18 key events for golf in 2022: From Hawaii to the DP World Tour Championship
- Dave Tindall
- 10 January 2022
A look at some of the biggest tournaments of the year in men’s and women’s golf and where and when they take place.
Sony Open - January 13-16
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship - January 20-23
Storyline: Rip up those course form books because the European Tour's first tournament (and opening Rolex Series event) of the calendar year moves to Yas Links. It's a Kyle Phillips design that was recently ranked 48th in Golf Digest's Top 100 courses. Tyrrell Hatton defends.
Slynic.io Dubai Desert Classic - January 27-30
Storyline: A new sponsor but a very familiar venue. This is the second of the European Tour's five Rolex Series events. Paul Casey took the title last year while Rory McIlroy will be seeking to win it for the third time.
THE PLAYERS Championship - March 10-13
Storyline: Still regarded by many as the "fifth major", the world's best will battle it out for a monster $20million purse, up $5million from last year. The PGA Tour's flagship event has been won by Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy since switching back to a March slot in 2019.
WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play - March 23-27
Storyline: A chance for some of Europe's Ryder Cup stars to gain revenge for the Ryder Cup hammering last September? It will be tough; the last three finals at Austin have been all-American affairs. Billy Horschel beat Scottie Scheffler in last year's championship match.
The Masters - April 7-10
Storyline: The first men's major of the year and the highlight of the calendar for many golf fans. Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese player to win the famed Green Jacket last year, ending a run of three straight American victories which included Tiger Woods' incredible triumph in 2019.
PGA Championship - May 19-22
Storyline: Southern Hills has hosted this event on four previous occasions, the last time in 2007 when Tiger won by two to claim his 12th Major. Phil Mickelson will defend after becoming the oldest Major winner in history when landing last year's edition at Kiawah Island, aged 50.
US Women's Open - June 2-5
Purse: $10,000,000
Storyline: The first US Women's Open to have a partner (healthcare organisation ProMedica) and with it comes a prize fund of $10 million, almost double last year's purse. Asian golfers have absolutely dominated the premier prize in the women's game, winning it 11 times in the last 14 editions. Yuka Saso, whose swing is a self-confessed YouTube-inspired celebration of Rory McIlroy, defends the trophy after she hunted down Lexi Thompson last year.
US Open - June 16-19
Storyline: Perhaps best known for the 1999 Ryder Cup when Ben Crenshaw's Americans produced a dramatic final-day comeback, Brookline last staged the US Open in 1988 when Curtis Strange edged out Nick Faldo in a play-off. It was also the scene of Matt Fitzpatrick's US Amateur win in 2013.
Genesis Scottish Open - July 7-10
The 150th Open Championship - July 14-17
Storyline: To coincide with the 150th edition, St Andrews was scheduled for 2021 instead of 2020 but Covid delayed it further. Finally we get back to the Old Course in 2022, seven years on from when Zach Johnson won a play-off in 2015. Collin Morikawa will be going for back-to-back Claret Jugs after his brilliant win at Royal St. George's last summer.
AIG Women's Open - August 4-7
Storyline: The tournament's first visit to Muirfield which, when it hosted the 2013 Open, proved controversial for the club's refusal to permit female members. That changed when the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers invited 12 women to join in 2019 and, with it, got themselves back on-side with the R&A. It promises to be a remarkable week of breakthrough activity on and off the course, with England's Georgia Hall likely to feature on the leaderboard: she's got a win, a second and a third in her last five tournament starts.
FedEx St. Jude Championship - August 4-7
Tour Championship - August 25-28
BMW PGA Championship - September 8-11
The Presidents Cup - September 22-25
WGC-HSBC Champions - October 27-30
Storyline: After being cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the event heads back to Sheshan for the 16th running. It usually produces a classy winner, with Rory McIlroy (2019), Xander Schauffele (2018), Justin Rose (2017) and Hideki Matsuyama (2016) capturing the last four (all at Sheshan).
