On the surface, the 2025 PGA Tour schedule released this week looks much like the schedule from this year. Oh, there might be a sponsor name change or two for some tournaments, something that is going to be happening more in the coming years, but in general, the schedule remains the same.
The status quo of 2025 is good news for the West Coast swing of the tour, including The American Express event in La Quinta on Jan. 16-19. What has been growing as a part of the PGA Tour over the last decade or so has now established itself as major part of this year and a great way to kick off the new season.
The seven weeks of the West Coast swing will once again begin with two weeks in Hawaii, the Sentry and the Sony Open. The Sentry, formerly the Tournament of Champions, is one of the eight signature events on the tour, including three on the West Coast. The idea of three signature events within seven weeks is one reason many of the top players in the game have started playing more golf on the West Coast swing. There are FedEx Cup points to be had, after all, points that can assure a player a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
The Sony Open should be especially emotional in 2025, since the 2024 winner was Grayson Murray, who took his own life in May, just four months after winning in Hawaii.
After the two Hawaiian weeks, the tour will return to La Quinta for what will be a highly anticipated The American Express tournament. Not only should players like Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele be in the field, but Nick Dunlap will return as the defending champion. The week will stir memories of Dunlap’s victory as an amateur last year, the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1991.
Patrick Cantlay reacts to his putt with Xander Schauffele on the 18th green during the final round of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on February 18, 2024, in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The other two signature events on the West Coast are the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, hosted by Tiger Woods. The change at Pebble Beach to a signature event last February meant a radical change in that tournament, with a limited pro-am and a reduction from three courses to two. Still, the event seemed to work well, even if traditionalists had an issue with the changes.
At the Genesis, nothing significantly changed with the signature designation, mostly because top golfers love to play Riviera Country Club and because Woods remains the host.
If there are issues on the West Coast, it is with the other two tournaments. The Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Club in San Diego is wedged between The American Express and the Pebble Beach events. Once a bright light on the West Coast swing with golfers like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm loving the South Course, last year’s Farmers Insurance drew a weaker field than normal, perhaps because it was the week before a signature event. Farmers Insurance has already announced it will end its sponsorship in San Diego after 2026.
The Waste Management Phoenix Open is sandwiched between the Pebble Beach event and the Genesis tournament, another problem in scheduling for golfers who like a week off before a big event like a signature tournament. Again, that led to a weaker-than-normal field for Phoenix last year, though that could change in 2025.
Top courses, big names
Of course, the Genesis tournament will draw particular interest since it might be one of only a handful of times golf fans will see Tiger Woods play during the season. Woods has played only the four major championships and the Genesis so far this year.
Toss in some of the best golf courses on the PGA Tour, like the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Riviera and the South Course at Torrey Pines, and the West Coast will have some of the best storylines, best players and best courses for a two-month period on the PGA Tour. It is still more than four months away, but fans on the West Coast can start looking ahead now.
Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Desert Sun.