PGA · analysisWhat's Next on the PGA Tour: The Road from Augusta to the PGA Championship
The Masters is over, but the 2026 PGA Tour season is just heating up. Here's what to watch as golf shifts its focus to the second major of the year.
The azaleas have bloomed, the green jacket has been awarded, and Augusta National is quiet again. But for the PGA Tour, the 2026 season is far from a one-major story.
Rory McIlroy's back-to-back Masters victories have reshaped the narrative around professional golf. The question is no longer whether McIlroy belongs in the conversation with the game's all-time greats — it's how high he can climb. With six major championships and 30 career Tour wins, he's playing with the kind of freedom and confidence that makes everyone else nervous.
Scottie Scheffler, meanwhile, will carry the sting of a one-shot loss at Augusta into a stretch of the schedule that has historically been kind to him. The world No. 1 has never been one to dwell on disappointment, and his final-round 68 at the Masters proved his game is in peak form.
The broader Tour landscape offers plenty of intrigue beyond the top of the leaderboard. The FedExCup race is entering its critical middle phase, where consistent performers separate themselves from the pack. Signature Events will command the spotlight in the coming weeks, offering elevated purses and limited fields that guarantee star-studded competition.
The PGA Championship looms as the next major battleground, and the storylines write themselves. Can McIlroy carry his Masters momentum into a major double? Will Scheffler use the PGA as his redemption stage? And can a dark horse — someone like Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton, or Russell Henley — break through after strong Masters performances?
Golf's 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the most compelling in recent memory. The Masters was just the opening act.
Golf's 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the most compelling in recent memory.
