As we catch our breaths, collect our thoughts and enjoy the rest of the season, now is a good time to peek ahead to 2023 and a few events we’ve already marked on our calendars. Set your watch, book your tickets or just clear your schedule now—these seven tournaments look like must-see TV.
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2023.
Golffile, USA Today
7 Golf Events to Watch in 2023
7. Sentry Tournament of Champions: The PGA Tour’s annual Maui lid-lifter used to be reliably mellow, but this year it kicks off a revamped schedule that includes its own designation as an elevated event. A loaded field will turn out for its freshly boosted, $20 million purse. Because it’s the first elevated event and first PGA Tour tournament of a new year, there’s also a possibility that the Tour will use the platform to make more announcements on how it will continue to try to fend off LIV Golf in the year ahead. But even if the Tour doesn’t add to the off-course news cycle, seeing the world’s top players take on the rolling fairways and dramatic hills of Kapalua should give this year’s edition some renewed energy.
6. LIV Golf Mexico: Season 2 of the LIV tour looks set to kick off in Mayakoba in late February. Count on seeing each of LIV’s biggest stars in the field, but once again extra intrigue will come from potential new additions (and PGA Tour defections) to the LIV roster. The run-up to this one should be fascinating.
5. US Women’s Open: It’s typically the most-anticipated women’s major championship, but this year’s edition should be turbocharged thanks to the venue: Pebble Beach. It will mark the first time Pebble has hosted a women’s major, and it will be a resplendent backdrop for high-pressure golf. Nelly Korda has established herself as America’s top star, but Minjee Lee, Jin Young Ko and top-ranked Lydia Ko should also factor.
4. The British Open. This year the Open returns to Hoylake, where Rory McIlroy will attempt to hoist the Claret Jug for the first time since 2014, when he took a six-shot lead into the final round and hung on to win by two at this same venue. The quirky layout features more white OB stakes than any other course in the Open rota, so expect a fast track that features late-round momentum shifts—and irons off the tee—as players’ fortunes rise and fall.
3. The Solheim Cup. The ultimate women’s team event heads to an intriguing venue, Finca Cortesín in Málaga, Spain. Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis, who have their own decorated histories as players in this event, will captain their respective sides. The calendar date should give the event an added lift, as it falls one week before the Ryder Cup in Rome.
2. The Ryder Cup. It’s still not clear how the US and European rosters will ultimately be affected heading into Rome, but LIV Golf has already made a mark, as several potential team members renounced their memberships to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and ex-Euro captain Henrik Stenson was booted from his post for joining LIV. The rosters may look different than anticipated, but it’s still the Ryder Cup. It’ll be epic.
1. The Masters. All of the turmoil in men’s pro golf – and every storyline – is packed into a bullet train and pointed towards Augusta National. The first big question has recently been answered: Yes, LIV Golfers who qualify will be allowed to play. But there are more questions still to be resolved: Will the Champions dinner be more tense and awkward than any previous edition? (The guess here: yes.) Will the apparent changes to the iconic par-5 13th hole have an effect on scoring? (The guess here: maybe a little.) Will a LIV golfer and PGA Tour member find themselves in contention together on Sunday, creating unprecedented intrigue, suspense and a general feeling that something much bigger is at stake than a green jacket? (Stay tuned.) The 2023 golf calendar is set to deliver some exciting golf. But as ever, the Masters remains the center of the golf universe and its gravitational pull draws in the entire sport as we get closer to April. It’s the can’t-miss event of 2023.
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