Golf can sometimes struggle for space when competing against other sports and its huge names.
But while week in, week out it won’t always hit the headlines, here are seven events that would put golf front and centre.
Could any of these happen in 2026?
Brooks Koepka winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open
Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour from LIV has caused much controversy even though it’s come with several stiff financial penalties. After rather treading water on the breakaway tour, the five-time major winner will be particularly keen to show he can still cut it and there would be no better place to cause a storm than at the most attended and rowdiest tournament in golf – the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Koepka is a two-time champion at TPC Scottsdale and loves the febrile atmosphere. There would be wild scenes if he could claim the hat-trick.
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler battling down the stretch in a major
One of golf’s great appeals is that so many different players can win. But the downside of that is we very rarely get two great players fighting it out with each other on the back nine of a major.
Men’s tennis had its best players duking it out in the final at almost every Grand Slam in the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic-Murray era so what a spectacle it would be to see the world’s top two players separating themselves from the field and going at it down the stretch in a major. Scheffler v McIlroy… bring it on!
Charley Hull winning a major
Charley Hull’s skill as a golfer and popularity/influence away from the course makes her a lightning rod for the women’s game. So social media would really erupt up if the 29-year-old from England could land a first major title.
She’s come close before, finishing runner-up four times including at two of the last three British Opens. The 50th edition of the event takes place at Royal Lytham and St Annes later this summer.
Another Englishwoman, Georgia Hall, lifted the silverware the last time it hosted in 2018 but a win for Hull would really be a massive boost for the women’s game.
Bryson DeChambeau winning The Masters
Perhaps DeChambeau might get more clicks for his YouTube channel by doing something extra crazy like hitting a ball in space or taking on Donald Trump in a special challenge in which both try to get a hole-in-one by hitting shots over the top of the White House to a putting surface in the shape of Greenland.
But, sticking to golf, what a sensation it would be if one of the game’s biggest characters could win The Masters. He’s getting closer, with sixth (2024) and fifth (2025) in the last two years.
An Englishman winning The Open
Nick Faldo was the last English winner of an Open way back in 1992 so it’ll be 34 years of hurt for the home players when the year’s final major takes place in July.
That’s way too long but there’s a massive story waiting to be written this summer. Tommy Fleetwood used to sneak onto Royal Birkdale as a kid so it would be a fairytale for the Englishman to lift the Claret Jug there in 2026.
And having risen to No.3 in the world rankings and finished second, fourth and 10th in three of the last six Opens, that Hollywood script is far from a fantasy.
Andy Murray qualifying for The Open
Murray is currently obsessed with golf having retired from tennis in 2024. The Scot’s handicap has come down quickly and he revealed recently that he’s now playing off 1.4.
Murray admits he’d like to have a go at Open regional qualifying and, who knows, if his rapid improvement continues, could he make an impression and give himself a shot at playing in an Open Championship? Maybe this year is too soon but one day…
Tiger Woods making a return and leading a major
No-one in golf can move the needle like Tiger Woods and it’s a huge shame that more back surgery has prevented any sort of comeback in 2025. Tiger turned 50 in December so is now eligible for the Champions Tour.
While nothing is certain, imagine a world where Tiger does manage to return and shows all his skill, guile and mental fortitude to lead after 18 holes of a major.
Ideally it would be The Masters where he has a lifetime invitation but even if he set the pace in a Seniors major, that would be massive news, putting golf at the very front of every news bulletin and lighting up social media.
The post 7 stories that would shock the world in 2026 appeared first on Golf365.
Article Link: Charley Hull and Andy Murray could shock the golf world in 2026