Schupak: What I want to see on the PGA Tour in 2026 (Spieth? Aberg?)

We’re just making the turn on the decade that is the 2020s and already seen some incredible golf history made. What would I like to see happen in 2026 on the PGA Tour? Glad you asked.

When the season begins in Hawaii for potentially the last time, let’s start off with a bang with a banging winner like Jordan Spieth. He hasn’t won in more than three years and the golf world is just better with him in the trophy hunt. He’s shown some flashes of brilliance at Waialae, so why not end the winless drought right out of the gate?

Others overdue to get back to the winner’s circle in 2026 include 45-year-old Adam Scott (since 2020 Genesis Invitational); Patrick Cantlay (since 2023 BMW Championship); Shane Lowry (since 2019 British Open as an individual); Webb Simpson (since 2020 RBC Heritage); and Sungjae Im (2021 Shriners Children’s Open).

The American Express will be its usual birdie-fest but here’s hoping it won’t be kryptonite for Scottie Scheffler. He’s played there five times without a win, even missing the cut once, but could notch his 20^th PGA Tour title. I wouldn’t put it by him shooting a sub-60 round in the dome-like conditions. Scheffler will keep rolling in 2026 and he’ll get renewed competition from Xander Schauffele, who was sidetracked by an early-season injury in 2025 but showed he hasn’t forgotten how to close with a fall victory in Japan. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Schauffele win the Masters, which would mean both he and Scheffler could complete the career Grand Slam at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. It had been 25 long years since Tiger Woods had achieved that feat before Rory McIlroy did so in 2025. Could we see it in back-to-back years? Wouldn’t put it past Scheffler, but would be quite the story if he and Schauffele duked it out on the back nine Sunday on Long Island and Phil Mickelson, who only needs the U.S. Open title too, gave chase.

The other name who might make life at the top tough for Scheffler is Ludvig Aberg. He’s contended in his first two appearances at the Masters and I think his game could work at any of the four majors. If he can tighten up his short game, I believe he's the guy who could eventually dethrone Scheffler as world No. 1 (though it won't happen in 2026). Wouldn’t it be cool if the Swede won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he also won the 2025 Genesis Invitational? Even cooler? Torrey has always favored the bombers and there wouldn’t be a lot of dry eyes if Gary Woodland won for the first time since the 2019 U.S. Open and after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor. 

I’d like to see J.J. Spaun prove 2025 wasn’t a fluke and for Keegan Bradley to play his way onto the U.S. Presidents Cup. Here’s hoping Max Homa finds his mojo again. I want to see Billy Horschel and Sahith Theegala bounce back from injury-riddled years. I want to see FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood win a full-field event in the U.S. and contend for the British Open back home in England. I want to see Johnny Keefer, who won the money list on PGA Tour Americas and Korn Ferry Tour in his first two years as a pro, make it to the Tour Championship and have a chance to win the FedEx Cup. I want to see a Monday qualifier win – long live Monday qualifiers. I want to go a year without a press release informing me that Tiger had another surgery. Instead, let’s see him win a few times on PGA Tour Champions and why not No. 83 on the big tour while we’re at it. While I’m making outlandish wishes, how about giving the Charlie Sifford exemption into the Genesis Invitational to Charlie Woods? He’s a few years older than Tiger was when he made his Tour debut at Riviera. Charlie made the AJGA All-American team and it’s inevitable that some tournament is going to give him an exemption. Might as well be at the tournament his dear-old dad hosts and in honor of the golfer he was named for.

Would love to see Rory McIlroy add to his major total and leave little debate to who is the greatest European player of the modern era. How about a young American emerges as a star for the Presidents Cup team – be it Michael Brennan, Luke Clanton, Michael Thorbjornsen or a player to be named later.

I want an ace at 16 at the WM Phoenix Open, preferably late on Saturday afternoon and a playoff to extend through the first quarter of the Super Bowl. Can we get a live look-in of new Tour CEO/former NFL exec Brian Rolapp as that is happening? 

I want four days of glorious sunshine at Pebble Beach. That may be too much to ask for – how about Maverick McNealy, whose dad was a regular at AT&T Pro-Am, making an early case for making the U.S. Presidents Cup team?

Here's hoping the Cognizant Classic has a single-digit winner. PGA National Resort’s Champions Course played as a pushover last year, surrendering a 59 to Jake Knapp. That shouldn’t happen. Good place for a first-time winner such as Max Greyserman, who played there during his formative years.

Rickie Fowler is eligible for the Arnold Palmer Invitational again and here’s hoping he shows up and takes the title. And for the opposite field Puerto Rico Open, let’s see Rafa Campos, who skipped last year to play in the API as a sponsor invite over Fowler, finally prevail at home. That would be quite a story and as you may know those of us in the press tent root for the best story.

Big picture, I’m wishing for more of an open shop and that the concept of "scarcity" touted by the new boss at the Global Home doesn’t do away with too many long-running tournaments that are embedded in the fabric of their community; every decision doesn't have to be about the bottom line. Speaking of decisions, how about announcing a merger with LIV or that negotiations are officially over? The fans deserve some closure. Wishful thinking? Certainly, but that’s the beauty of the New Year – it’s a season of new possibilities before history gets made.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Schupak: What I want to see on the PGA Tour in 2026 (Spieth? Aberg?)