5 big changes in the 2019 PGA Tour schedule

The PGA Tour announced its 2019 tournament schedule today, which includes the addition of two tournaments, changes in the timing and locations of others, and one less event in the FedExCup Playoffs.

MORE: See revamped 2018-19 PGA Tour schedule

Here are the five biggest changes to the 2019 PGA Tour schedule.

The PGA Championship will be played in May

The PGA Championship, which is the fourth and final major on the 2018 PGA Tour schedule, will be moved three months earlier in the calendar next year, from August to May. The move was originally announced last year.

Scheduled for May 13-19, 2019, at Bethpage State Park's Black Course (above), the PGA Championship will be the second major played in the 2019 tournament schedule, five weeks after the Masters Tournament and five weeks before the U.S. Open.

The other three majors will remain in their traditional spots on the PGA Tour schedule.

Meanwhile, The Players Championship, which once occupied the month of May, will be played March 11-17, 2019.

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Tournaments will be played in Michigan and Minnesota

In both June and July of next year, one new tournament will make its debut on the PGA Tour schedule. The Rocket Mortgage Classic is scheduled for June 24-30, 2019, in Detroit. Then, the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities will be played July 1-7, 2019, It's the first PGA Tour Champions tournament to make the leap to the PGA Tour.

The FedExCup Playoffs will end in August instead of September

The FedExCup Playoffs will move from four events to three next year, featuring the Northern Trust, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. TPC Boston will remain part of the FedExCup Playoffs, rotating with greater New York City every other year as the host of The Northern Trust, beginning in 2020.

The RBC Canadian Open moves to early June

The U.S. Open will have a new lead-in event next summer as the RBC Canadian Open moves from late July to June 3-9, 2019, the week before the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario, will host the RBC Canadian Open for the first time since 2012.

The Houston Open and Greenbrier move to the fall

Two tournaments – the Houston Open and A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier (above) – will be played in the fall moving forward and will next be part of the PGA Tour schedule during the 2019-2020 season.