Rest or keep playing? PGA Tour Champions golfers have differing opinions on extra time off
Todd Kelly- The PGA Tour Champions schedule included a two-week break before its final event, sparking debate among players.
- Some golfers, like Steven Alker and Ernie Els, appreciated the extra rest and preparation time.
- Other players, such as Stewart Cink, would prefer a more condensed schedule with fewer breaks.
- The season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship is a 72-hole event, unlike the tour's standard 54-hole format.
PHOENIX — The four teams who earned a bye in last year's College Football Playoff all lost. But the Los Angeles Dodgers, despite a full seven-day break before the World Series, went on to win it all.
The argument for or against extra time off will continue and this week, it's a talking point on the PGA Tour Champions.
In particular, the 2025 schedule had a unique break ahead of the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Normally, the tour takes a week off before heading to Phoenix Country Club. This time, it was two weeks. That might lead golf fans to think that maybe the 50-and-older set would want some extra days to rest and relax between events. Turns out, it's a mixed bag.
Steven Alker, who won the Simmons Bank Championship on Oct. 26, the last the time the senior circuit teed it up, said the extra time off was ideal.
"It was nice to have almost a full week off, get some recovery with the body, and then last week was kind of more just preparation for this week. Yeah, that two-week stretch, that was really nice," he said. "They say hot hand, just keep going, but we come off that four-week stretch and I just kind of felt like a minute of break and have that extra week just to do some prep and just tidy up some stuff that I needed to."
Ernie Els concurred.
"I needed a week off. We had quite a bit of a run there," he said. "I think the guys needed a week off. I don't think we've ever had two weeks off before this event, not in my time maybe. I might be corrected, but we needed a break. And we're here now in beautiful Phoenix. You know, it's kind of weird to have two weeks off, but it is what it is. We're all here now."
Stewart Cink, meanwhile, offered up an opposing viewpiont.
"I'd rather just come out and play tournaments," he said, offering a somewhat radical idea to the tournament schedule. "I did enjoy the weeks off, yes, but I would rather play all of our tournaments in a 28-week stretch and get them done. I feel like that's to my advantage. Over the years I've played my best when I've played in successive weeks. I wish it could be like that, but I know it's much more than just what the players want out here. It's a very complex business doing the schedule and they do a great job. They gave us two weeks to relax and sort of get our minds off the game for a while before we come in here to the big one."
The Charles Schwab Cup Championship is the lone non-major with 72 holes on the PGA Tour Champions, where 54 holes is the norm.
"I'm still not too far removed from PGA Tour golf," said Cink. "Every one of those tournaments has four rounds, so kind of feel back at home a little bit."
The extra 18 holes probably gives some guys a chance to make up ground, should they not get off to the best start on Thursday.
"You just kind of keep an eye on where you're at after a couple days and kind of assess things from there and how you play, whether you're conservative or more aggressive," Alker said. "It really doesn't change anything. We've played, the majors are all four rounds, so it's just one extra round that you've got a chance to catch up. That's kind of how I look at it, if you're behind you have a chance to catch up."