playoffs, now reduced from four to three events, will be played exclusively during the month of August, with the TOUR Championship (August 19-25) wrapping up the season before Labor Day Weekend and crowning a FedExCup Champion. THE NORTHERN TRUST (August 5-11) kicks off the run of Playoffs events at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey, followed one week later with the BMW Championship (August 12-18) outside Chicago at storied Medinah Country Club.