Register every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors who cover the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week we discuss another victory for Tommy Fleetwood, a unique tournament venue, the latest LPGA champion and more.
Tommy Fleetwood won the DP World Championship in India. earning his second win in his last four starts (not to mention dominating the Ryder Cup). Now that he's no longer worried about his first PGA Tour win (other than world No. 1), is there a player poised for a more dominant performance in 2026 than Fleetwood?
Josh Berhow, Contributing Editor (@Josh_Berhow): The stars appear to be aligned for Fleetwood's breakthrough. He had a few problems even before he finally won the Tour Championship, so the last few months have not been a fluke. This guy can hit the ball with the best of them and that's a good way to always stay in contention. But it's also important to remember that guys have gotten hot before and looked ready to blow up the golf world, only to fade away. (Viktor Hovland won back-to-back playoffs in August 2023 and didn't win again for 19 months.) I don't expect 2026 to be like the Scotties, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fleetwood gets two or even three wins next year.
Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): It's amazing how victories so often beget new victories. Fleetwood is the latest example, not necessarily because his play is better than a year ago, but more because he leads the Tour in SG: Confidence. We'll see if that magic continues with him in 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 be.” But yes, if you answer that question, he has an incredibly good chance for 2026. Another guy I'm really excited to see in action next year: Cameron Young. It will be interesting to see whether an impressive Ryder Cup will give him a chance for sustained confidence.
Jessica Marksbury, Senior Editor (@jess_marksbury): When players get hot in the fall and winter, it's always interesting to see if they can maintain the momentum into the next summer main season. Although, as Josh said, Tommy doesn't appear out of nowhere. He was a favorite in the majors even before his PGA Tour breakthrough. But Tommy seems to be especially strong during Ryder Cup years. So let's get back to it in 2027! As for next year, I'm looking forward to another solid European: Alex Noren, who won two DP World Tour titles this year and is projected to earn his PGA Tour card for next season.
“>
Fleetwood beat a handful of stars to win at the tight Delhi Golf Club where it was reported that 42 percent of the field played without a driver. Should the PGA Tour visit more courses where players are forced to be more strategic off the field? And how often?
Berhow: Delhi Golf Club is a pretty extreme example – I don't want Rory to score zero drivers! – but it definitely needs to happen more often, as playing smart, strategic golf and hitting the clubs that may be required on the course is as much a skill as bombing a driver all over the area. This also gives more players a chance. A few years ago I remember Kevin Kisner listing a list of courses that he thought he couldn't win on simply because of the distance required to tee. How realistic this is is another question. Selecting a tour location involves a lot of logistics—sponsor, TV production, etc.—and sometimes the type of golf course isn't always the top priority.
Bastable: Power should be a competitive advantage in golf, so yes, it would be unfair to suddenly add a bunch of tighter, more tree-lined courses to the Tour schedule. However, this week in New Delhi was a fun reminder that there are more than one way to test elite players who can hit a 330-yard driver, and some players actually seem to be up to the task. “I like courses like this better because you just hit different clubs more often,” Ben Griffin said earlier in the week, “whereas in America we're so used to hitting drivers and wedges a lot more often.”
Marksbury: Playing golf without a driver is something I will never be able to understand! Several years ago, a USGA official told me that the goal of preparing the course for the U.S. Open was not to provide the most twisty challenges, but to ensure that players used every club in the bag during the tournament. I like this idea and definitely support promoting more courses (or programs) where possible. Six or seven times a year would be nice.
Rory McIlroy was among the players who did not allow the driver to be left out, finishing 26th in India. When the course structure limits drivers, is McIlroy at the biggest disadvantage?
Berhow: Although Scottie Scheffler leads the Tour in strokes gained: From the tee, I think most would argue that McIlroy with driver in hand is one of the best performances in golf, and it may be the only club that gives one player an advantage more than any other (Scottie with an iron is second?). However, Rory didn't win a career Grand Slam by just hitting a driver, but he probably did the most to achieve it.
Bastable: I think it probably had less to do with the setup not suiting McIlroy's skill set and more to do with the target style of golf actually suiting the other players, especially Tommy Fleetwood, who said the course was “perfect for me.” Interestingly, if you look at McIlory's 10 misses for the week, most of them weren't caused by accidental tee shots, but by missing greens or pins on the wrong side.
Marksbury: I agree with both my colleagues. Eliminating the driver is a bummer for a player with such skill on the tee. But at the end of the day, you make a lot more approaches and putts than you do off the tee. So whatever advantage McIlroy lost, in my opinion, it was still minimal.
Sei Young Kim won the BMW Women's Championship to become the 27th different winner on the LPGA Tour this season, which has only had one two-time winner this year (Gino Titikul, who won her second event a week ago, LPGA Shanghai). With only five tournaments left, how do you analyze the current race for Player of the Year?
Berhow: Gino Titikul is the clear favorite as she is the only player with multiple wins and has had a great season after these weeks. She missed just one shot all year and finished in the top 10 12 times. Since everything is decided based on points, the CME Group Tour Championship could end up deciding everything. We didn't have that drama last year when Nelly Korda ran away with it.
Marksbury: I agree, Josh. This 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, Gino may only have two wins, but she fought almost every time she took her first steps, had four runner-up finishes, and would have been very deserving of the crown, even without a major title this year.
Bastable: To put Gino's consistency into perspective, she is 120 points ahead of second place player on the Rolex list, Nelly Corda, while Corda is only 20 points ahead of third place, held by Minjee Lee. In other words, Titikul is way ahead of its peers. The only blemish on her 2025 resume was the US Women's Open, where she missed her only season of the year.
Playing for the first time since he withdrew from Sunday's singles and recalled the Ryder Cup's controversial “envelope rule,” Viktor Hovland called the situation “frustrating“, but added that he doesn't see an easy solution to this rule. Okay, fair. But what Ryder Cup rule would you change?
Berhow: Easy – choose matches like at the Presidents Cup, where the captains rotate their options. This way, while the captains are playing catch, we can add a little more drama to the event. (And a drama that doesn't have boneheaded fans.)
Bastable: In the event of a tie in singles, a three-hole aggregate score play-off will be scheduled to select one player from each team as selected by the respective captain. However, unlike the envelope rule, playoff representatives will be selected in advance. The captains will choose them at that point so that if they wish, they can nominate not necessarily their best player, but their hottest.
Marksbury: The Ryder Cup is almost perfect, but I don't like the “hold” rule if there is a tie. We need results! The envelope should be used to nominate one player from each team to compete in the surprise playoffs for the entire tournament.
