US PGA Championship set to be moved to May as Rory McIlroy backs plan to give golfers more time off

The switch, set to be introduced from 2019, means The Open will become the last major of the year in July and give players an end-of-season break by bringing the FedEx Cup play-offs forward

Rory McIlroy has backed plans to move the US PGA Championship to May (Getty)

The US PGA Championship's move from August to May is expected to be confirmed on Tuesday.

The major, which began as a match-play event in 1916 and became a stroke-play tournament in 1958, has been contested in July or August every year except from 1971, when it was staged in February.

However, officials from the PGA of America and PGA Tour have been considering moving the Players Championship from May to its old March date, with the US PGA switching from August to May from as early as 2019.

And they are expected to confirm the change ahead of this year's event at Quail Hollow after a press conference with Pete Bevacqua, CEO of the PGA of America, and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was added to the interview schedule for Tuesday at 1pm local time (1800 BST).

The switch would mean a major championship in each month from April to July, with the Open Championship becoming the final major of the season.

The biggest benefit to the PGA Tour is being able to complete the FedEx Cup play-offs before the start of the NFL and college football seasons.

Moving to May would limit the available courses for the US PGA due to weather conditions, but going from last to second has obvious appeal to a tournament which has previously used slogans such as 'Glory's Last Shot' in an attempt to make a virtue of its place in the schedule.

Two-time US PGA champion Rory McIlroy is among the players to back the plans.

Players will be given a small end-of-season break under the new plans (Getty)

"I'm a big supporter of it," McIlroy said. "(It will) make the schedule a little more condensed and the summer a little busier for us, but it means that the guys have a little bit of an off-season after that - I'm all for that."

It remains to be seen what effect the switch will have on venues for the US PGA which have already been announced, up to and including 2023.

PA