The 2011 PGA Tour was the 96th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 43rd season since separating from the PGA of America, and the fifth edition of the FedEx Cup.
Changes for 2011
The schedule was announced on December 2, 2010 and had four phases:[1]
FedEx Cup Playoffs: As in previous seasons, this was a series of four tournaments. It started with The Barclays on August 25 and ended with the Tour Championship on September 25.
Fall Series: After the Tour Championship, the principal portion of the season ended with a series of four tournaments (down from five in the previous season).[1] These tournaments, generally passed on by elite players, offer an additional opportunity for players to secure their tour cards for the following season by finishing in the top 125 on the money list, or to gain a two-year exemption by winning a tournament with a slightly weaker field than usual.
After the main season, the tour went into an Asia-Pacific swing consisting of four events, none of which offered official prize money.
The WGC-HSBC Champions, a World Golf Championships event held in China. Founded in 2005, it was elevated to WGC status in 2009, when it also became an event on the PGA Tour schedule. Although the prize money is unofficial, it now counts as an official PGA Tour win, if it is won by a PGA Tour member.
The 2011 Presidents Cup, a biennial team competition involving a United States side and an "International" side drawn from non-European players (European players play against the USA in the Ryder Cup). This was held in Melbourne, Australia.
The Omega Mission Hills World Cup, a team event featuring two-man teams from countries around the world and also held in China. This was the first World Cup of the event's new biennial schedule; it had been an annual event through 2009.
In late 2009, after the 2010 schedule had been announced, it was noted by golf media that most of the Tour's contracts for sponsorship of individual tournaments were locked in through that season. However, it was speculated that the expiration of those sponsorship contracts in 2011 would see substantial changes in the PGA Tour landscape.[2]
As it turned out, the 2011 schedule was largely the same as in 2010. The number of official money events was reduced by one with the demise of the Turning Stone Resort Championship, but the tour's total prize money remained virtually the same.[3]
Schedule
The following table lists official events during the 2011 season.[4][5]
Location of official tournaments of the 2011 PGA Tour in the continental United States and Canada. 600-point event (Players & Majors) 550-point event (World Golf Championships) 500-point event (Regular events) 250-point event (Alternate events) FedEx Cup playoff event Fall Series event
Location of official tournaments of the 2011 PGA Tour outside the continental United States and Canada. 600-point event (Players & Majors) 500-point event (Regular events) 250-point event (Alternate events)
^The number in parentheses after each winner's name is the number of PGA Tour events they had won up to and including that tournament. This information is only shown for PGA Tour members.
.svg)
