The Greenbrier is newest kid on PGA Tour's block

As expected, the PGA Tour announced today the creation of The Greenbrier Classic, a new event beginning in 2010 that will take the place of the now-departed Buick Open.

The Greenbrier event will be played on the Old White Course, the original layout at the famous West Virginia resort, which has four golf courses. The tournament will be played July 25-Aug. 1.

The tour has a six-year agreement with The Greenbrier, which has had strong ties to professional golf through the years. It's where the 1979 Ryder Cup and 1994 Solheim Cup matches were played and the resort's two golf pros emeritus have been Sam Snead and Tom Watson.

Since native West Virginian Jim Justice purchased The Greenbrier earlier this year, efforts have been underway to land a PGA Tour event at the resort. With the departure of Buick from the PGA Tour, an opening arose allowing The Greenbrier to fill the void.

It's just one piece of a changing picture on the PGA Tour schedule. Tour officials are working with San Diego golf officials about finding a new title sponsor for what had been called the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, a long-time fixture on the early-season schedule.

There's also on-going discussions about the future of the PGA Tour event in Milwaukee, which is seeking sponsorship, and a possible date change for the Canadian Open, which has struggled to draw a top-level field in its slot the week after the British Open championship.