2026 Golf Predictions
Plus some antepost action for the Majors
Happy new year, folks, and welcome to a second full season of the All Tour Golf Bets blog. As I’ve said before, this needs to be a profitable year or 2027 will look very different. But I’m confident that we can have a great year and we’re going to start off with some crystal ball gazing for the season ahead. Annoyingly, as I’ve written this over a period of days plenty of other antepost predictions have come out and some prices are under threat.
It should go without saying that this is mostly done for fun – obviously tips made closer to the time will come with knowledge of form, weather, and myriad other factors that will make a huge difference. However, I wanted to have a look at some of the main storylines that I think will bubble through the season, some of the players I’m particularly sweet on, and look at each of the majors. I’ve borrowed some KFT thoughts from my article on Out of the Rough – and my HPT thoughts are limited until I put the thought it to write for that website in due course.
Ante-post bets for the Majors
As ever, I’m placing three yankees at the start of the year – a win only, an e/w, and a top ten (with ties). I’ll quote the odds that Bet365 are offering for each of the players I pick. Needless to say, this is minimum stakes stuff – for one thing, you can’t pick players twice, so if Scottie wins two majors it is impossible to collect the full return! Unfortunately, Bet365 have dramatically cut the price of 2+ major wins for Scottie after that came in last year. I have picked out seven bets that I’m recommending as single bets, however.
Thank goodness for Augusta. We can’t expect the 2025 Masters drama again this year (or possibly ever again) but it is always a great tournament. For the punter, of course, it is the only major that is always at the same course, and a highly predictable course at that, so it is always a great betting event. At the risk of being incredibly boring – Scottie Scheffler is still too big a price at 17/5 enhanced win only, and I can’t not bet him. This is such a good course for him, he won’t come in with the favourite pressure (though I’ll probably back him in 2027 regardless) and he has thus far had a better preparation than Christmas Day last year. I was also very taken with the odds for JJ Spaun, who continues to be overlooked by the markets. I don’t think 2025 was a fluke. Yes, he’s a shorter hitter than ideal for this course but he was 23rd when a much lesser player in 2022 and I think with his approach game and excellent putting he’s value at 9/2 to make the top ten. Finally, I’ll take Hideki Matsuyama in the e/w market at 30/1 for my yankee. If he turns up in form, he’s one of the few who can truly trouble Scottie here.
The PGA takes us to Aronimink and that means that putting is critical – though good iron play is of course still essential. That already limits a number of the top players. I think Xander Schauffele is returning to his 2024 form after an injury-plagued year in 2025 and this course should suit his all-round excellence. At 19/1 he’s in my yankee. Almost replacing him was Tommy Fleetwood who I think will love this challenge at he’s 28/1 with each-way prices, and that’s a definite bet for me. I was tempted to run back my 2025 Open picks (Tommy and Bobby Mac) but I think the pressure on the local lad in the north-west might play against Tommy at Birkdale, whilst this test is perfect. He’s too good a player not to grab a major at some stage. Finally, Justin Rose still has the game for major championships, can putt the lights out and is a former winner on this track. He’ll do for my top ten list at 4/1.
To my lasting surprise, the major that I’m most confident in betting this year is the US Open. We’re going to Shinnecock Hills. That means hard, long, windy and with brutal greens to top it off. The only chink in Scottie’s armour is a willingness to down tools if things get tough or “unfair” and I don’t think he’ll love this course. Whilst he can win here, I think this goes the way of the second-best player in the world. Having barely bet him in the last few years, I think that the 17/2 for Rory McIlroy is cracking value, especially if the win does blow. I also think that a New York course, playing tough and with length at a premium screams Cameron Young and the 55/1 is each-way value. Finally, I’m wrapping up my top ten yankee with Harris English who comes alive on the toughest tests and is also each-way value at 80/1.
Finally, the Open Championship is in Birkdale this year and once again I’m backing Robert MacIntyre. Bobby Mac is 10/1 to win a major (with Boylesports) and 12/1 to be top 20 in all four majors, and I thought long and hard about both bets, which are on the brink of being decent value for a player I think isn’t getting the credit he deserves as one of the best in the world and a highly versatile player. However, 28/1 to win at an Open venue that should suit the lefty particularly well is great value (and he’s 30/1 enhanced win only). I’m taking a bit of a risk in my each-way yankee with Maverick McNealy (80/1) who putts well on slower surfaces and is the sort who could easily pop up on an Open leaderboard a la Brian Harman. Finally, with putting and short game at a premium once again, I’m taking the experience of Jason Day at 11/2 for my final top ten bet.
