Scotty’s Slam Search, Women Battle Riviera, Philadelphia Summer of Freedom: Golf Events to Circle the Calendar for 2026

Remember when the January 1st bowl game hit a period at the end of the college football season? Or was it when the Super Bowl was always held in January? Or did your year of professional golf start with spectacular views of Kapalua and the Maui coastline?

The sports calendar has changed dramatically over the past decade, and 2026 looks set to be even more eventful. The College Football Playoff doesn’t end until Jan. 19, the Super Bowl will be held on Feb. 8, and for the first time in decades, the PGA Tour won’t tee off until mid-January.

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The latter reason is unfortunate. Water supply issues in Kapalua forced the cancellation of the Sentry, the season’s first $20 million signature event. The season begins on January 15th with the Sony Open in Hawaii at the historic Waialae CC. However, considering the various rumors that the tour could be rescheduled by next January, this seems like a rather fitting start.

Rocky start aside, Scottie Scheffler shows no signs of slowing down in 2026, and it’s shaping up to be a very exciting golf season, with a major championship at one of golf’s most prestigious venues, three top-level international team tournaments, and the persistent question of what the PGA Tour will look like in 2027 and beyond.

For your reference, here are some of the most important dates of the year of golf.

HGV Tournament of Champions, Orlando, Lake Nona CC (January 29 – February 1)

The LPGA begins its season after an unusual 25-year season that featured 29 different winners on tour. Three-time female champion and world No. 1 Gino Seakle is unsurprisingly dominant and remains the most formidable player on tour. Another featured storyline: When will Nelly Korda win after being skunked this year? Heading into HGV, she will start 21 consecutive competitive matches without lifting a trophy. This isn’t a “slump” – the world No. 2 has nine top-10 finishes this season – but even with as many wins as Korda, the drought remains a headache.

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LIV Golf Opening Round, Riyadh GC, Saudi Arabia (February 4-7)

Charles Laberge/LIV Golf

LIV begins its fourth season, with the entire tournament taking place under the lights of the Saudi capital. The leadership at the top of the league has been completely revamped, and the big change on the course is that LIV will be competing in a 72-hole event for the first time in hopes of convincing the Official World Golf Rankings Committee to award ranking points to players. Perhaps just as importantly, will American golf fans care? LIV remains a microscopic presence among U.S. TV viewers, with FOX viewership averaging a paltry 338,000 in 2025. With the departure of five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, no impactful offseason signings, and the fact that only four of the 12 tournaments currently scheduled for 2026 will be held in the United States, prospects for improvement appear slim. After events in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and Mexico City, the league will finally arrive in the United States (at Trump National in Virginia) in early May, at which point the PGA Tour will already have 17 tournaments. In terms of home scorers, Victor Perez was LIV’s biggest acquisition of the offseason, while Henrik Stenson is certain to leave, and at least before the LIV promotional event (January 8-11), relegated players Andy Ogletree and Mito Pereira (the latter announcing his retirement at the age of 30).

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Genesis Invitational, Riviera CC, Los Angeles (February 19-22)

Tragic wildfires in Los Angeles in February threatened Riviera Country Club, host of Genesis, and while the golf course and its historic clubhouse were spared, the nearby Pacific Palisades community was largely destroyed. The Tour had to move its marquee event south to Torrey Pines, but it was Ludvig Aberg who won it. He plans to defend himself on the Riviera, where locals are celebrating his return, but he’s not immune to the fact that those most affected by the Los Angeles wildfires are still a long way from getting back to normal.

Players Championship, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra, Beach, FL (March 12-15)

Rory McIlroy’s playoff win over J.J. Spaun at TPC Sawgrass in 2025 was, in hindsight, quite a foreshadowing for the rest of the season. McIlroy won the Masters and career Grand Slam a month later, and Spaun shocked the world with his victory at the US Open. After two straight wins at The Players, Scottie Scheffler struggled to get going and settled for T-20. This was his last finish outside the top 10 at The Players. the rest season. Revenge may be his.

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Masters, Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia (April 9-12)

augusta national

Rory was crying from the bottom of her heart. You’re not above it. Until now. There’s no scenario more likely than McIlroy achieving a career slam, so we’ll have to be content with the usual beauty and drama at Augusta National. The list of major winners who are late for the green jacket is pretty decent: Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and Jason Day.

Chevron Championship, TBA (April 23-26)

Curiosity about the LPGA’s first major of the season grows each year. Chevron will move the tournament from the California desert closer to its home base in Houston in 2023, and after three years at Carleton Woods, the LPGA announced it would move the event to another venue in the area, although it has not yet announced the location. The rumored spot is the Municipal Memorial Park Golf Course, but the tour’s official schedule still says it’s “to be determined.” Our plea to the places where they settle: Please don’t try to recreate the Poppy Pond dive from the Dinah coast again. It’s embarrassing.

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U.S. Women’s Open, Los Angeles, Riviera CC (June 4-7)

Carlos Amoedo

Four months after the PGA Tour returned to the Riviera, the USGA closed a much longer gap. Incredibly, one of America’s greatest courses hasn’t hosted a professional national championship since 1948, when Ben Hogan won his first U.S. Open at Rib. The USGA ended the drought by awarding the 2031 U.S. Open to Riviera, but not before hosting the U.S. Women’s Open for the first time. “I think just being in Los Angeles has an opportunity to put a brighter spotlight on women’s golf, and I think it’s going to be great,” said USGA Chief Championship Officer John Bodenheimer. “LA is the entertainment capital of the world. It’s Hollywood, the culture, the food, the beaches. And when you play a little closer to prime time (in the East), there’s nothing like being on the West Coast.”

