The 10 best weekends to watch golf in 2026

More often than not, The Masters is probably going to top this list no matter what year it is. For us Rory fans, we want to tune in to relive the highlights from 2025 when he finally completed the career Grand Slam and see if he can replicate the magic two years running. Hello friends ... we'll see you at Augusta National on CBS in April.

Whenever the U.S. Open shows up to Shinnecock Hills on New York's Long Island, crazy things seem to happen down the stretch. Mickelson's meltdown on the 13th hole, incurring a two-stroke penalty in 2018, almost overshadowed Brooks Koepka capturing his second straight U.S. Open trophy. The same goes for Corey Pavin's epic four-wood to win it in 1995, which let Greg Norman's second collapse in a decade (1986 and 1995) at Shinnecock Hills off the hook. If you're a fan of the LPGA Tour, the Meijer LPGA Classic at Michigan's Blythefield Country Club isn't a bad second choice.

It pains me to put The Open at Royal Birkdale in third place in this ranking. I've already shared why every golfer should make watching and playing links golf a high priority in their lives. But the competition is fierce for yours and my time. The top two selections in this story move the needle just a little bit more for me. If your afternoon opens up, add the Corales Punta Cana Championship, which attracts the Tour pros who haven't qualified for The Open, to your potential watch list. Corales at the Puntacana Resort & Club in the Dominican Republic ranks among the most beautiful courses in the Caribbean.

The major championship venues of Pennsylvania - Oakmont, Merion (and others) - have always fascinated me. Watching the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., should be appointment viewing for any golf fan. A 2018 redesign by Gil Hanse reverted back to its clustered bunker style, bringing the new total to 174! The restoration effort attracted the 2018 BMW Championship and the 2020 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, but hosting a major is the pinnacle. Elsewhere, the Korn Ferry Tour's Colonial Life Classic debuts at the Woodcreek Club in Columbia, S.C., and the LPGA Tour's Kroger Queen City Championship visits the Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I know. I know. The Presidents Cup doesn't generate the madness of a Ryder Cup, but one of these days, the International team is going to shock the Americans, and I'll be watching when it does. There's no way Medinah No. 3 gives us another stunner like the 2012 Ryder Cup, right? I hope not. That American collapse, and European comeback, remains one of my most painful golf-watching memories. The LPGA Tour's Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (at Pinnacle Country Club) and the DP World Tour's FedEx Open de France (at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue, Le Golf National's Albatros Course) provide the filler.

The Players Championship is one of several weekends where the PGA Tour takes center stage as the only tournament of note the entire weekend. Whether you consider it "the fifth major" or not, it's still thrilling to watch the carnage on no. 17 and wild swings on the scorecard from hole to hole, round to round on the volatile PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

The U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club and The Memorial, a signature event on the PGA Tour at Muirfield Village, go head to head for your viewing pleasure. Most golfers outside of Wisconsin won't care too much about two-man team format in its second year at the American Family Insurance Championship at the TPC Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., but I will tune in to see which PGA Tour Champions legends pair up together and how they handle that group dynamic.

Nothing beats watching links golf, both because of the setting and the chance to wake up and watch. Seeing the best female players in the world play links golf - like at Royal Lytham & St Annes for the AIG Women's Open - is so much more valuable and entertaining for amateur golfers than watching the men. They often use similar clubs, and have similar distances into greens, on approach shots, making the strategy and ball-striking that much more interesting to follow on TV. Although the DP World Tour (the Portual Invitational at the brand new Els Club Vilamoura) and Korn Ferry Tour (the Utah Championship at Ogden Golf & Country Club) are other options, the real headliner in the more traditional TV window is the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the newly restored Detroit Golf Club's North Course.

Politics aside, the return of the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral Miami is big news for the PGA Tour. I've played the course, which hosted the Tour from 1962-2016, during its heyday hosting a World Golf Championship (2007-2016) and after Gil Hanse altered some holes and improved the whole experience. I think it deserves another extended run of tournaments. It's fun to see the pros get nervy on the water holes like the famous 18th. The LPGA Tour's Mexico Riviera Maya Open, held at El Camaleon Mayakoba, the long-time men's Tour stop from 2007-2022, and the Regents Tradition, a PGA Tour Champions major at Greystone in Birmingham, Ala., can serve as appetizers.

Making the bottom of this list is always super competitive. Most PGA Tour fans would rather watch a FedEx Cup playoff event than the RBC Heritage a week after an intense viewing session taking in The Masters the previous weekend. The secondary options this particular spring weekend, however, vault these dates into our top 10. In addition to seeing the restored/refreshed Harbour Town Golf Links for the first time, you can flip the channel to watch the Senior PGA Championship at Florida's Concession Golf Club, which is becoming more and more active in hosting high-caliber events; the Korn Ferry's Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya in Mexico and the LPGA Tour's JM Eagle LA Championship at El Caballero Country Club, a classic in southern California.

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Inside the restoration of iconic Harbour Town Golf Links