PGA Shriners Open moves to November dates for 2016
Smylie Kaufman can start making plans for defense of his Shriners Hospitals for Children Open title. But he won’t have to show up in Las Vegas until November.
The 2016 tournament at TPC Summerlin will be held Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 with tournament-related activities beginning Oct. 31. The PGA Tour pushed back its 2016-17 schedule to accommodate the Ryder Cup, which will be contested Sept. 27 to Oct. 6 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota.
The 2016-17 schedule also was juggled for the Web.com championship to be played the week after Ryder Cup along with the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in mid-October. The Safeway Open, previously known as the Frys.com Open, will be played the week before the Shriners Open.
Kaufman won this year’s Shriners Open on Oct. 25 by one shot. It was his first PGA Tour victory in just his fifth professional start. But play had to be suspended in each of the first two rounds because of darkness. It’s going to be a concern trying to get all the players to complete their rounds with less daylight than in the past in pushing the tournament back to November.
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” tournament director Patrick Lindsey said Tuesday. “We’re talking with the Tour about some solutions. Maybe a smaller field. Maybe using two courses. But those dates are firm and and we won’t know what the solution is for a few months.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj