PGA Tour to Have Fewer Tournaments Next Fall


Thanks to the poor economy, the PGA Tour has lost at least one tournament - and probably two - from its Fall Series.

The Ginn sur Mer Classic on the season's second-to-last weekend is not expected to return because of the real estate crisis. Also absent is the Valero Texas Open, which moved to the spring to replace a defunct Atlanta tournament.

That brings the Fall Series to five events - down from seven in 2008 - that will be played at the conclusion of the FedEx Cup. The series traditionally gives players a chance to finish in the top-125 on the money list to retain their cards.

The Fall Series starts at Turning Stone the week after the FedEx Cup finale. After a week off for the Presidents Cup, which takes place October 8-11 in San Francisco, the series resumes in Las Vegas and Phoenix, and moves to Mississippi and Florida before ending November 15 at Disney World, as it did this year.

The tour is still trying to create a tournament the week before Disney that would be played on Sea Island, Ga. The negotiations are one reason the fall schedule was not released until two days before Christmas.

If the 2009 PGA Tour schedule does not undergo further changes, there will be 46 tournaments (down from 48) with a $100,000 increase in total prize money. That doesn't include the majors, which have not released their purses for 2009.