With Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth pulling out a win over Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in “The Match VII”, that pretty much puts a bow on the 2022 calendar year for most of the PGA Tour regulars. It was an interesting year for sure, featuring the return to dominance for McIlroy, the ascension of Scottie Scheffler, and the defection of many pros to the LIV, most notably Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson.
It’s never too early to start looking ahead to the January 2023 PGA Tour schedule. It is obviously way too early to know who is going to be in the respective field for these events – or who will even stay in the PGA Tour by early next year – but here is how the schedule pans out:
Sentry Tournament of Champions January 5th-8th
This has been a traditional calendar-year-opening tournament since the 50s-60s, mostly because it used to only be open to players who had won the previous year. Entry requirements have expanded a bit to anybody who qualified for the previous TOUR Championship.
What we do know is that there will be a new champion in 2023 – unless the PGA and LIV break bread over the holidays. Cameron Smith set a TOUR record last year in Maui at -34 to get the win (and only by one stroke over Jon Rahm), but he’s off to the LIV.
Sony Open in Hawaii January 12th-15th
The TOUR goes from Maui to Honolulu for the second event of the 2023 calendar season, the Sony Open in Hawaii. This has usually been a hotly contested tournament, with four of the last seven needing a playoff to determine the winner. Smith won this event in 2020, with Kevin Na taking the title in 2021, so we’ll see if 2022 victor Hideki Matsuyama breaks the streak and does not go to LIV.
The American Express January 19th-22nd
Those who had Hudson Swafford to win the 2022 American Express were able to pay off their holiday bills as he cashed in at +15000 with a two-stroke win over Tom Hoge. Swafford had also won this event in 2017, so he may have been on more longshot tickets than books expected.
The American Express – formerly known as the Desert Classic – is notable because it marks the TOUR’s return to the mainland after starting off the year in Hawaii.
Farmers Insurance Open January 25th-28th
The last calendar event of January 2023 (and the 12th before the Masters) is the Farmers Insurance Open. This tournament is also on the “West Coast Swing” at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Luke List was able to hold off Will Zalatoris in a playoff a year ago, a much closer tournament than when Patrick Reed won by five strokes in 2021.
List and Reed winning in consecutive years marks the first time Americans have won the Farmers Insurance Open back-to-back since Tiger Woods and Scott Stallings in 2013-14. Brandt Snedeker (2016) was the only American to win here from 2015 up until Reed in 2021.
