RBC Canadian Open
The PGA Tour has released its 2012 schedule, featuring the same number of tournaments as this year's calendar.
Among the notable changes are new dates for several tournaments plus a two-week break before the final event of the Fall Series, The Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic, which moves from October to the first week of November as the PGA squeezes in a pair of Asian events.
The season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii will conclude on a Monday rather than Sunday. This will move the final round of the tournament out of the spotlight of the NFL Playoffs, also scheduled for that weekend.
The former Bob Hope Classic is getting a new name and a new format. Now known as the Humana Challenge, the pro-am format will be changed from five to four rounds and a single amateur will be paired with each professional rather than pro-am teams.
The Heritage event, which was saved thanks to new sponsorship from RBC, moves back to its traditional week in April following the Masters with the Valero Texas Open moving back to a week after the Heritage tournament.
The RBC Canadian Open maintains its spot the week after the British Open with the tournament being played in Hamilton, Ontario from July 26-29, 2012.
The Masters kicks off the majors golf season on April 5 with the U.S. Open being staged at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on June 14, The Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes on July 19th and the PGA Championship going at Kiawah Island on August 9th.
Following the conclusion of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the flames of patriotic competition will be fanned with the Ryder Cup event at Medinah Country Club in Chicago.