Olympics: Golf Majors Jammed into Summer, Tournaments Move for Olympics

The PGA Tour released its 2015-2016 schedule Thursday, and to say that the Olympics are causing an upheaval in the 2015-2016 PGA Tour schedule is an understatement.

Through the U.S. Open, most events remain in their traditional spots except for the WGC-Dell Match Play which moves to Austin, Texas, and follows the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Then, the fun and scheduling tweaks begin.

The Quicken Loans National follows immediately on the heels of the U.S. Open. That is followed by the WGC-Bridgestone, making three huge tournaments in a row.

After those three, there's the Greenbrier and then the British Open, the Canadian Open and the PGA, all completed before the first week of August.

Travelers Championship moves from June to August, followed by the John Deere Classic, which will be played opposite the Olympics. The Wyndham completes the regular season, and then the FedEx Cup playoffs begin with Barclays on August 22.

There is an open week between the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. The Ryder Cup follows the Tour Championship, with no break between those.

In terms of other significant events, the Masters will be played the week of April 4, the Players the week of May 9 and the U.S. Open the week of June 13.

According to the PGA Tour, it is anticipated that this will be a one-time scheduling modification for the Olympics although if the IOC decides to keep golf in the competition, it may be an every-four-years adjustment. Realistically, only four U.S. golfers, as a maximum, would be involved in the Olympics depending on how many are in the top 15. No more than two from any other country will be allowed to compete.

One golfer at least got the picture of how strange a competition it is going to be compared to traditional big events. Inbee Park said at the Women's British Open that current system rules out too many top players.

"If you are in the world top 50, you should be able to play in the Olympics," Park said. "Even if you're No. 11 or 12 right now (and you are Korean), you can't even make the team."

Kathy Bissell is a golf writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official interview materials from the PGA Tour, USGA, R&A or PGA of America.