New PGA schedule brings drama, but Snedeker wants an offseason
One of the biggest adjustments players face in professional golf is learning to build a schedule. Assuming they’re eligible for most events, striking a balance between reps and rest – while playing tournaments that suit their game – is key.
It wasn’t just the rookies trying to make sense of it all this year. A revamped schedule for 2018-19 means even the most experienced veterans were back to square one to start the season.
“This was the first year, to be honest with you, in years that I really looked at the schedule,” said Chez Reavie, who won the Travelers Championship in mid-june. “I just knew where the tournaments were, I knew where I was going, I knew where I was going to be. This year it’s like, wait a minute – what’s coming up? Where are we going? What are we doing?”
What’s coming up is a furious stretch of golf to wrap up the major schedule and shortened Fedex Cup playoffs before September. Usually this feels like a midway point, with two majors still on the calendar. But with the PGA Championship’s move to May, the British Open at Royal Portrush in July is the final major chapter for 2019.
The Tour heads to Minneapolis this week for another first-time event coming off the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. Then it’s on to the John Deere Classic followed by the British Open and the alternate-field Barbasol Championship.
A new WGC event in Memphis debuts after the British Open, followed by last call to get into the playoffs at the Wyndham Championship.
It all makes for a rapid five-week stretch with which players are still trying to get acclimated.
“Man, it just seems like it’s way earlier,” said Jimmy Walker, who’s playing Detroit, Minneapolis, the Scottish Open and British Open ahead of the Wyndham Championship.
The early leg of the new schedule
NBA salary guru Nate Duncan called the Iguodala move "an incredible piece of business for Memphis."
ESPN'S Adrian Wojnarowski, who broke the news of the trade, made the following observation: "Memphis' new front office has been gathering up young assets and draft picks in past several months."
The Grizzlies' new regime stumbled out of the gate by letting Chris Wallace endorse J.B. Bickerstaff as coach just hours before both were replaced the day after the 2018-19 season ended.
Since that initial blunder, the team's revamped leadership has received lots of praise for a series of moves designed to make the team a competitor in the future.
Mike Conley trade paying dividends
The Grizzlies are using an estimated $25 million-plus trade exception solidified through the Mike Conley trade to avoid sending anything back to Golden State in the deal.
GRIZZLIES SALARIES
Here is an estimated 2019-20 salary table for the Grizzlies after the Andre Iguodala move: Jonas Valanciunas: $16 million Ja Morant: $8.73 million (cap hold)
That brings the tally of what Memphis has received as a result of the Conley trade to: Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, Andre Iguodala, Brandon Clarke and two future first-round picks.
With Crowder, Korver and Iguodala all proven veterans on expiring con
Chandler Parsons: $25.1 million Andre Iguodala: $17.19 million Kyle Anderson: $9.1 million C.J. Miles: $8.73 million Kyle Korver: $7.5 million
tracts, Memphis could trade any of the three now or at the 2020 deadline and continue to expand the return on the Conley trade.
What's left for the Grizzlies in free agency?