Woods, McIlroy, Scheffler, Korda, Hull – an A-Z of golf in 2026

Will Shinnecock Hills again prove a controversial major venue? The past two US Opens there have been extraordinarily eventful.

In 2004 the greens became so hard they were almost unplayable and in 2018 Mickelson resorted to hitting a putt on the move, preferring a two-shot penalty to hitting his ball off the 13th green. What will June bring at the venerable but capricious Long Island venue?

Could Tiger Woods be in the field? Sadly the 15-times major-winning great is still recovering from his latest back surgery. His influence will surely be greater off the course – planning a revamped PGA Tour schedule and perhaps taking over the US Ryder Cup captaincy.

The US Women’s Open will be a fascinating week at LA’s Riviera Country Club, a great venue that will hold the golf events at the 2028 Olympics.

Brendan Valdes is another young American left hander worth watching as he embarks on a full PGA Tour season for the first time. The 22-year-old enjoyed a stellar college career at Auburn where he amassed a record 558 birdies and already has a tour top-10 to his name.

The AIG Women’s Open returns to Royal Lytham and St Anne’s at the end of July, where Georgia Hall was the champion in 2018. Could this be a forerunner to the Lancashire links staging the men’s Open which was last held there 14 years ago? We still do not know where the 2028 championship will be held.

X has to be Xander Schauffele because, well, where else could I go? But the American must be due to rediscover the form that brought two majors in 2024 and render last year’s injury-induced inconsistency a mere blip in a fine career to date.

Cameron Young showed at the Ryder Cup that he is built for the big time. Ensconced in the world’s top 20 and now with a long awaited tour win under his belt, expect the New Yorker to push for top-10 recognition in 2026.

And with the sad recent death of Fuzzy Zoeller, Will Zalatoris must carry the banner at the end of the alphabet.

Having returned from his latest back surgery, at an event in South Africa at the end of last year, there are many fans desperate to see a sustained recovery.

The popular 29-year-old says his latest return is a “rebirth” and is now hoping to add to the six major top-10s he accrued between 2020 and 2022.