Sport in Pattaya in 2019

By Steve Wade

With the arrival of 2019 and sport playing such an important part in the lives of expats in Thailand, let’s take a look at the sporting calendar for the year and see what we have to look forward to. Just a word to the many golfers in Pattaya who may think that there may have been an error in the following dates, I can confirm that the USPGA tournament has been moved to May and is now the 2nd Major of the year. This now means that the British Open will be the final major tournament to be played in the year.

January

A quiet start to the year mostly taken up by winter sports with various events in the Men’s and Women’s World Cups. The NFL playoffs in America kick off on the 6th and continue until the 3rd of February,culminating with the Super bowl final.

For tennis fans there is the first major of the season the Australian Open from the 14th to the 27th,and towards the end of the month the Sailing World Cup starts in Miami on the 27th and continues to the 3rd of February.

February

February starts with a bang for Rugby Union and American football fans with the Rugby 6 nations starting on the 1st and the Super Bowl Final on the 3rd IN Atlanta Georgia. The Rugby continues in top gear with the European Nations cup kicking off on the 9th. For those into motorsports the Rally World Championships start in Sweden on the 14th.The track cycling world championships conclude the major events in February starting on the 27th and going through until the 3rd of March.

Anyone interested in golf who wants to watch the best women golfers in the world live, should get along to Siam Country Club at the end of the month for the LGPA Honda Classic. This is one of the top tournaments of the year and features all the best players from around the world and is also great value to go along to and watch live.

March

The hugely popular Formula 1 Grand Prix Season starts in Melbourne on the 17th and then continues in Bahrain on the 31st. For all golf fans out there the players Championship (sometimes called the 5th Major) has a new slot and will be played from the 14th-17th. Lovers of National Hunt Racing should make a note of 12th -15th March for the Cheltenham Festival. Whilst locally at Buriram Thailand host the Superbike World Championships from the 15th to the 17th.

April

Formula 1 continues in Shanghai, China on the 14th and then in Azerbaijan on the 28th. The first golf major of the year The Masters is played at the Augusta National from the 11th-14th.The popular Rugby Hong Kong 7s kicks off on the 5th of April and continues until the 7th. The Grand National, the world’s most famous steeplechase is being run on the 6th

May

Formula 1 continues on the 12th May in Barcelona,Spain and then on the 26th in Monaco.The second golf major of the season is the Golf USPGA championship being played at the very challenging Bethpage Black course outside New York from the 16th -19th.

For all cricket fans the big event of the year is the World cup which starts on the 30th and will continue right through the summer in England with the final being played on the 14th July.

Sunday the 12th sees the final day of the English premier league when all matches are played at 3pm UK time. This final day may well decide who will be the Champions,and who gets relegated for the season.

June

Kicking off the month will be the UEFA Champions League Final being played in Madrid on the 2nd, and now the Formula 1 season is in top gear, we have 3 heats this month, the 9th in Montreal Canada, then the 23rd in France and the 30th in Austria.

The third Golf Major of the season, the Us Open is being played at the beautiful and iconic Pebble Beach in California from the 13th-16th

July

The oldest Tennis tournament in the world and certainly the most prestigious, Wimbledon starts on the 1st and goes on until the 14th.

Formula 1 goes to Silverstone, Great Britain on the 14th and Hockenheim Germany on the 28th.

The British Open Golf Championship is now the final major tournament of the season and is being played at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland from 18th- 21st

August

A very quiet sporting month, although it does contain the Formula 1 Championship heat in Budapest Hungary on the 4th and then towards the end of the month the 3rd tennis Grand Slam event the US Open starts on the 26th in New York

 September

Arguably the major sporting event of the year,the Rugby World cup gets under way in Japan on the 20th and continues until the 13th November.

It’s a busy month for the Formula 1 Championship with 4 heats starting with Belgium on the 1st, Monza, Italy on the 8th, Singapore on the 22nd and Sochi, Russia on the 29th.

With the cycling world Championships starting in England on the 22nd and the Athletics World Championships starting on the 28th the sports calender goes into overdrive.

October

Rugby world cup continues through into October as does the Athletic world Championships. The Formula 1 circuit also continues with the 13th in Japan and 27th in Mexico

November

The Horse Race that stops the Nation, the Melbourne Cup in Australia takes place on the 5th and the Formula 1 circus moves on to Austin, Texas, USA on the 3rd and Brazil on the 17th. Then for Tennis fans the Davis cup Final will be played from the 18th to 24th

December

Finishing the year, December sees the end of the Formula 1 Season. The final race takes place in Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi on the 1st and with the English Premier league and various other sports in full swing there will be no shortage of sports viewing throughout the month

Obviously we cannot mention every sporting event throughout the year but we hope that this gives you some idea of what to expect over the next 12 months. With sport playing such an important part of the Expat life and with so many sports bars in Pattaya with so many screens to choose from we’re sure that whatever your sport of choice is, you’ll get a chance to see it. 

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