PGA Tour drops Disney from 2013-14 roster, taps Travelers for three awards

The PGA Tour will kick off its newly revamped 2013-2014 season in October at the Frys.com Open and will not return to Disney for the first time since Jack Nicklaus won the Walt Disney World Open Invitational in 1971.

The tour unveiled on Monday the six fall events that will head up its inaugural split-calendar ’13-’14 season and, to no one’s surprise, a stop at Mickey Mouse’s playground was not on the docket. Recently, the Disney event was the final contest of the tour’s Fall Season but the Children’s Miracle Network did not re-up as title sponsor after last month’s swan song.

“It was a mutual decision between us and the tour,” Walt Disney World Resort's sports public relations manager Tony Morreale told the Orlando Sentinel. “We enjoyed our great 40-year-plus relationship with them."

While the tour disclosed only six of its tournaments -- all of which will award FedEx Cup points and air on Golf Channel exclusively -- nine winners of its annual “Best of” awards are sure to make the cut when the remainder of the 2013-2014 calendar becomes public. The BMW Championship at Crooked Stick walked away with “Tournament of the Year” honors, while the TPC River Highlands-based Travelers Championship chalked up three awards and the Humana Challenge debuted to the tune of two decorations.

The John Deere Classic, Phoenix Open, St. Jude Classic, Wyndham Championship, Memorial Tournament, and Deutsche Bank Championship were also winners, earning kudos for (in no particular order) “Most Engaged Community,” “Best Charity Integration,” and “Best Social Media Integration,” among other categories.

As for the season-openers, the Frys.com event is slated for Oct. 10-Oct. 13 at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, Calif., the week after the Presidents Cup. Here are the other tourneys officially on the PGA Tour 2013-2014 calendar:

• Shriners Hospitals for Children Open -- TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, October 17-October 20
• CIMB Classic -- The MINES Resort & Golf Club, Selangor, Malaysia, October 24-October 27
• World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions -- Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China, October 31-November 3
• The McGladrey Classic -- Sea Island Resort (Seaside), St. Simons Island, Ga., November 7-November 10
• OHL Classic at Mayakoba -- El Camaleon GC, Mayakoba Resort, Playa del Carmen, Mexico, November 14-November 17

The season will break for about two months before returning in January for the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.