August 2028: The Open Moves In, 23 Business Days
Dispatch, August 2028: the month opens on a Tuesday, golf's oldest major is playing in August for once, and the working year hits its peak. August runs 31 days, from Tuesday, August 1 to Thursday, August 31, and stacks 23 business days, the most a month can hold. The 156th Open plays its championship rounds at Royal Lytham & St Annes from Thursday, August 3 to Sunday, August 6. Los Angeles catches its breath, then the Paralympics open on Tuesday, August 15.
Golf's oldest major, out of its usual week
The Open Championship is on at Royal Lytham & St Annes, the Lancashire links' first Open since 2012. The championship rounds run from Thursday, August 3 to Sunday, August 6. The final round settles golf's last men's major of the year in the month's first week. Practice days began on Sunday, July 30, the same day as the Olympic closing ceremony in Los Angeles.
The date is the story. The tournament moved out of its usual mid-July slot to keep clear of the Olympic golf tournament in Los Angeles. Tradition says July; the scoreboard says otherwise.
The Games stay in town
The Olympics closed on Sunday, July 30, and Los Angeles did not pack the venues away. The Paralympic Games open on Tuesday, August 15 and run to Sunday, August 27. It is the city's first Paralympics and the first Summer Paralympics in the United States since Atlanta 1996.
Together the two Games stretch one city across 45 days of summer. Visitors mostly picked Olympic week or Paralympic week; the days between belonged to the city itself. The Games' second week runs into the American school restart, so live viewing drifts to evenings and short clips. When the closing ceremony ends on Sunday, August 27, the venues finally rest.
The heaviest grid of the year
August 2028 is the year's biggest working month by the numbers: 23 business days, the maximum a month can hold, against just 8 weekend days. Five Tuesdays, five Wednesdays and five Thursdays stack the middle of the week, across weeks 31 to 35. The month runs from Tuesday, August 1 to Thursday, August 31. For a working month, this is the summit; September eases back to 21.
The moon keeps quiet company through it. A full moon on Saturday, August 5 hangs over the Open's third round. A new moon on Sunday, August 20 falls inside the Paralympics' first week. First quarter returns on Sunday, August 27 as the Games close. After July's pair of eclipses, the sky takes this month off.
August 2028 offers 23 business days, one major on a links and one closing ceremony. Pace yourself; there is no shortcut through it.