For over 90 years, The Open Championship has been consistently played in July. They experimented with the schedule when the tournament initially began, but settled on the month in 1892. The major was scheduled early for one year in 1936, but hasn’t been diverted from the July schedule ever since. Over the last few decades, the major has been played between the second and third week of the seventh month every year. But R&A has decided to break the tradition in 2028.

As confirmed by the official website of The Open, the major will be pushed back to the month of August 2028. R&A has made the decision to accommodate the Los Angeles Olympics, which is scheduled from July 14-30.

R&A Chief Executive, Mark Darbon, said, “We have worked collaboratively with the relevant bodies and our partners to agree alternative dates for staging our major championships in 2028 to accommodate the Olympic golf competitions.”

As Darbon mentioned, the R&A and the Olympic Committee have collaborated to find a solution that is viable for both parties. During the Paris Olympics, the golf tournament occurred during the back half of the schedule. If the same happens in 2028 as well, then golf events should conclude at some time around July 28. That will give the pros four days to prepare for and travel to the U.K. to play in the Open Championship. The tournament will be played from August 3 to 6, 2028.

Of course, the delayed start to The Open Championship will also mean the PGA Tour schedule will be affected. As the major will be pushed back by two weeks, the entire FedEx Cup calendar might also change due to it.

As per the new dates, the 156th Open will be held from July 30 to August 6. Next will be the ISPS HANDA Senior Open that’ll be held from 7-13 August. Following that will be the AIG Women’s Open which will be held from 14-20 August.

But will this be a permanent change to the schedule of the Open Championship? The R&A Chief Executive had an answer for that as well.

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Is The Open Championship going to permanently shift to August of every year?

Changing the schedule of The Open Championship for the first time in 92 years would certainly catch a lot of limelight. Interestingly, it will also be the first time the major will be played in August. The Open has only been played in June, September, and October prior to this.

However, each time the schedule was moved to a different month, it stayed there for a few years. That didn’t happen in 1936, when The Open was played in late June. And the same will be the case in 2028 as well.

As Mark Darbon confirmed, “We appreciate the constructive discussions we have had with all of the stakeholders and believe that providing clarity on the dates now will assist with the planning of the global golf calendar in 2028. We can also confirm that The Open will be returning to its normal mid-July dates in 2029.”

The change in schedule to August is only a temporary shift for 2028 due to the Olympics. The Open Championship will move back to mid-July from 2029 onwards.