Golf

Olympics shift regular golf schedule in 2016

There will be just one week between the British Open and the US PGA events

Rory McIlroy will have just a week between the British Open and US P{GA before heading to the Rio Olympics to play with Ireland. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
Rory McIlroy will have just a week between the British Open and US P{GA before heading to the Rio Olympics to play with Ireland. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
Wed Aug 06 2014 - 18:59

The impact of golf's return to the Olympics was made clear on Wednesday, with confirmation that there will be just one week between the Open Championship and the US PGA Championship in 2016.

The US PGA will move from its traditional August date for the first time since 1971, being staged at Baltusrol in New Jersey from July 28-31.

The Open will be held at Royal Troon from July 14-17.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rio will take place on August 5, with the golf competitions (72-hole strokeplay events for men and women) provisionally scheduled to be held from August 6-9 and 12-15.

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The 2016 Ryder Cup will be staged in September at Hazeltine in Minnesota, but the exact dates have not yet been announced.

Speaking about the change of date for the US PGA, PGA of America chief executive Pete Bevacqua said on Wednesday:

"It really wasn't difficult at all to come up with that date. We worked closely with the R&A and the USGA and obviously Augusta National being the caretakers of the other majors, and it just makes sense.

“It’s a condensed schedule in 2016. Obviously with the Olympics, it’s also a Ryder Cup year, you throw in obviously the FedEx Cup, so it’s a very congested schedule.

“I would tell you that we view it as a positive. We think that the end of July at Baltusrol just outside of New York City is actually a better time of year than August.

“We think the temperatures will be better and also in terms of the activities of the residents of that area. Less people are on vacation, more people are in town and we think it will work out as a real benefit to the 2016 PGA Championship.”