The first World Golf Championships event of the season, scheduled for Feb. 25-28, will move from Mexico to The Concession Golf Club in Florida because of "logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," the PGA Tour announced Friday. It is expected that the event, which has been known as the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship since 2017, will return to Mexico in 2022.
"The PGA TOUR is grateful for its continued partnership with Grupo Salinas as we navigate the unique challenges created by the pandemic," PGA Tour executive vice president Ty Votaw said. "While we work toward returning to Mexico in 2022, we are appreciative of the collective effort to bring this event to a worthy venue in The Concession Golf Club, which is renowned as one of the top courses in the state of Florida."
The Tour is working to secure a title sponsor for the 2021 event, it said in Friday's announcement. By moving the event to Florida, officials have added a leg to the front of what will now be a four-week swing through the state of Florida that also includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the Honda Classic in the weeks following the WGC event.
Designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, Concession opened in 2006 as a homage to a gesture Nicklaus made in the 1969 Ryder Cup when he conceded a two-foot putt to Jacklin that ensured the event would end in a tie for the first time ever. Though it has never hosted a PGA Tour event, Concession has piled up accolades in its relatively short life and hosted events such as an NCAA Championship.
One PGA Tour star should be particularly pleased with the venue's new location for the 2021 season. Bryson DeChambeau, who finished second in Mexico last year, won the 2015 NCAA individual title at Concession before making his PGA Tour debut later that month.
