Jack Nicklaus said the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches does not “have a chance” to flourish in its current spot, and he believes the PGA Tour is headed for trouble if it continues to add big tournaments that are “bunched together.”
Nicklaus said on June 2 he is “not exactly in favor of what they’re doing right now,” when asked about Tour scheduling at his annual news conference at the Memorial Tournament. He said he would like to have a conversation with Tour CEO Brian Rolapp.
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The Memorial Tournament, hosted by the 18-time major champion, is June 4-7 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
“I hate to see tournaments bunched too much together with too many big tournaments too close together,” Nicklaus said. “That’s a problem, I think. And I think that’s going to be a problem for the Tour in the future.”
The PGA Tour is planning an overhaul to the schedule starting in 2028. The schedule will include two tiers with 24-26 events, including at least 16 Signature Events along with the four majors, season-ending playoffs and The Players Championship as the primary events.
Others will be relegated to secondary status.
The Tour confirmed the schedule for the 2027 Florida Swing, which may or may not look the same in 2028. Nicklaus pointed out the difficult spot Cognizant has been in recently, and again in 2027.
“I think it’s harder for your tournaments to stand out,” Nicklaus said. “I mean, if you looked at the schedule, we’re involved in the Cognizant down in Florida, and, you know, we have Pebble Beach and (the Genesis Invitational) and then Cognizant. And then we had Bay Hill and The Players (in 2026). I mean, what chance does that tournament have? I mean, it sits right in the middle of those. They don’t have a chance.”
The Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation is the primary charitable benefactor of the Cognizant Classic.
In 2026, Cognizant was in the middle of five big events. It followed the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis and preceded the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and The Players. Pebble Beach, Genesis and API are signature events with $20 million purses.
The 2027 schedule is similar with Cognizant coming after Genesis and being following by the Cadillac Championship, The Players and API. Cadillac also is a signature event.
Cognizant has the lowest field ranking, according to the Official World Golf Ranking, in 2026.
“It’s hard for guys to play that,” Nicklaus said about a tournament like Cognizant, with a $9.6 million purse, sandwiched by events with purses of at least $20 million.
“It’s hard for the players to really be focused to play that much and be on top of their game. And that, to me, is … I look at it from the way I was as a player. I could play a couple weeks in a row, maybe three weeks in a row, but I needed some time off to be able to recharge the batteries. And I think everybody needs to recharge their batteries.
“So to jam it all in in one period of time, and then leave the rest of the year open, I think it’s tough.”
Nicklaus later was asked about the differences in the PGA Tour now and when he was in his prime. Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson spearheaded the player revolt in 1968 that ultimately led to the creation of the PGA Tour.
“The PGA Tour is probably the healthiest it’s ever been,” he said. “It’s doing well. We got a great group of players. It’s an international game. Tours on the other side of the Atlantic, in the Pacific and even South American, those tours are all helping build and grow the PGA Tour.
“I’m proud back in 1968 we were able to start something that’s gotten to this point.”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jack Nicklaus thinks PGA Tour scheduling is ‘going to be a problem’
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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