The PGA Tour’s Asia Swing in October will have a different look this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with at least one of the events moving to the United States and the possibility that one will be canceled.
The C.J. Cup at Nine Bridges, won by Justin Thomas last year in South Korea, is being moved to Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, Oct. 15-18 and will follow the regularly scheduled tournament in Las Vegas, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin.
The Zozo Championship, which follows the C.J. Cup in Japan and was a first-year event won by Tiger Woods in 2019, is expected to also move to the United States, with Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California the proposed venue. The details have yet to be finalized on where that event might be played.
The WGC-HSBC Champions, played in China and won last year by Rory McIlroy, is expected to be canceled.
“While our players have always looked forward to visiting Korea, the current circumstances provided this new opportunity to bring the event to Las Vegas which will also provide brand exposure and awareness to the viewing audience in the United States and around the globe,” said Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour’s executive vice president, international. “We are thankful for the partnership and support that CJ Group and the Korean PGA have shown in view of the circumstances. We are confident this year’s event will showcase a stellar field while bringing the CJ Group’s brand values to a new time zone.”
The event, which began in 2017 and was won by Thomas, then Brooks Koepka and Thomas again, is co-sanctioned by the Korean PGA circuit and allots a certain number of places in the 78-man field to Korean players.
The event is part of the PGA Tour’s 2020-2021 schedule that begins at the Safeway Open next month and will be followed by the U.S. Open, the Punta Cana Resort & Club Championship, the Sanderson Farms Championship, the Shriners Tournament, the CJ Cup and the Zozo Championship. There is also an opposite field event scheduled the same week at the HSBC Champions, the Bermuda Championship.
That is followed by the Houston Open, the Masters, the RSM Classic and the Mayakoba Classic. Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge is scheduled for the same week as the Maykoba, and it is unclear if it will still be staged in the Bahamas.