Virginia Golfer Jan / Feb 2019 | Page 27

March 14-17: THE PLAYERS Champi- onship | TPC Sawgrass | Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. | Webb Simpson ›› One of the key moves in the condensed schedule, the Players acts as an important tune-up for the upcoming Masters. The weather is usually more amenable in north Florida in March than May, too. New York in May? No guarantees. This weekend last year featured a 55-degree- and-rainy Saturday. May 23-26: Charles Schwab Challenge | Colonial CC | Forth Worth, Texas | Justin Rose March 21-24: Valspar Championship | Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead) | Palm Harbor, Fla. | Paul Casey May 30-June 2: The Memorial Tourna- ment presented by Nationwide | Muir- field Village GC | Dublin, Ohio | Bryson DeChambeau March 27-31: WGC Dell Technologies Match Play | Austin CC | Austin, Texas | Bubba Watson June 6-9: RBC Canadian Open | Ham- ilton G&CC | Hamilton, Ontario | Dustin Johnson *March 28-31: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship | Punta Cana, Dominican Republic | Brice Garnett April 4-7: Valero Texas Open | TPC San Antonio, AT&T Oaks | San Antonio, Texas | Andrew Landry April 11-14: Masters | Augusta National GC | Augusta, Ga. | Patrick Reed ›› The last two winners of the Green Jacket—Sergio Garcia and Danny Wil- lett—had miserable seasons the follow- ing year. Can Patrick Reed avoid the same fate? April 18-21: RBC Heritage | Harbour Town GL | Hilton Head, S.C. | Satoshi Kodaira April 25-28: Zurich Classic of New Orleans | TPC Louisiana | Avondale, La. | Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy May 2-5: Wells Fargo Championship | Quail Hollow Club | Charlotte, N.C. | Jason Day May 9-12: AT&T Byron Nelson Classic | Trinity Forest GC | Dallas | Aaron Wise June 13-16: U.S. Open | Pebble Beach GL | Pebble Beach, Calif. | Brooks Koepka ›› It was fair to say that not many gave Brooks Koepka a shot to repeat in 2018, considering he missed the Masters with a bum wrist. A win at Pebble would put Koep- ka in truly rarified air. The last three-peat happened when Willie Anderson (remember him?) won in 1903, 1904 and 1905. June 20-23: Travelers Championship | TPC River Highlands | Cromwell, Conn. | Bubba Watson July 18-21: The Open Championship | Royal Portrush GC | Portrush, Northern Ireland | Francesco Molinari ›› The only time the Open has visited Royal Portrush, Max Faulkner won his lone major championship in 1951. July 25-28: WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invi- tational | TPC Southwind | Memphis, Tenn. | Justin Thomas *July 25-28: Reno-Tahoe Open | Montreux G&CC | Reno, Nev. | Andrew Putnam Aug. 1-4: Wyndham Championship | Sedgefield CC | Greensboro, N.C. | Brandt Snedeker Aug. 8-11: The Northern Trust | Liberty National GC | Jersey City, N.J. | Bryson DeChambeau ›› The slimmed down FedEx Cup Play- offs begin here, starting a three-week sprint to the finish. Aug. 15-18: BMW Championship | Medinah CC (No. 3) | Medinah, Ill. | Keegan Bradley June 27-30: Rocket Mortgage Classic | Detroit GC | Detroit | New event July 4-7: 3M Open | TPC Twin Cities | Blaine, Minn. | New event July 11-14: John Deere Classic | TPC Deere Run | Silvis, Ill. | Michael Kim *July 18-21: Barbasol Championship | Keene Trace GC | Nicholasville, Ky. | Troy Merritt Aug. 22-25: TOUR Championship | East Lake GC | Atlanta | Tiger Woods ›› The Tour achieved its goal of mov- ing the season finale away from the start of football season. Time will tell how the wonky scoring—the points leader heading into the event will have a 10-stroke head start—will play with fans. Francesco Molinari, winner of the Open Championship in 2018. May 16-19: PGA Championship | Beth- page State Park Black Course | Beth- page, N.Y. | Brooks Koepka ›› The PGA trades in the stifling summer heat for (hopefully) kinder weather. But vsga.org J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 19 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R 25