Other Predictions:
PGA Tour:
Rasmus Neergard Petersen will be the best of the DPWT rookies. He’ll be the first since Bobby Mac to really threaten the elite and I think he’ll be in signature fields by the end of the year. I think he’ll win a PGA event this year.
The much-vaunted reduction to 100 full cards probably won’t make that much difference to the Tour in terms of playing time for the guys ranked 101-125, but I do think we’ll see fewer rookie winners than we have, and a higher number of elite players winning lesser events.
The BMW Championship in St Louis will be the worst playoff event in some considerable time.
KFT:
Topping the KFT rankings in 2026 will be… Frankie Capan III. Only a lack of starts (AKA PGA tour status) will stop him. He’s made for the easier courses of the KFT.
Other qualifiers will be Sandy Scott, Cole Sherwood, Quade Cummins, Isiah Salinda and Kris Ventura. What the hell! Derek Hitchener, too.
Scoring is going to be ever more out of control. ADdC’s record -33 will be beaten this year, and we’ll see at least ten single-round scores in the 50s.
At least one player over 40 years of age will win a tournament. So will someone under 22.
We’ll see more KFT events won by players with PGA status than ever before. Say, five events.
DPWT:
This group of HPT graduates won’t be up to the standards we’ve seen previously, but there will be some good players among them. I think JC Ritchie will comfortable keep his card, together with a few other veterans (Steinlechner, Garcia, Young, etc). Long-term, I’m really high on Oihan Guillaumondeguy but I don’t think he’ll necessarily have a Martin Couvra-like ascendency to the DPWT. He might struggle this year. Looking for an unexpected DPWT rookie to do well? Tobias Jonsson might be your man. I think he’ll win a tournament.
I will once again enjoy the Qatar Masters more than just about any other tournament – except, of course, the Hero Indian Open.
This year’s schedule looks good. I’m glad Catalunya is back, and I’m glad that we’re back at Le Golf National. Just a shame that the South African Open is at a comparatively weak course.
I have some thoughts on the DPWT cards, but they deserve a totally different section. I do think this is the year Rory doesn’t win the Harry Vardon. I think Tommy Fleetwood gets it.
LIV:
I only have two predictions for LIV this season, and one of them is for this week.
Season - I think the move to four rounds makes a massive difference, we see cream rising to the top and we see nearly all the events won by the top 5 golfers on the tour (for my money, Rahm, deChambeau, Hatton, Niemann and, controversially, Burmester). I’ll be scaling back my bets accordingly.
Promotions - Haven’t seen odds yet, but I’ll be looking to back John Catlin to win one of the three cards and probably the tournament as the classiest player in an ordinary field. Of the guys in the first round, the likeliest bet for me is Dominic Clemons who knows this area from his college days and I think is a bit better than many of these.
PGA cards from the DPWT:
If you’re not on discord, then that’s an error. Much better golf interactions than twitter these days. Out of the Rough is good, and so is Gambler’s Paradise. Let me know if you want invitations to either. Through that, I have a season-long bet with Titanic Gambler (follow him on twitter too) about the ten players most likely to win DPWT cards. We shared these with each other before the season started, which makes us both look like idiots as Jayden Schaper isn’t on either list. His list will be posted in his bold predictions this week which I can’t wait for! However, for the record, here are my ten:
· Daniel Hillier
· Matt Wallace
· Angel Ayora
· Wenyi Ding
· Oliver Lindell
· Sam Bairstow
· Alejandro del Rey
· Casey Jarvis
· Jesper Svensson
· Martin Couvra
Recommended bets:
Scottie Scheffler, Master, 2pts win only, 17/5
JJ Spaun, Masters, 2pts top ten (including ties), 9/2
Tommy Fleetwood, PGA, 1pt e/w (1/4 odds 5 places), 28/1
Rory McIlory, US Open, 2pts win only, 17/2
Cameron Young, US Open, 1pt e/w (1/4 odds 5 places), 55/1
Harris English, US Open, 1pt e/w (1/4 odds 5 places), 80/1
Robert MacIntyre, Open, 1pt e/w (1/4 odds 5 places), 28/1
Just for fun!
Win only yankee: Scheffler (17/5), Schauffele (19/1), McIlroy (17/2), MacIntyre (30/1)
E/w yankee: Matsuyama (30/1), Fleetwood (28/1), Young (55/1), McNealy (80/1)
Top ten (including ties) yankee: Spaun (9/2), Rose (4/1), English (9/2), Day (11/2)
Here’s to a great 2026 for all of us and loads of winning bets, beginning with some of these!