Burning Questions For The 2026 PGA Tour Season
The PGA Tour Season is well on its way as it moves to Scottsdale this week for the WM Phoenix Open, but as we anticipate some incredible performances on the course; there are burning questions occupying my mind and not all of them will be answered inside the ropes.
Is the PGA Tour about to grow through contraction?
Now that PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp and the Competition Committee’s window has closed on the returning members program to the PGA Tour, the next big item on the CEO’s list is the reimagining of the PGA Tour Schedule. The former NFL executive has suggested that the “less is more” approach may be coming as early as 2027. The concept, through the contraction of the regular season we can have the elite of the Tour compete together more often and make each week of the season more meaningful (sound familiar). With long time sponsors contracts coming to an end, and a clause in all tournament contracts giving the Tour the flexibility to adjust tournament commitments, will Rolapp, Woods and the Competition Committee “rip the band aid off” or slowly move towards a Tour schedule that’s starts the week after the Super Bowl? What will the Fall Series look like? Will there be a Team Golf component? Will their partnership with the DP World Tour deepen? Possibly the most important question for the future of the Tour, what will the path to the PGA Tour look like for those who finish outside the Top 100? These questions will all be answered (likely before the Open Championship), and one thing is for certain, Rolapp has a vision and is not interested in playing defense.
Will the flood gates open for Rors at Majors in 2026?
“Springboard”, it’s a term often overused in professional sports these days. How many times coming out of a Ryder Cup in the past 20 years did the golf enthusiasts suggest that Ian Poulter would use his European Team performance to “springboard” into personal success on Tour? In 2026 I ask that question about the games’ biggest star Rory McIlroy (sorry Tiger, active star). 2026 was possibly Rory’s best year ever, and now that he has completed the career Grand Slam winning the Masters for the first time and winning his first major in 11 years, will the flood gates open at Majors in 2026 or will we see a hangover from Rory in what is a non Ryder Cup season? He’s retooled his bag with a new TaylorMade Qi4D Driver and Fairway wood set-up, shocked everyone by moving to a cavity back P7CB iron, and to top it off is changing golf balls for a second straight season. He played well in his 2026 debut on the DP World Tour, so all current signs suggest that 2026 is “Go Time” for Rors.
How many Canadians will we see at Medinah?
Speaking of International Team Competition, The President Cup returns in 2026 at Medinah CC in Chicago (yes that Medinah where the U.S. blew a four-point lead on Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup). The International Team of the Presidents Cup has one halve and one victory in the 32 year history of the event or 15 competitions biennially since 1994. How many members of Team Canada will we see on the International Team? I would argue that we were one Canadian short in 2024, leaving Nick Taylor one of the games most clutch players at home was a misstep in hindsight. The returning Canadian regulars (Connors, Hughes, Taylor, Pendrith, and Svenson) are back in 2026 on the PGA and they are now joined by a youth injection of Sudarshan Yellemarju and AJ Ewert. Yellamaraju didn’t waste anytime finishing T13 at The Sony Open in his first event as a Tour Member. Can any of the youth on the International side, Canadian or otherwise emerge to make the team and pull off the massive upset?
Will Scottie join golf’s Mount Rushmore?
Finally, June 21st, Father’s Day, Scottie Scheffler’s 30th birthday, and the final round of the U.S. Open from Shinnecock Hills in New York. Scheffler has 3 legs of the Career Grand Slam after winning the Open Championship in 2025. Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus, Woods, McIlroy, and Scheffler? Will Scottie become the 7th player in history to join golf’s Mount Rushmore?
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