The PGA TOUR announced on Thursday that the event “A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier” would no longer be a part of its 2020/2021 fall schedule. The announcement further stated that it would not return in the future based on a mutual agreement. The agreement brings to an end a 10-year run at the West Virginia resort. The contract, however, was supposed to last till 2026.
As a result, Safeway Open will take over the tournament originally slated for September 10th to the 13th.
Andy Padzer, the Tour’s chief competition and tournament officer in his statement said, “We are very grateful to governor Jim Justice and is Greenbrier resort for a highly successful ten years of partnership with the PGA TOUR. Governor Justice vision and leadership help shine a light on the men and women that serve our country through the military and first-responder programs implemented through the tournament, and the Greenbrier resort was an incredibly unique world-class venue that our players will continue to remember and cherish.”
The family of Justice purchased the Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs resort in 2009 before Justice was elected governor of West Virginia in 2016.
From 2010 to 2018, the Greenbrier Classic was held in the month of July. However, it was moved to September last year and served as the opener for the 2019 2020 season status. In 2016, the tournament was cancelled due to widespread flooding affecting the area where the tournament was to hold.
Moving the tournament schedule had had some negative effect on the Greenbrier compared to when it was hosted in the fourth week of July. With kids back in school, the fan attendance, as well as the attractiveness for sponsors, significantly dropped.
From its inaugural edition in 2010 till now, the tournament has offered different world-class highlights for its many viewers. Stuart Appleby fired a final round 59 to win in the inaugural edition. We saw a repeat of that last year when Kevin Chapel also shot a 59 last year on the Old White TPC.
He has also been a part of some unconventional events. One of which is when Robert Streb put a wedge in his playoff loss in 2015. That same year Justice handed out cash payouts to fans which was later disputed in court.
All in all, the tournament would be missed at Greenbrier, and it was a pleasure while it lasted.