Why It's Time To Move The PGA Tour's West Coast Swing

Chris Kirk holds an umbrella at Pebble Beach — (Image credit: Getty Images)

There is the potential for big changes coming to the PGA Tour schedule from next year and beyond with new CEO Brian Rolapp focused on 'aggressively' improving the legacy US circuit.

Rolapp, along with the Tiger Woods-chaired Future Competitions Committee, is believed to be targeting a shorter, more condensed season that starts post-Super Bowl and ends in August.

Main image of Riviera Country Club's 18th hole in 2023 and two inset images of the rain at Riviera in 2026 — Riviera has already received plenty of rain in the lead-up to the Genesis Invitational

The heavy weekend and Monday rain has been unfortunate but it's the risk you take of playing in LA in mid-February, and the consequence will be easier conditions and cloudy views that are ultimately less fun to watch for fans.

A firm-and-fast Riviera in sunny, low-80s temperatures would be great TV - which we can at least look forward to in this year's US Women's Open, the 2028 Olympics and 2031 US Open.

With Torrey Pines and the San Diego Open potentially moving to the Playoffs, it does pose the question as to what the Tour does with Pebble Beach and Riviera. They are two of the best courses we get the pleasure of watching each year but they're simply not shown in their best competitive shape.

The summer months on the PGA Tour are packed with some of the biggest events but none are bigger than the Genesis Invitational or take place on courses better than Pebble Beach and Riviera.

The green on the seventh hole at Pebble Beach — Pebble Beach's iconic par 3 7th hole

A WM Phoenix Open to start the season the week after the Super Bowl seems the obvious starting point before heading to San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open and then Colonial CC in Fort Worth before moving onto the Florida Swing pre-Masters.

Could the Genesis Invitational and Pebble Beach then be slotted in somewhere between late April and early July? It's a packed calendar featuring events like the Truist Championship, Memorial Tournament, RBC Canadian Open and the Travelers Championship, but if the Tour can get it right it would be a huge win.

While finding dates will be tough for the PGA Tour, it will be difficult for Pebble Beach, too, which is one of the world's most popular public access golf courses that would need to be booked out for two weeks during its peak season.

Green fees will cost $695 per person next summer so closing it down for two weeks won't be cheap.

But if there's anything we've learned from Brian Rolapp since he took charge last year is that he's very serious about making big improvements to the Tour, as seen by the immediate return of Brooks Koepka in January.

Moving the Pebble Beach and Riviera events will not be a straightforward task, but they would be a big benefit to the season and that's something he should be looking at seriously.

Would you like to see the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational hosted during the summer? Or do you like to see the pros battle the weather? Let me know in the comments section below.

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews.

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