Match Play Championships Force Wells Fargo Schedule Change

May 4, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; J.B. Holmes (center) talks to the crowd after winning the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

I have been saying for quite a few years that the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships needed a venue and format change, and 2015 will bring the needed changes, but it will force a schedule change for the Wells Fargo Championship. The Charlotte Observer reported on Tuesday that for the 2015 season only, The match play event will be played in the first week of May, moving the Charlotte event to the week after the Players Championship.

Everyone remembers the snow storm at the 2013 Accenture Match Play Championship which has been played at the Dove Mountain Resort in the Arizona. Late January was just too early in the season to play a golf tournament in the mountains.

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Along with a format change to keep players around until the weekend, the event has been moved to Harding Park in the San Francisco Bay area for the 2015 season.

"“The tour asked if we could help out and we were happy to,” said Kym Hougham, executive director of the Wells Fargo, which is played every May at Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club."

I personally thought that the venue in Arizona was a great layout for the tournament, it was just too early in the year. I was sorry that the PGA couldn’t find a better date, and keep the tournament at Dove Mountain.

The Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow has been played the week before the Players Championship since 2007, but will follow the Players in the lead-up to the US Open.

The Match-Play tournament will be begin on April 29th with the Players and the Wells Fargo in consecutive weeks.

"“It just means there are going to be three great weeks of golf – the Match Play, the Players, the Wells Fargo – leading up to the U.S. Open,” said Hougham."

With the schedule change, The Wells Fargo will be in town during NASCAR’s speedweeks time-frame, and likely fall in the same time-slice allowed for the Sprint All-Star Race which is run yearly at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hey!…it’s only for one year and everything goes back to normal. Most race fans play golf anyway so it should be an interesting couple of weeks.

Source:The Charlotte Observer