The 2023 WGC Dell Technologies Match Play event will take place for one last time this year at the Austin Country Club in Texas in late March. But from next season onwards, the slot is expected to be filled up with the Cadence Bank Houston Open.
The move signals the end of the road for the WGC era, which was established to provide premier golfing events. Increased purses often made these competitions stand out amongst the rest. The fields were also limited, mostly to top-ranked players. Additionally, these tournaments didn’t have any cuts, one of the firsts on the PGA Tour.
But the last few years have provided enough reason for its dwindling downfall. The pandemic outbreak compressed the tour schedule, which forced the boards to eliminate events to make space for others. The WGC events bore the trouble, with many of them making their way out.
In the 2021 season, merely two WGC events stood. The others were either phased out or converted into some other event. Take the case of the WGC Mexico Open, which was scaled back to a regular PGA Tour event post-pandemic. The WGC FedEx St. Jude remained on the calendar but was converted into the first leg of the season-ending FedEx Cup Playoffs.
According to Kevin Streelman, member of the Player Advisory Council to the tour, the last meeting focused upon the 2024 schedule. The future of WGC was discussed as well, but a solution couldn’t be found. “They talked about that a little bit,” Streelman said. “Hopefully they can save it. It’s a sponsorship issue.”
