Top Storylines Heading into the 2026 PGA Tour Season
The 2026 PGA Tour season tees off Thursday at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa and defending champion Nick Taylor are among the top golfers competing at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu this week.
The start of the season comes a week later than usual, as The Sentry was canceled because of drought conditions on Maui. The West Coast swing will continue with four tournaments in California and one in Arizona through late February.
While world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy are still the men to beat, there are plenty of intriguing storylines heading into the season.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is back, after he resigned from the LIV Golf League on Dec. 23 and accepted severe financial penalties to return to the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour also opened a
Scheffler is an overwhelming betting favorite to win the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, on June 18-21, as well as the other three majors.
What will Rory do for an encore?
McIlroy’s playoff victory over Justin Rose at Augusta National was the biggest story of 2025. what will Rory do for an encore?
McIlroy is again starting the season in the Middle East,where he’ll compete in this week’s Dubai Invitational and next week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He isn’t scheduled to play in the U.S. until Feb.12-15 in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he’s the defending champion.
Last season, the 36-year-old played in Australia, Dubai, India, England and Ireland. He teed it up in 16 PGA Tour events in 2025 and figures to play about the same number this year.
With one more victory in a major, Rory woudl match England’s Nick Faldo’s six, which is the most by a European golfer in the modern era. Another Race to Dubai title on the DP world Tour would also match Colin montgomerie’s record eight.
Can anyone challenge scottie and Rory?
McIlroy and Scheffler have combined to win 23 times around the world over the past two seasons. They’ve clearly pulled away from the pack on the PGA Tour. Is anyone else ready to challenge them this season?
defending FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood has climbed to No. 3 in the world, but even he knows there’s still a wide gap.
“You know, challenging the top two players in the world, I’m not going to say that that’s something that I’m not focused on and not interested in,” Fl“`html
Brooks Koepka will return to the PGA Tour in January, starting at the farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines outside San Diego. he is also scheduled to play in the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale the following week.
“I think it’s great,” Rickie Fowler said.”He’s wanted to be back playing with us for quite a while, so I’m very happy that we’re back in the position where we’re at now.I think the guys that were involved on the board level and the players that are involved,I think they did a great job of figuring out how [to] make this happen.”
Tiger Woods, who serves on the PGA Tour board of directors, said the tour worked to try to make it equitable for everyone involved. While Koepka is eligible to compete in full-field events and the Players, he’ll have to earn his way into the eight signature events with $20 million purses. He won’t take another golfer’s spot,either. He will be added to fields.
“Yes, there are opinions from both sides,” Woods said. “We’re not going to satisfy everyone. We know that. But the whole idea is to make our tour better than what it was. With Brooks’ addition to the tour, it does. It makes it a better place to play. Now, with players who have earned equity, and there are four more years of potential earning of equity for these players, the fact that they own the tour, if Brooks plays, it puts more money in their pocket. It’s a win for everyone.”
What will the future PGA Tour look like?
Woods and other members of the Future Competition Committee are looking ahead to 2027 and ’28, as PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has pushed his vision for ”parity, scarcity and simplicity” as a way to revamp the tour. simply put, the 2026 season might be the last time golf fans see 38 events during the FedEx Cup season.
While the changes might not come until 2028, future PGA Tour schedules figure to start later (after the Super Bowl) and finish earlier (before the NFL kicks off) and have fewer events and more off weeks. The goal, according to sources, is to get the tour back in the biggest markets in the U.S., while still playing at the most iconic courses.
“There’s going to be some eggs that are spilled and crushed and broken,but I think that in the end we’re going to have a product that is far better than what we have now,for everyone involved,” Woods said at last month’s Hero World Challenge.
The two tournaments in Hawaii are apparently in danger of being dropped because of logistical costs, as well as some other longtime tournaments.