A Look at the First 3 Winners of the 2026 PGA Tour Season
The 2026 PGA Tour season features more than 40 tournaments, including eight signature events and the 20th edition of the FedEx Cup. The 111th season of the world's premier professional golf tour began in January with several intriguing storylines, most notably whether anyone will be able to dethrone Scottie Scheffler as the best golfer on the planet. Scheffler, a 19-time winner on the PGA Tour, has won four consecutive Player of the Year awards, but should face stiff competition from the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Viktor Hovland. There are also several promising young players, like Michael Thorbjornsen and Max Greyserman, who are poised for breakthrough seasons.
On top of that, the PGA Tour introduced a Returning Member Program for rival LIV Golf players who meet performance-based criteria. This allowed for the return of Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed in 2026.
Here's a look at the winners—and some other notable players—in the first three tournaments of the 2026 PGA Tour season.
Chris Gotterup (Sony Open in Hawaii)
American Chris Gotterup won for the third time on the PGA Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii, shooting a final round 6-under 64 to secure a two-stroke victory over Ryan Gerard. His three critical birdies on the back nine of Oahu's Waialae Country Club allowed him to emerge from the field of contenders after 54-hole leader Davis Riley went four over in a three-hole stretch. Gotterup finished the tournament at 16-under 264 and improved his Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to No. 17.
Gotterup won his first PGA Tour event as a rookie in 2024 in the opposite-field ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. Last season, he won the Genesis Scottish Open with a 15-under 265, beating favorite Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge by two strokes. Gotterup's power off the tee was on display at Waialae as he routinely hit 330-yard drives and led the field in strokes gained off the tee (4.352), but it was ultimately his putting that helped him prevail. He made 20- and 25-foot birdie putts on No. 12 and No. 13 and made another birdie on the par-3 No. 17.
With the win, Gotterup has put himself in contention for a spot on the US Presidents Cup team. He missed the cut in all but four of his first 12 starts last season, but has since won twice and survived to see the weekend in 16 of his last 17 starts.
Meanwhile, Gerard finished second after a strong finish in which he birdied three of the final four holes. Patrick Rodgers and Robert MacIntyre, who had the low score (63) of the final round, finished tied for third.
Scottie Scheffler (The American Express)
Scheffler continued the dominant display of golf he has shown for the last few years in his first start of the 2026 season, winning The American Express at La Quinta Country Club's famed Pete Dye Stadium Course in California. Scheffler finished 27-under 261, earning the first-place $1.66 million prize and 500 FedEx Cup points. Jason Day, Gerard, Matt McCarty, and Andrew Putnam finished T2, four shots behind Scheffler.
Scheffler's triumph in the second event of the season marked his 20th career victory on the PGA Tour and seventh win in his last 13 stroke-play events. Only two other players—Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus—have won 20 times, including at least four major championships, before turning 30. Scheffler's 20 wins also grants him lifetime status on the PGA Tour.
"Every time he tees it up he's right around the lead," said Day, a former world No. 1. "And that is one of the most difficult things to do, to always stay hungry to the point of not being satisfied. It's very easy to get satisfied out here. You win a couple of times, you're like, 'Well, I'm kind of relaxed and I can coast for a little bit.' And it seems like he never wants to relax."
One of Scheffler's playing partners, Blades Brown, also drew significant attention at The American Express. The 18 year old, who typically plays on the Korn Ferry Tour, trailed 54-hole leader Si Woo Kim by just one stroke before a disappointing final round dropped him to T18, for which he still earned his largest payday yet, $93,000.
Justin Rose (Farmers Insurance Open)
Veteran Justin Rose recorded a dominant victory at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, while Kim registered his second consecutive top-five finish. Rose concluded the tournament with a modest 2-under 70 in the final round, but that was enough to not only win the tournament by seven strokes, but also break the 72-hole tournament record (23-under 265) established by Woods in 1999. After the round, Rose said he was well aware that the record was in reach and that it was all he focused on during the final three holes.
Rose, 45, was also the first wire-to-wire winner at Torrey Pines since Tommy Bolt in 1955 and, with the victory, moved to No. 3 in the OWGR. Vijay Singh, in September 2008, was the first to be ranked that high past 45 years of age.