Southwest Florida golf: PGA Tour Champions Chubb Classic moved to April for 2021

The first time in its history, Naples' PGA Tour Champions event won't be played in February. 

The PGA Tour Champions released its 2021 schedule Monday, and the Chubb Classic Presented by SERVPRO will move from Feb. 8-14 to April 12-18.

The event will still be played on the Black Course at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, as was announced last month. That agreement is for one year.

"Chubb and (tournament organizer) Eiger Marketing felt like February was going to be questionable on if people were comfortable coming to the tournament," tournament director Scott Reid said. "By moving to April, it allows us some more time for things to get better with the health climate."

The tournament has been played in February since its inception as the Aetna Classic at The Club Pelican Bay in 1988.

The date change will only apply to the 2021 Chubb Classic and the tournament will return to its February dates in 2022.

Since the move of Boca Raton's Champions Tour event from a usual February start to the fall and into the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs in 2020, there is no other Florida event that will be affected by the Chubb's move. 

The 2021 tour season will start Jan. 18-24 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in Hawaii, then the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, from Feb. 22-28, and the Hoag Classic from March 1-7 in Newport Beach, California. 

Then it will come to Naples. The next event after that will be the Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Texas, from April 26-May 2.

“I’m very proud of how PGA Tour Champions players, partners, staff and all our constituents worked together to complete a successful 2020, and I’m looking forward to carrying that momentum into 2021,” PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady said in a release. “We’re excited to return to communities that embrace PGA Tour Champions so our legendary players can re-connect with fans and help generate charitable dollars.”

More:SWFL golf: Tiburón adds Chubb Classic in 2021, will host all 3 Naples pro events

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More:Golf: Scott Parel pulls away to win Chubb Classic as Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples falter

The annual PGA Tour Champions event will once again feature tour players competing over 54 holes for a share of $1.6 million. Scott Parel pulled away from Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples to win at The Classics at Lely Resort in February.

Chubb, which was previously known as ACE Group before a merger with that company taking on the Chubb name, has been the title sponsor since 1999. Eiger Marketing is replacing Octagon as the tournament owner and manager for 2021.

Visit www.ChubbClassic.com for more information.

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com. Support local journalism with this special subscription offer at https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/