From Aronimink to Zalatoris - an A-Z of golf in 2026

It could be a struggle for this golfing year to match the tumultuous highs of 2025, but there is still plenty to look forward to in the coming 12 months.

For sheer drama and tension, Rory McIlroy's career Grand Slam completing Masters victory along with Europe's Ryder Cup success made the past year one of the most extraordinary in living memory.

Here's my A to Z guide on what to look out for from the venues, players and issues likely to make headlines in 2026.

Aronimink stages its first men's major since 1962 when Gary Player won the US PGA Championship at the Pennsylvania course. Situated in the western suburbs of Philadelphia this historic layout stages its second PGA in May.

The 2020 Women's PGA was won there by Sei Young Kim and it has twice held PGA Tour events in recent times; Keegan Bradley winning the BMW Championship in 2018 and Justin Rose was the AT&T champion in 2010.

Given the Englishman's penchant for success on classic courses and the fact that he won the 2013 US Open at nearby Merion, Rose could be one to watch at the year's second men's major.

A significantly altered Royal Birkdale is the venue for this year's Open Championship. The seventh hole has been converted into a short par three, the 14th reverts to being a par five and there's a new short 15th on one of the most atmospheric and challenging courses on the Open rota.

There is no Ryder Cup this year, but Cups will command plenty of attention. The Solheim Cup goes to the Netherlands for the first time and expect Anna Nordqvist's Europeans to make a strong bid to regain the trophy in September.

Great Britain and Ireland defend the Curtis Cup at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Under the astute leadership of Catriona Matthew, GB & I are holders with a chance of posting only their second away win.

Dean Robertson retains the captaincy of the GB&I men's amateurs when they seek to win back the Walker Cup at Lahinch in September.

And expect the United States' pros to rediscover their foursomes and fourball prowess when Brandt Snedeker leads them against Geoff Ogilvy's Internationals in the Presidents Cup at Medinah in September.

Men's golf remains a game Divided with no sign of any coming together between the PGA Tour and the breakaway LIV Golf League. It is hard to see any resolution in 2026.

The Evian Championship has always seemed the fifth of the five women's majors but Grace Kim's dramatic play-off win over Jeeno Thitikul last year put the French event firmly on the map.

A strong European showing this July could help continue the improvement in the tournament's standing.

If you are looking for a young gun to take the game by storm, David Ford could be your man. The 23-year-old lefty from Georgia turned pro last year after topping the PGA Tour University rankings following a record seven wins in his college career.

Following McIlroy's accomplishment last April, we are back on career Grand Slam watch. Yes, Jordan Spieth just needs the PGA and Phil Mickelson the US Open, but the most likely to become the seventh slammer is Scottie Scheffler.

After his Open and PGA victories last year, the world number one needs just the US Open to join McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen in golf's most exclusive club.

Houston, Texas remains a major venue but the Chevron Championship moves from Carlton Woods to the city's Memorial Park course. The April major comes a month after the men's Houston Open - will this public layout recover in time to be a fitting venue for the world's best female players?

An Italian job looks the most likely alternative if Luke Donald relinquishes the European Ryder Cup leadership with Francesco and Edoardo Molinari providing a compelling captaincy combo.

A decision is likely by April, and Donald has yet to rule out trying to lead Europe to a third successive win.

The continental captain will only do it if he can have his strongest line-up, so much rests on the hearing that will decide whether LIV stars such as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will remain members of the DP World Tour.

Early 2026 has to yield Judgement day on this thorny issue as they appeal against sanctions for playing LIV events without official tour permission.

Brooks Koepka continues this theme because the European circuit looks the most likely place for the five times major winner to continue his career after leaving LIV.

Lottie Woad has to guard against second season syndrome after her explosive start to professional life. The 21-year-old Englishwoman only turned pro last summer and is already 11th in the world rankings. She is the most exciting emerging talent in the British game.

Every year we wonder about Major breakthroughs and 2026 could be the year for Brits Tommy Fleetwood and Charley Hull. Southport's Fleetwood will relish a local Open at Birkdale but also the US Open at Shinnecock Hills where the current world number three was second to Koepka in 2018.

Hull has stated majors are her priority after finishing second at last year's AIG Women's Open, her fourth runner-up finish at a major.

Nelly Korda is still number two in the world but was winless in 2025. She ended the year on a relative high by finishing third at the Tour Championship. If she can iron out putting woes she will be a worthy rival to Thitikul at the top of the rankings.

Scheffler is more than seven points clear at the top of the men's rankings. He has been at the summit since May 2023. And after six wins in 2025 it is hard to see the American being toppled as world number One any time soon.

Two Ps for you; Marco Penge and John Parry venture onto the PGA Tour for the first time as members in 2026. Both Englishmen earned the right on the DP World Tour last year and the big-hitting Penge is a particularly exciting prospect.

Quiet please! Perhaps like never before the authorities need to consider fan behaviour at major events to ensure the Royal and Ancient game continues to be played with the decorum it deserves.

Rankings will also remain a hot topic. Officials are still not ready to admit LIV's breakaway tournaments but the Saudi Arabia-funded set-up is expanding its roster to 57 players, increasing promotion spots into the league to three and switching from 54 to 72 holes. Watch this space.

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.