Golf is back! The PGA TOUR kicks off the 2026 season at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Thursday, the first of 33 straight weeks of golf until the TOUR Championship at the end of August.

It’s a long season full of twists and turns. This time a year ago, Rory McIlroy was still chasing the career Grand Slam. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele were sidelined with injuries, and the eventual emergence of Ben Griffin and J.J. Spaun was being predicted by nobody.

That’s the beauty of golf. Its fickleness is its advantage. It’s always what makes predicting it so difficult. But what’s the fun of a season preview without predicting what might unfold? That’s the goal today. PGATOUR.com’s experts sat down to preview the upcoming season. Read below for their takes on the biggest storylines, breakout candidates and award winners.

The storyline you are most excited to watch unfold in 2026 is …

Will Gray, senior manager, TOUR & Golfbet editorial & distribution: When does the Scheffler train slow down? The world No. 1 had an amazing 2024 season and somehow found ways to eclipse it in ’25. The longer he’s able to maintain an elite standard, the more realistic the Tiger Woods comparisons become — perhaps more so than anyone since Woods. With seemingly no weakness and a game built for any layout, how he starts the year will be topping my interest list.

Sean Martin, senior manager, content development: What will Scheffler do next? We’re at four consecutive Player of the Year awards, and there’s no reason to think a fifth won’t be coming. Scottie’s 2024 got a lot of attention because it included an arrest and a gold medal, but Scheffler’s injury-delayed 2025 was just as good. It’s relatively safe to assume he won’t get arrested or shatter a wine glass on his hand in 2026, so there’s no reason not see another season with five or more wins and another major (and maybe even the completion of the career Grand Slam).

Rob Bolton, Golfbet insider: Because “excited” is baked into this first-pitch softball, is there really another right answer other than continuing to enjoy what it’s like to live in Scheffler’s world right now? Unless you’re a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, you don’t get to let the performances of the best players at their best wash over you as often as Scheffler has treated us. It electrifies fans as much as it unites us. Sign me up for another season.

Paul Hodowanic, staff writer: Watching whether Scheffler can maintain his pace is certainly high up there, but since Sean and Will covered that, let’s go a different direction. I’m fascinated to see if someone will legitimately push their way onto the same tier as Scheffler and McIlroy. Schauffele was there to start 2025 and never got back on track after the injury. Tommy Fleetwood needs a major to get on their level. Justin Thomas is injured. Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa are all battling their swings. Can any young name insert themselves in the conversation? No player under age 26 ended the year inside the top 25 of the OWGR. Will 2026 be another year of the “Big 2,” or can someone challenge them?

Who will have the most TOUR wins: Scottie, Rory or the field? Explain ...

Hodowanic: I’ll be the contrarian again here. McIlroy was pacing ahead of Scheffler until the Masters. After he finally grabbed his green jacket, he took his foot off the gas. That won’t happen this year, and McIlroy narrowly edges out Scheffler.

Gray: I’ve spent too much time over the last two years fading Scheffler as a short betting favorite, so I’ll give him the nod here. McIlroy won, but that tied for his most TOUR wins since 2012. His globetrotting schedule means he’ll have fewer reps than Scheffler and others. Getting to four wins would be a monster year, even for accomplished players like Schauffele and Fleetwood, yet it somehow feels like the floor for Scheffler.

Bolton: Yeah, same. My holiday gift to anyone who would listen was to share how, if you bet exactly $100 on Scheffler to win in every start in 2024 and 2025, you’d have netted $2,780. Now I wait until those same family members thank me in the next holiday season.

Martin: See above. I think Scottie all the way.

The player primed for a Ben Griffin-like breakthrough is …

Martin: Michael Thorbjornsen. Uber-talented since his high school days. Already one of the TOUR’s best ball-strikers. I think a little more experience, some work on his putter and wedges, and I think we will see him get that first win. He already has three top-three finishes on TOUR.

Hodowanic: Sean and I are again on the same wavelength. Thorbjornsen started to figure it out at the end of 2025. I’m expecting a lot from him. He was the first name that came to mind, but another for consideration: Pierceson Coody. Flamed out a bit in his rookie year in 2024, but is back on TOUR after running through the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s got all the talent in the world, he’s healthy and he knows what to expect.

