It’s three-and-out for Canterbury Golf Club as the host of the DAP Championship.
In fact, Cleveland is out as the host of any Web.com Tour Finals event after 2018.
Just as the PGA TOUR will shorten its playoff season from four events to three starting in 2019, officials from the Web.com Tour will soon announce the same reduction in the number of season-ending playoff events so that the two tours can continue to mesh their schedules.
That means one of the four current Web.com Tour Finals events has to go for next year, and Cleveland’s Canterbury is the odd event out.
All because of its contract status.
According to a high-level tournament source, the issue is not with the golf course or the management and operations of the event in any way — in fact the players and the TOUR brass love coming to Canterbury. The problem is purely a contractual matter.
The 3-year sponsorship contract between the TOUR, DAP and Canterbury ends after this year’s 2018 event. The other three Web.com Tour playoff events still have multiple years remaining on their current contracts. So to Ponte Vedra, the decision was a no-brainer: the current contract is done, so the tournament is done.
Bottom line, Canterbury’s fate for hosting the DAP Championship again after this year was sealed by the timing of the PGA TOUR’s 2019 schedule change.
Just like Firestone Country Club losing the Bridgestone Invitational, it’s merely a dose of business reality in the ever-changing world of professional golf.
