Now that this year’s Wyndham Championship is over, the real drama awaits.
OK, former Wake Forest star Michael Brennan earning a first regular-season victory, making the FedExCup Playoffs and securing his 2027 exemption comes pretty close. But that’s history.
Was the 87th annual PGA Tour event the last — or second-to-last — in Greensboro? If it remains on the revamped 2028 Tour schedule, will it be upper tier or lower tier? Where will it fall on the schedule? Will it have a new title sponsor? If so, who?
Tournament officials have been mum. This much is known: the current title sponsor deal with Wyndham — now 20 years — is over. If an extension had been finalized, it would have been announced before this weekend’s tournament, creating a buzz for the event and reassuring other sponsors.
Still, I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Triad golf fans. Indications around the tournament this week indicate the tournament will be back. I’ve seen tournaments run their course and pro sports teams change cities. There just hasn’t been a noticeable pall that typically accompanies a departure.
There’s been at least one report from a national source that a new title sponsor has been lined up and is waiting in the wings.
The weekend’s CBS telecasts were filled with praise for the course by front man Jim Nantz and crew, describing the greens on the “Donald Ross classic” as “perfect,” and extolling Sedgefield’s virtues such as requiring players to hit “every club in the bag” and the variety of uneven lies to test players in the Sedgefield fairways.
On Sunday, Nantz and analyst Trevor Immelman praised tournament founder Bobby Long and mentioned the tournament’s future. Immelman called Long “the best of the best.”
Praise for the course is nothing new on network telecasts. But CBS provided more than the usual. Would the praise have been so effusive if the tournament was going away? If anybody other than the Tour or Wyndham tournament officials knows the future, it would be CBS.
It’s also possible that the tournament could continue — at least temporarily — without a full-funded title sponsorship. A bill has passed the state General Assembly that would provide $40 million in tournament funding over the next four years, if the event stays in Greensboro.
There are a lot of good reasons for the tournament to continue:
- Greensboro’s history with the event goes back to 1938 (the event was canceled due to World War II in 1943-44).
- The classic Donald Ross layout is unique on the Tour and the players genuinely seem to love it.
- The Tour has helped fund recent improvements to practice areas at Sedgefield.
- North Carolina is a golf hotbed and about 5 million people live within two hours of Greensboro.
- Neighboring Grandover Resort has luxury accommodations, restaurants and two 18-hole golf courses for high-roller sponsors and players.
- Sedgefield owner McConnell Golf has been very supportive of the Greensboro event and also hosts Korn Ferry events in Raleigh and Knoxville, Tennessee.
Possible reasons to leave:
- Lack of a title sponsor.
- Move to a larger metro area (incoming Tour commissioner Brian Rolapp has announced a desire to add tournaments in larger markets in 2028), which could include Raleigh-Durham.
When will we have an answer on the future of the Greensboro event? The Tour has already released the early portion of its 2027 schedule.
A possible wild card: Greensboro would be a nice fit to move to April in 2028, replacing the team event in New Orleans after the Masters and the Heritage on Hilton Head Island.
There’s good reason to be optimistic that Greensboro’s PGA Tour event has a long future. Still, it would be nice to know for sure.