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Just like that, it’s all over for another year.

The men’s major championship season is notoriously (some might say ‘infuriatingly’ short).

This year, it spanned just 130 days from the opening round of the Masters through to the final day of the US PGA Championship.

For those keeping count, that amounts to 35.62% of 2018.

• US PGA champ Koepka driven by ‘haters’

Next year, it will be even shorter. The US PGA’s move to a new date in May means that the men’s major season will span just 102 days, beginning with the first round of the Masters on April 11 and ending with the final round of the Open on July 21. 

• OPINION – Did the US PGA’s ELEVEN SPORTS experiment pay off? It’s complicated…

That’s a paltry 27.95% of 2019.

Still, we can console ourselves with the knowledge that the championships are going to visit some pretty good courses next year.

Sorry, did we say ‘pretty good’? We meant FREAKIN’ AWESOME!

Augusta National

As is tradition, the Masters will be played at Augusta National, complete with its lush green grass, white sandy bunkers, blossoming azaleas and general aesthetic magnificence.

• Is world No.1 Dustin Johnson a ‘major’ under-performer? The numbers suggest so…

Bethpage Black

Almost exactly a month later, it’s off to Bethpage when its notorious Black Course welcomes the world’s best golfers for the US PGA.

A two-time host venue for the US Open – most recently in 2009 when Lucas Glover won his solitary major – the Black Course will stage the US PGA for the first time ahead of hosting the 2024 Ryder Cup.

Pebble Beach

The next stop is Pebble Beach for the US Open in June. One of the most iconic courses in the United States, Pebble Beach is located on Carmel Bay in California’s Monterey Peninsula.

It’s appropriate that America’s national open should visit it next year. The course celebrates its centenary in 2019.

• What has happened to Victor Dubuisson?

It has staged the US Open five times previously, the most recent of which was 2010, when Graeme McDowell made his major breakthrough.

Royal Portrush General

The curtain comes down on the 2019 major season in McDowell’s hometown, when the Open Championship is staged at Royal Portrush.

The Northern Irish links will play host to golf’s oldest professional golf event for just the second time and the first since 1951. On that occasion, Max Faulkner added his name to the Claret Jug for the first time. Who will emulate the Englishman there next year? Time well tell.

• Brandel Chamblee makes ANOTHER bold Tiger Woods claim

Time: something that there’s not much of in the 2019 men’s major championships season. But when the host venues are this good, who really cares?

Quality, it would seem, really does trump quantity.

Which major are you most looking forward to in 2019?

Leave your thoughts in our Comments section below.


author headshot

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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