Welcome to the 2026 PGA Tour schedule! And my 11th season (I think) of ‘Dawgs on Tour. There have been some changes in eligibility, changes in tournament scheduling and sponsors, changes in leadership,
and even some rule changes. And some big news on changes in Tour membership. What stays the same is golfers who matriculated at the University of Georgia will be well represented at each Tour stop. If you didn’t know, Bulldog Men’s Golf Coach Chris Haack is prolific in developing student-athletes into millionaire pro golfers.
The rule changes are minor, and mostly deal with getting relief from pitch marks, embedded balls, and preferred lies (if you want a deeper dive on them, feel free in the comments. I’m always glad to nerd out on USGA rules.). The casual fan won’t notice them and they’re not going to change play significantly.
The membership change is indeed seismic. On Monday, the PGA Tour announced a pathway for LIV golfers to regain Tour membership and privileges. It only applies to 4 golfers due to the qualifications, and has significant monetary penalties. As of this posting, only Brooks Koepka has accepted and he will tee it up in two weeks at San Diego. There are other LIV golfers who would welcome such a pathway, including Georgia’s own Hudson Swafford.
The scheduling changes were most notable last week. In September, the Tour announced the season kickoff Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua (Maui) would be canceled as the course was suffering due to a water dispute. It is bizarre and yet not surprising that manmade resorts built on a wonder of nature taken from indigenous people would cause lawsuits over use of natural resources. There is both brash and nuance in the issue – I’m just disappointed the golf didn’t happen.
So the Tour season opener is now this week, but still in Hawaii as has been the tradition. So let’s see what’s in store:
Tournament: The Sony Open, January 15-18, 2026.
Course: Waialae Country Club, par 70, 7,044 yards. A short course by today’s standards, almost completely flat topography, but tight doglegs, tall palm trees, and ocean winds can make it difficult
Purse: $9,100,000 in total, with $1,638,000 to the winner.
Defending Champ: Nick Taylor. The Canadian (whose silhouette was incorporated into the RBC Canadian Open’s logo) won in a playoff over Colombian (and Arkansas Razorback) Nico Echavarria. 10 former Bulldogs were in the field, with 4 finishing top 30 (Brian Harman, Sepp Straka, Keith Mitchell, Russell Henley) and 1 with a top 10 (Henley).
Fun Fact: This tournament is the 2nd oldest on Tour, and has been held at Waialae since 1965. Here in 1983 Isao Aoki became the first Asian and Japanese player to win on the PGA Tour.
TV Times: Thursday through Sunday, 7:00 pm ET – 10:00 pm ET.
‘Dawgs in the Field: 4. Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Keith Mitchell. Brendon Todd is an alternate.
The Sony is considered a “full-field” event, though it will only include 120 players. In an effort to make players think there’s more money to win, they’ve spread essentially the same purse to a few less players. Full Tour membership was only granted to the top 100 players from last year, and those on the outside have a complicated pecking order of using their conditional status to get into tournaments. Brendon Todd and Greyson Sigg unfortunately fall into this category. And some players were able to improve their status during the official/unofficial “PGA Tour Fall” series.
With different status of those ranked 101-125 from those 126-150 and so on, it is fairly complicated to figure out who will be eligible and get entry into any given week. The good news is that Henley, Harman, Straka, Mitchell, Harris English, Davis Thompson, and Chris Kirk should be frequent competitors, with Todd and Sigg sneaking in here and there.
If you’re head is swirling trying to keep up with the transfer portal, you resent Indiana’s success, you don’t really care for the NFL, and basketball hasn’t quite taken hold of your sports-watching attention, you can always kick back and watch some former ‘Dawgs chasing little white balls. And from the comfort of your recliner on a chilly January night. Enjoy, and as always…
GO ‘DAWGS!!!
