The PGA Tour has unveiled the eagerly awaited schedule for the regular season of the FedExCup 2026, a programme that includes 35 official tournaments, a historic return to the iconic Trump National Doral, and numerous adjustments aimed at modernising the circuit and enhancing competitiveness. The season will culminate with the 20th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs and the TOUR Championship in Atlanta, where the season champion will be crowned.
“We are excited to showcase the world’s best players competing on some of the most iconic golf courses,” says Brian Rolapp, CEO of the tour. “Inspired by our players and fans, we are accelerating the evolution of the PGA Tour and ushering in a new era of innovation on and off the course,” he adds in the official note revealing the dates and tournaments of a new season that will kick off in early January.
Return to a classic: the Blue Monster at Doral
One of the major headlines of the new season is the return of the PGA Tour to the Trump National Doral in Miami, specifically to the renowned Blue Monster course, which hosted tour events from 1962 to 2016. In 2026, it will host the Miami Championship, one of the nine designated events on the schedule, taking place from 27 April to 3 May, marking the 56th time the course has hosted a tournament on the main US circuit,
The return to Doral adds to a list of historic venues that have been part of the tour for over 50 years, such as Waialae Country Club, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach, The Riviera Country Club, Augusta National, Harbour Town, Colonial, and Muirfield Village, the latter celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Memorial Tournament.
Nine designated tournaments and more selective access
The 2026 schedule features nine Signature Events or designated events, elite tournaments that will bring together the top 50 players from the previous year in the FedExCup, in addition to those who qualify in-season through the Aon Next 10 and Aon Swing 5 rankings.
The 2026 designated events include:
The Sentry (5-11 January)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (9-15 February)
The Genesis Invitational (16-22 February)
Arnold Palmer Invitational (2-8 March)
RBC Heritage (13-19 April)
Miami Championship (27 April – 3 May)
Truist Championship (4-10 May)
The Memorial Tournament (1-7 June)
Travelers Championship (22-28 June)
It is noteworthy that three of these tournaments are organised by golf legends: Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus. These three will maintain the traditional 36-hole cut format.
Structural changes: qualification, pace of play, and opportunities
In line with the Fan Forward initiative, the PGA Tour has implemented significant changes for the 2026 season. One of the most notable is the new eligibility criteria: only the top 100 players after the 2025 fall schedule will retain full cards, reducing the previous threshold of 125. Players ranked between 101 and 125 will receive conditional status, opening the door for the 35 most competitive golfers from the Korn Ferry Tour, the DP World Tour, and the Qualifying School to have more opportunities to showcase their level on the PGA Tour.
This change, according to organisers, aims to increase the quality of the fields and the pace of play, as well as balance opportunities for new talents.
The start of the season, as every year, in Hawaii
The season will kick off in January with the Opening Drive series in Hawaii, headlined by The Sentry (5-11 January) in Maui, followed by the Sony Open (12-18 January) in Honolulu, where the new generation of rookies will debut in the first Full-Field Event of the season. The tour will then move to California for The American Express and the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
The schedule introduces some notable changes. The Genesis Invitational will return to the Riviera Country Club after being held at Torrey Pines in 2025 due to fires in California. The Truist Championship returns to Quail Hollow, and the tour will spend two consecutive weeks in Texas with the Byron Nelson and the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Additionally, there will be four weeks with double tournaments, such as the Puerto Rico Open (2-8 March) and the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic (4-10 May), which will offer the possibility of accessing designated events. Other tournaments like the ISCO Championship (6-12 July) and the Corales Puntacana Championship (13-19 July) will open the field to members of the DP World Tour as part of the strategic alliance between both circuits.
The road to the Playoffs and the Presidents Cup
The final stretch of the regular season will feature events that will determine who makes up the exclusive group of the 70 qualifiers for the Playoffs. The Wyndham Championship (3-9 August) will be the last opportunity to qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship (10-16 August), the first stop of the postseason.
Subsequently, the top 50 will advance to the BMW Championship (17-23 August) at Bellerive Country Club (St. Louis), and finally, the top 30 will compete in the TOUR Championship (24-30 August) in Atlanta, where all will start from par in a 72-hole stroke-play format implemented in 2025.
The season will conclude with the 16th edition of the Presidents Cup, from 21 to 27 September, at the Medinah Country Club, near Chicago. There, the United States team led by Brandt Snedeker will face the international team captained by Geoff Ogilvy, at a venue that has already hosted the Ryder Cup, several majors, and PGA Tour tournaments.