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PGA Championship, Aronimink GC, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania (May 14-17)

PGA of America

It’s a great summer in Philadelphia. The nation’s 250th anniversary will be celebrated on July 4, and a few weeks before that, golf will be on stage at the 107th PGA at Aronimink, 35 miles from Independence Hall. Designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1896, Aronimink has hosted a variety of important championships, although not the U.S. Open. The PGA of America has supported the sport for decades, with Gary Player winning the first and only PGA Championship held here in 1962, John Jacobs winning the 2003 Senior PGA, and Sei-young Kim winning the 2020 Women’s PGA. Aronimink has hosted three PGA Tour events in the past 15 years, and the champions include several potential sleepers for this year’s PGA. Justin Rose (2010 AT&T National) and Keegan Bradley (2018 BMW Championship). Scottie Scheffler won by five strokes at Quail Hollow to become the defending champion.

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US Open, Shinnecock Hills GC, Southampton, New York (June 18-21)

Copyright USGA/John Mummert

Few venues have more ties to USGA history than the 134-year-old layout near the eastern end of Long Island. Shinnecock Hills hosted the second-ever U.S. Open in 1896 and has hosted it five times since then. The last time it was held was in 2018, when Brooks Koepka defeated Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke to win his second consecutive U.S. title. This is obviously interesting, as Fleetwood enters his 26th campaign as one of the most high-profile players on the planet. The USGA and Shinnecock want to avoid controversy more than they are worthy winners. The 2004 U.S. Open was marred by windy winds and unplayable greens, resulting in a final round scoring average of 78.7. In 2018, a frustrated Phil Mickelson caused a rules uproar when he stroked a ball toward the hole that was about to roll off the green. Mickelson ended up finishing with a 10 and was criticized by fans for essentially giving the middle finger to Rules and the USGA. “Brace yourselves. That’s not what I meant,” Mickelson said after the game. “I just wanted to get to the next hole.”

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British Open Championship, Royal Birkdale GC, Southport, England (July 16-19)

Richard Heathcote/R&A

Aside from its immaculate Art Deco clubhouse, Royal Birkdale, ranked 17th among Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Courses in the World, is not as instantly recognizable as some of Britain’s other famous courses, but its championship history rivals all but a few. Among the British Open winners are Peter Thomson (twice), Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara and Padraig Harrington. You may remember Jordan Spieth, the last champion in 2017. His struggle with an unplayable lie on Sunday and his final five holes at 5 under to seal Game 3 of his career Grand Slam are legendary. Broken record: Scotty Scheffler defends with a four-stroke victory at Royal Portrush.

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Tour Championship, East Lake GC, Atlanta (August 27-30)

The FedEx Cup Playoffs get off to the usual start with the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis (August 13-16), then the BMW Championship (August 20-23) takes an interesting turn at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Tour pros last competed in the PGA in 2017, when Brooks Koepka held off Tiger Woods, and Camilo Villegas won the tour’s final playoff event at Bellerive in 2008. Then it was off to East Lake, where Tommy Fleetwood won the final race for the first time in seven years without a staggered start, making it one of the great stories of this year’s Tour.

Walker Cup, Lahinch GC, Lahinch, Ireland (September 5-6)

Wait, isn’t the Walker Cup a biennial event? Wasn’t it just played at Cypress Point? The answers are yes and yes, but the USGA and R&A decided to move it away from the same year as the Ryder Cup, resulting in the Walker Cup being held back-to-back. The last two venues are the legendary St Andrews and Cypress Point, but Lahinch has not succumbed to its history. Originally designed by Old Tom Morris, it was redesigned in 1927 by Alistair Mackenzie. Though considered too compact to host a major championship, Lahinch nevertheless won the 2019 Irish Open, won by Jon Rahm. The Great Britain and Ireland team needs some home-field magic. Their last win was against Royal Lytham & St Anne’s in 2015.

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Solheim Cup, Bernardus Golf, Noord Brabant, Netherlands (September 11-13)

Maddie Meyer

Dutch women’s golf has few notable players, but Anne van Dam has played in both the Olympics and the Solheim Cup. But the Netherlands will still get the chance to host Solheim, which will be defended by the American team that defeated Europe in Virginia in 2023. Europe will aim to win their third straight home title or maintain their cup status. After two games with the same captain, both teams have new leaders. Angela Stanford will lead the American team and Anna Nordqvist will lead the European team.

Presidents Cup, Medina CC, Medina, Illinois (September 24-27)

Evan Schiller/Medina Country Club

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Considering US Sunday’s devastating loss in the 2012 Ryder Cup, the PGA of America is very brave to field Medina in the Presidents Cup. But this time we’re talking about the International being the enemy, so we know how it goes no matter where they play. The United States has 13 wins, the International has one win and one tie. The 2023 Presidents Cup in Montreal had a lively and sometimes volatile atmosphere, but nothing like the fan disaster at the Bethpage Ryder Cup. Thanks to good captains Brant Snedeker and Jeff Ogivery, we hope both presidents continue to be more amiable little brothers.