Bolton: Since it’s too soon to circle Bennett Scheffler, Scottie’s 20-month-old son, my pick is Max Greyserman. Like Griffin at this time a year ago, Greyserman opens 2026 with zero PGA TOUR titles, but he’s picked off, count ‘em, five runner-up finishes in his first two years as a member. Interestingly, if not eerily, he slots at No. 49 in my full-membership fantasy ranking, the same position where Griffin sat ahead of his epic 2025.

Gray: Rico Hoey. Griffin started 2025 ranked No. 68 in the world, and Hoey currently stands at No. 69. His putting struggles have been well documented, but the switch to the broomstick putter unlocked some quick results in the fall. Hoey might be the only guy on TOUR right now that can stand toe-to-toe with Scheffler on ball-striking stats, so he’ll only need a little traction on the greens to grab a breakthrough win — and maybe more.

The player most likely to win their first major in 2026 is …

Gray: Viktor Hovland. The pieces don’t always align for the Norwegian star, but when they do, he has as much upside as anyone on TOUR. Hovland seems to have bounced back from some of the lows he endured last spring, and while his tinkering won’t cease anytime soon, he has posted at least one top-five finish in a major each of the last four years. This time, he gets across the finish line.

Bolton: Although I’ve cited a different European for a specific major at the bottom, I’m shocked none of the other guys mentioned reigning FedExCup champion Tommy Fleetwood. Somehow, the Brit has ascended as naturally as whatever the opposite of effortlessly is. The point is that his rise to victory at the TOUR Championship was as seamless as it was overdue. He has seven career top-five finishes in the majors, including at least one in each since 2022.

Martin: Viktor Hovland. He ended his winless drought at last year’s Valspar Championship and posted a top-four finish in a major for the fourth consecutive year (third, U.S. Open). Having settled on Grant Waite as his swing coach, he seems to be moving in the right direction again.

Hodowanic: Cameron Young. He’s already got six top-10 finishes in majors, and he clearly elevated his game over the second half of 2025, culminating in a standout performance at the Ryder Cup. We’ve seen that be a launch pad into greater success. Young fits the mold and has the profile to contend on any setup.

Give us one more bold prediction for 2026 …

Hodowanic: How’s two because I just teased one? Cameron Young wins a major championship in 2026, and so does Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler’s major victory comes at the U.S. Open, completing the career Grand Slam.

Gray: I feel like my call for Robert MacIntyre at Augusta National (below) should count, but I’ll keep the takes coming. Not only does Adam Scott qualify for the U.S. Open to make his 100th straight major start, but he finds a way to snag major trophy No. 2 in 2026.

Martin: Jackson Koivun pulls a Ludvig Åberg and makes the Presidents Cup team. Koivun has a PGA TOUR card waiting for him when he turns pro. Should he do so this year, he’ll continue his strong play on the PGA TOUR and play his way onto the Americans' Presidents Cup roster.

Bolton: Sam Burns wins the 20th FedExCup. Fresh off a season during which the 29-year-old led the PGA TOUR in putting, he rolls what was a strong second half of 2025 into what will be a career-defining 2026. He appeared in each of the last five TOUR Championships, so he knows his way around East Lake Golf Club. That plays up especially with the entire field opening at even par.

Rapid-fire round: Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, PLAYERS champion, Masters champion predictions

Martin:

• POY: Scottie Scheffler
• ROY: Jackson Koivun
• THE PLAYERS champion: J.J. Spaun
• Masters champion: Scottie Scheffler

Hodowanic:

• POY: Scottie Scheffler
• ROY: Johnny Keefer
• THE PLAYERS champion: Akshay Bhatia
• Masters champion: Ludvig Åberg

Gray:

• POY: Scottie Scheffler
• ROY: Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson
• THE PLAYERS champion: Collin Morikawa
• Masters champion: Robert MacIntyre

Bolton:

• POY: Scottie Scheffler
• ROY: Kristoffer Reitan
• THE PLAYERS champion: Robert MacIntyre
• Masters champion: Ludvig Åberg