It's not uncommon for pro golfers to win a big tournament one week and then skip out on the next week. It often occurs when someone wins a major and in the wake of celebrating such a massive achievement, a little extra R&R is too good to pass up.
In 2026, three of the four major winners didn't play the following week. Some of the others on this list WD'd after winning for the first time, also a significant milestone in one's career.
No one ever blames golfers who do this. It's just noticeable when they do.
Golfers who skipped the next tournament after winning in 2026
Jacob Bridgeman backed out of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches after winning the biggest (to date) tournament of his career at the Genesis Invitational.
Rory McIlroy didn't officially WD from the RBC Heritage, which was played the week
after he won his second green jacket at the Masters, because he was never officially in the field. Nonetheless, he didn't play in a PGA Tour signature event the week after his major win.
Surprise PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai withdrew from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson after his victory at Aronimink.
J.T. Poston's victory in the Memorial Tournament at Jack's Place was a landmark title for him, but it led to WD'ing from the RBC Canadian Open.
Ryan Fox, who was 56th in the OWGR and scheduled to play the 3M Open, WD'd from that event hours after he won his first major at Royal Birkdale at the 2026 Open Championship.
Michael Thorbjornsen won his first PGA Tour event at the Rocket Classic and hours later pulled out of the regular-season finale at the Wyndham Championship.
Austin Smotherman, in career start No. 100, won the Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort and later took his name out of the next event, the Baycurrent Classic. Geography might have contributed to his decision, as southern Utah is about 5,600 miles away from Yokohoma Country Club, the site of the only PGA Tour stop in Japan.
Todd Kelly is an assistant managing editor at Golfweek.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Austin Smotherman is the latest golfer to WD after a big win on PGA Tour
