Are golf courses in the fall schedule of the PGA Tour too easy?

The PGA Tour schedule for the 2024 season is winding down, but a growing trend is continuing. Golf courses in the fall swing continue to be rather easy for players.

Champions -20 or Better

In all five PGA tournaments since Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship in Atlanta on September 1, the champion has won with a minimum score of -20. On September 15 at the Silverado Country Club (north course) in Napa, California, the champion of the Procore Championship was Patton Kizzire of Montgomery, Alabama at -20. Then on October 6, at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi, Kevin Yu of Taoyuan, Taiwan had a winning score of -23 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The PGA Tour then went to Utah for the first time since 1963, and the Black Desert Resort in Ivins, was not a challenge for champion Matt McCarty of Scottsdale, Arizona either, who had a winning score of -23 to win the Black Desert Championship. J.T. Poston of Hickory, North Carolina then won the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, Nevada at the TPC at Summerlin with a winning score of -22. Then on October 27 at the Narashino Country Club in Inzai, Japan, Nico Echavarria of Medellin, Colombia, was victorious at the Zozo Championship with a winning score of -20.

Who are other golfers to shoot -20 or better in the fall?

What is even more staggering is the fact that eight golfers have posted a four round score of -20 or better in the fall, and were unable to win. Six of those golfers came at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Beau Hossler of Mission Viejo, California also had a four round score of -23, but lost to Yu in a playoff. Keith Mitchell of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 2009 United States Open champion Lucas Glover of Greenville, South Carolina were tied for third in Mississippi with a score of -22, while Alex Smalley of Rochester, New York and Bud Cauley of Daytona Beach, California were tied for fifth at -21. Meanwhile, Daniel Berger of Plantation, Florida was in seventh place at -20.

At the Black Desert Championship, Stephan Jaeger of Munich, Germany was alone in second at -20. At the Shriners Children’s Open, Doug Ghim of Des Plaines, Illinois was alone in second at -21.