10 Golf Tournaments To Look Ahead To In 2020

We preview 10 great tournaments to look forward to this coming year

10 Golf Tournaments To Look Ahead To In 2020

2020 promises to be an incredible year with the Ryder Cup returning and golf featuring in the Olympics for just the second time since 1904.

Below we pick out 10 great tournaments to look forward to this coming year...

The Masters Augusta National | 9-12 April

With the USPGA Championship now taking place in May and The Open concluding in July, more than eight months will have passed without Major golf by the time Augusta National returns to our screens in early April – something that will only serve to enhance the excitement around golf’s most anticipated Major.

Of course, it will do well to live up to last year, when Tiger Woods completed one of sport’s greatest comebacks by securing his 15th Major title, but Augusta always seems to produce scarcely believable storylines.

This is, in part, due to the nature of the course and the fact so many of the world’s best players have games that are ideally suited to this pristine Georgian layout.

Will Tiger land a 16th Major title?

Can Rory complete the Career Grand Slam?

How will Koepka fare in his pursuit of a fifth Major?

All these questions and more will be answered come April.

The USPGA Championship TPC Harding Park | 14-17 May

Brooks Koepka will look to register his third consecutive USPGA Championship victory at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco following his thrilling triumph last year.

On that occasion, the event was staged at the fearsome Bethpage Black, but Harding Park will present a different challenge.

It’s considerably shorter and, as such, there will be less emphasis on power hitting, something that should bring more players into contention.

With the strongest field of any men’s Major, the tournament is wide open, though Rory McIlroy – who won the WGC-Match Play here in 2015 – will fancy his chances.

Scandinavian Mixed Bro Hof Slott | 11-14 Jun

This innovative event, co-sanction by the European and Ladies European Tours and hosted by Swedish Major Champions Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson, will see men and women going head to head on the same golf course, competing for one prize fund and one trophy.

The field will be made up of 78 men and 78 women.

“The European Tour has been leading the way in terms of innovative formats and I believe this is certainly one that can be part of the way golf is played in the future,” said Stenson.

Male and female pros will also play together at the GolfSixes Cascais, the Vic Open and the Trophee Hassan II.

The Amateur Championship Royal Birkdale and West Lancashire | 15-20 June

The Amateur Championship is one of the most prestigious amateur events in world golf, with the winner securing exemptions to The Open and US Open and an invitation to The Masters.

The tournament is a mixed stroke play and match play format played over six days, with former winners including Bobby Jones, Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal.

It was first held at Hoylake in 1885, where 44 players competed.

This year will be the 125th edition and will see 288 competitors tee it up at the two host courses.

Irishman James Sugrue won the title last year.

The US Open Winged Foot | 18-21 June

The tournament returns to Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, for the first time since 2006.

That year, Geoff Ogilvy won his only Major title, beating Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk by one stroke – Monty and Phil both double-bogeyed the final hole to hand the Australian the title.

Ogilvy’s winning score of +5 was the highest in the US Open since Hale Irwin shot +7 in 1974, also at Winged Foot.

Don’t expect the course to be any less fierce come June, especially given Gary Woodland’s un-US-Open-like winning score of -13 at Pebble Beach last year.

The Open Championship Royal St George's | 16-19 July

Shane Lowry defends his Open title at Royal St George’s in Kent, the first time the course has hosted the event since an emotional Darren Clarke won in 2011.

It will be the 15th time the tournament has been held at Sandwich, which is more than any other English course.

It was the first venue outside of Scotland to host The Open when JH Taylor prevailed in 1897.

Recent winners at the course include Ben Curtis in 2003, Greg Norman in 1993 and Sandy Lyle in 1985.

The current tradition of St Andrews hosting every five years has been changed to allow the Home of Golf to hold the 150th Open in 2021.

Olympic Men’s Golf Competition Kasumigaseki Country Club | July 30-Aug 2

Four years after golf’s return to the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus, Japan’s Kasumigaseki Country Club will stage an event many hope will attract a better field than Rio in 2016.

Then, Justin Rose secured gold for Team GB, with Henrik Stenson coming in second and Matt Kuchar taking home the bronze medal.

This time, there is optimism more of the world’s top players will participate, given how well the event was received four years ago.

Tiger Woods has expressed an interest in playing, as has Rory McIlroy, who will represent Ireland.

The top 15 players in the world rankings will qualify, with a limit of four golfers per country.

The remaining spots in the 60-man field will go to the highest-ranked players from countries who do not already have two qualified.

AIG Women’s British Open Royal Troon GC | 20-23 August

Hinako Shibuno will defend the title she won last year at Woburn when the stars of the women’s game head to Royal Troon for the 20th AIG Women’s British Open.

The Japanese player sensationally triumphed on the Marquess’ course in her first Major and her first event outside her homeland.

This year, the non-European challenge will once again be strong, but Georgia Hall’s triumph at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 2018 is still fresh in the memory, and will no doubt serve as inspiration to a home challenge led by the likes of Charley Hull and Bronte Law.

World No.1 Jin-young Ko, Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson and Lexi Thompson all look like good bets to feature, though.

The BMW PGA Championship Wentworth | 10-13 September

The European Tour will hope to build on 2019’s success, when its flagship event switched to September to take advantage of the PGA Tour’s August finish.

The move prompted several big-name Americans to make the trip across the pond and that, coupled with a mostly glorious week of sunshine and a popular winner in Danny Willett, meant it was hailed a great move.

Next year’s schedule is slightly more jam-packed with an Olympics and a Ryder Cup to fit in, so it will be interesting to see if the field is as strong.

The fact it’s the final tournament for European Ryder Cup qualification should help.

The Ryder Cup Whistling Straits | 25-27 September

Padraig Harrington will be at the helm for Europe as he takes on a US side led by Steve Stricker out for revenge after their 17.5-10.5 trouncing in Paris.

Whistling Straits in Wisconsin plays host, having already welcomed three USPGAs since opening in 1998, most recently in 2015 when Jason Day triumphed.

It boasts over 1,000 bunkers, with Dustin Johnson famously falling foul of one on the 18th in 2010.

Europe have won four of the last five editions and nine of the last 12.

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