Get the unfiltered insights from our writers and editors each week as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week, we talk about another Tommy Fleetwood victory, a unique tournament venue, the latest LPGA champion and more.
Tommy Fleetwood won the DP World Championship in India for his second win in his last four starts (not to mention his dominance in the Ryder Cup). Now that he’s no longer worried about getting his first PGA Tour victory (and barring World No. 1), is there any player primed for a more dominant 2026 than Fleetwood?
Josh Berhow, Editor in Chief (@Josh_Berhow): The stars certainly seem to be aligning for a Fleetwood escape. He had some tough times even before finally winning the Tour Championship, so it’s not like the last few months have been a fluke. The guy can hit the ball with the best of them, which is a good way to always stay in contention. But it’s also important to remember that the guys got hot and seemed ready to tear up the golf world before, only to disappear. (Viktor Hovland won consecutive playoff events in August 2023 and did not win again for 19 months.) I’m not expecting a Scottie-type 2026, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fleetwood took two or even three wins next year.
Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): It’s amazing how wins often lead to more wins. Fleetwood is the latest example, and not necessarily because his game is better than a year ago, but rather because he leads the Tour in SG: Confidence. We’ll see if that magic stays with him during the offseason. As he said on Sunday: “I know form doesn’t last forever, but I’m trying to become the most consistent player I can.” But yeah, to answer the question, he’s incredibly well-positioned for 2026. Another guy I’m excited to see in action next year: Cameron Young. Curious if his impressive Ryder Cup win will give him a sustained boost of confidence.
Jessica Marksbury, Senior Editor (@jess_marksbury): It’s always interesting when players warm up in the fall and winter to see if they can keep the momentum going into the upcoming summer main season. Although, as Josh mentioned, it’s not like Tommy came out of nowhere. He’s been a favorite pick in the majors even before his breakthrough on the PGA Tour. But Tommy seems to be especially strong in the Ryder Cup years. So let’s revisit this in 2027! As for next year, I hope to keep an eye on another solid European: Alex Noren, who won two DP World Tour titles this year and is expected to earn his PGA Tour card next season.
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Fleetwood beat a handful of stars to win at a tight Delhi golf club, where 42 percent of the field was reported to be playing without a driver. Should the PGA Tour visit more courses where players are forced to be more strategic off the tee? And how often?
berhow: Delhi Golf Club is a pretty extreme example – I don’t want Rory hitting zero drivers! – but it should definitely happen more, as playing healthy, strategic golf and hitting the clubs the course might require is a skill, just as much as bombing the driver all over the property. It also gives opportunities to more players. Years ago, I remember Kevin Kisner rattling off a list of courses he felt he couldn’t win at simply because of the distance required off the tee. However, how realistic it is is another question. There are a lot of logistics involved in choosing a Tour venue (a sponsor, television production, etc.) and sometimes the type of golf course is not always the main focus.
Bastable: Power should be a competitive advantage in golf, so yes, it would be unfair to suddenly inject a bunch of tighter, tree-filled sites into the Tour schedule. Still, this week in New Delhi was a fun reminder that there is more than one way to test the elite players who can hit a driver 330 yards, and some of the players seemed to really enjoy the challenge. “I like courses like this a lot more because you just hit a variety of different clubs more often,” Ben Griffin said earlier in the week, “whereas in the United States we’re very used to maybe hitting drivers and wedges more often.”
Marksbury: Playing a round of golf without a driver is something I will never be able to relate to! Years ago, a USGA official told me that the goal of the course setup for the US Open was not necessarily to provide the most torturous test, but rather to have players use every club in the bag over the course of the tournament. I like that idea and I’m definitely in favor of promoting more courses (or setups) where possible. Six or seven times a year would be good.
Rory McIlroy was among the players who kept the driver out of the bag and tied for 26th in India. When the field configuration limits drivers, is McIlroy at a greater disadvantage?
berhow: Although Scottie Scheffler leads the Tour in strokes gained: off the tee, I think most would say that McIlroy with a driver in hand is one of the greatest spectacles in golf, and might be the only club that gives one player an advantage more than any other (is Scottie with an iron a close second?). That said, Rory didn’t win a career grand slam by simply hitting driver, but he probably does it the most.
Bastable: I think it was probably less a case of the setup not suiting McIlroy’s abilities and more a case of the style of golf really suiting other players, particularly Tommy Fleetwood, who said the course “was set up perfectly for me.” Interestingly, if you look at McIlory’s 10 bogeys during the week, most were not caused by weak tee shots but by missing greens or pins on the wrong side.
Marksbury: I agree with my two colleagues here. Taking out the driver is a pain for a player with so much skill off the tee. But at the end of the day, you’re hitting a lot more approaches and putts than you are tee shots. So any advantage McIlroy was losing was still minimal, in my opinion.
Sei Young Kim won the BMW Ladies Championship to become the 27th different winner on the LPGA Tour this season, where there has only been one two-time winner this year (Jeeno Thitikul, who won her second event, the LPGA Shanghai, a week ago). With only five tournaments remaining, how do you assess the current race for player of the year?
berhow: Jeeno Thitikul is the obvious favorite as the only player with multiple wins, and her season has been excellent beyond those weeks. He has missed just one cut all year and has 12 top-10 finishes. Since this is decided based on points, the CME Group Tour Championship could end up deciding everything. We didn’t have that drama last year with Nelly Korda escaping with this.
Marksbury: Okay, José. That statistic of 27 first-time winners is incredible. It really speaks to how deep the talent is on the LPGA Tour, and as you mentioned, Jeeno may only have two wins, but she’s competed almost every time she’s played, had four runner-up finishes, and would be very deserving of the crown even without a major title this year.
Bastable: To put Jeeno’s consistency into perspective, she is 120 points ahead of the second-ranked player on the Rolex list, Nelly Korda, while Korda has only a 20-point lead over third place, held by Minjee Lee. In other words, Thitikul is miles ahead of his peers. The only blemish on her 2025 resume came at the US Women’s Open, where she missed her only cut of the year.
Playing for the first time since withdrawing from Sunday’s singles tournament and evoking the now-controversial “envelope rule” at the Ryder Cup, Viktor Hovland called the situation “disturbing” but added that he sees no easy solution to the rule. Okay, fair. But which Ryder Cup rule would you change?
berhow: Easy: Choose matchups like they do in the Presidents Cup, where captains alternate their selections. That way, as long as the captains play well, we can add a little more drama to the event. (And drama that doesn’t include the dumb fans.)
Bastable: In the event of a tie at the end of singles, a three-hole aggregate score playoff will be instituted, pitting one player from each team selected by their respective captain. However, unlike the envelope rule, playoff representatives would be selected beforehand. The captains will choose them on the spot and, if they wish, they can nominate not necessarily their best player, but the most attractive.
Marksbury: The Ryder Cup is almost perfect, but I don’t like the “hold” rule if there is a tie. We need a result! The envelope must be used to nominate one player from each team to face off in a sudden-death playoff for the whole thing.