The Best PGA Tour Event for Every Month in 2015
The best PGA Tour events for every month in 2015 are a diverse cornucopia.
The positive: There really isn't an offseason on the PGA Tour, so there are decent tournaments in all 12 months of the year.
The negative: All months aren't created equal.
Which tournaments join the Masters as the best in their respective months?
Click through to see.
January: Waste Management Phoenix Open
1 of 122015 Host Course: TPC Scottsdale
Dates: January 29 - February 1
Why It's the Best
"The Greatest Show on Grass," as the Waste Management Phoenix Open is known, is a rowdy good time. It's the only PGA Tour event where the outside-the-ropes festivities are often as entertaining as what's going on inside the ropes.
In 2014, more than 500,000 fans attended the event, making it the most widely attended PGA Tour event in history.
And the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale is a spectacle in and of itself. If you're unfamiliar, check out the video above for a sampling of the mayhem.
February: Northern Trust Open
2 of 12
2015 Host Course: Riviera Country Club
Dates: February 19-22
Why It's the Best
Known by different names and contested at different courses, the Northern Trust Open has been a fixture on the PGA Tour schedule since 1926.
The tournament has been contested primarily at historic Riviera Country Club since the early 1970s and is one of the great west coast tournaments on tour.
Bubba Watson was brilliant at Riviera last year, en route to a 15-under winning total as Riviera continues to produce great champions.
March: Arnold Palmer Invitational
3 of 12
2015 Host Course: Bay Hill Club and Lodge
Dates: March 19-22
Why It's the Best
The recently renamed Arnold Palmer Invitational now properly honors its host in its title. The great Arnold Palmer is a huge part of the tournament that now bears his name.
For this reason alone, the tournament is the best in March.
Recent history, including Tiger Woods eight victories at Bay Hill, elevates the tournament's stature as well.
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April: The Masters
4 of 12
2015 Host Course: Augusta National Golf Club
Dates: April 9-12
Why It's the Best
No surprise here: the best PGA Tour event in April is the Masters.
The tradition unlike any other is, of course, rich in tradition. From the green jackets to the pimento and cheese sandwiches, the Masters has unique elements aplenty and a lore that is all its own.
The Masters is widely regarded as the most popular professional golf tournament in the United States and arguably its most prestigious. For these reasons alone, the first of the season's four majors is April's best.
May: The Players Championship
5 of 12
2015 Host Course: TPC Sawgrass
Dates: May 9-12
Why It's the Best
From the first major of the calendar year to the so-called "fifth major." The Players Championship is the best PGA Tour event in May.
The strength of field, dynamic venue and, of course, the famous island green on the course's 17th hole distinguish it.
With a list of distinguished winners and the 2013 showdown between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia fresh in golf fans' minds, The Players is well positioned.
June: US Open
6 of 12
2015 Host Course: Chambers Bay
Dates: June 18-21
Why It's the Best
Seeing a pattern? The tour's best tournament in June is another major: the U.S. Open. And while Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament is a top-tier event, the U.S. Open is by far and away the finest professional golf tournament in June.
And if you're a purist, U.S. Open venues' narrow, undulating fairways, thick rough and lightning-quick greens make for the best tournament in the golfing calendar.
July: The Open Championship
7 of 12
2015 Host Course: St. Andrews Links (Old Course)
Dates: July 16-19
Why It's the Best
Of course, if you're a golf enthusiast from the other side of the pond, you likely feel July's best tournament is better than June's. In other words, the Open Championship trumps the U.S. Open.
The Open Championship is golf's oldest major. It's the only major played outside of the United States, and it's contested on the spectacular courses of the R&A's Open Rota, including St. Andrews, Muirfield and Carnoustie.
And while the Open Championship produces great winners, it's the majesty of links golf and the wonder of the Open venues that set this tournament apart.
August: PGA Championship
8 of 122015 Host Course: Whistling Straits
Dates: August 13-16
Why It's the Best
Did you catch the final round of the PGA Championship from Valhalla? The PGA of America, regardless of any other questionable decisions, set accessible hole locations on a soft golf course, sat back and let the cream rise to the top.
The formula the organizers of the fourth major of the year have stumbled upon—a straightforward setup for better scoring and dramatic shootouts—should yield tremendous tournaments in the future.
September: Tour Championship
9 of 12
2015 Host Course: East Lake Golf Club
Dates: September 24-27
Why It's the Best
The ultimate event of the FedEx Cup playoffs trumps the preceding three (also contested in September) for several reasons.
From the drama, intrigue and excitement standpoint, however, here's the only reason that matters: At the Tour Championship, a golfer has the opportunity to make a putt for $10 million (the FedEx Cup winner's share), as Billy Horschel did last year.
October: Presidents Cup
10 of 122015 Host Course: Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea
Dates: October 8-11
Why It's the Best
The post-FedEx Cup PGA Tour calendar is filled with lower-tier events, such as the Frys.com Open and the McGladrey Classic. And while it's not a 72-hole stroke play competition, the Presidents Cup is the best tournament set to be held in October 2015.
And while its biennial sibling the Ryder Cup is in a league of its own, the passion and intensity of both competitions offer a welcome respite from tired end-of-the-year events.
November: WGC-HSBC Champions
11 of 122015 Host Course: Sheshan International Golf Club
Dates: November 5-8
Why It's the Best
With all due respect, there aren't a lot of great PGA Tour events in November, with many stars teeing it up in Australia and top European players focusing on the Race to Dubai.
The WGC-HSBC Champions, however, usually features a relatively strong field and offers the intrigue of some of the PGA Tour's finest teeing it up in China.
Bubba Watson's clutch hole-out at the 2014 edition of the WGC-HSBC was arguably the most dramatic win of the season, which helps raise the event's profile.
December: Hero World Challenge
12 of 122015 Host Course: Albany, Bahamas
Dates: TBC
Why It's the Best
A poverty of other options. Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge features a limited field of top-tier golfers and usually manifests as a Tiger Woods romp.
There were a lot of eyeballs focused on the 2014 World Challenge as Jordan Spieth lapped the field and Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf (and finished last).
With only one other (unofficial) tour event in December, the Hero World Challenge is tops.
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