It is almost the new year, and for a sport that has been accused (fairly) of being stuck in the past and allergic to change, golf has hit the accelerator in recent years. Which sets up 2026 to be interesting in ways that extend beyond the golf course and who wins what major.

The Athletic’s golf staff made two predictions, highlighting the possibilities for what we can expect on and off the course.

Scottie Scheffler will not complete the career Grand Slam

At this point, it’s just easier to presume Scottie Scheffler will win any golf tournament he deigns to enter, and after winning two majors in 2025, he’s now three-quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam. The U.S. Open is all that eludes Scheffler from becoming the 10th man to win it, and the seventh in the modern era. Fresh off Rory McIlroy’s own entry in golf’s most exclusive club, it’d be entirely too easy to assume Scheffler just takes care of business at Shinnecock Hills this June and does it in his first try. To that, I only caution that it took McIlroy more than a decade to win the Masters, and eight all-time greats, with names like Palmer and Trevino and Watson, all ended their careers one major short.

Success at the U.S. Open has eluded Scheffler comparatively. He has four top-10 finishes and twice in the top three, but I dare you to point to a moment on any Father’s Day where you seriously believed him to be the eventual champion. He’ll figure it out, but I like his chances better at Pebble Beach in 2027 than I do on Long Island in 2026. — Hugh Kellenberger

Scottie Scheffler will complete the career Grand Slam

It’s a little uncomfortable to admit, you know, given the nine-win 2024 and the two-major run of 2025, but Scheffler is only getting better.

When we look back on Scheffler’s peak, I think we’ll realize the three months starting this time last year as he recovered from hand surgery were the strangest outliers in an all-time apex. He talks often about the offseason being where he adds things to his game, works on his body and tries to take another leap, and the infamous ravioli incident shuttered that all-important stretch. For three months, his driver took a (relative) dip and the little details like distance control took time to recover.

But if you take a step back and look at the entire picture, his putting became an all-world strength. His overall tee-to-green game was right back at 2024 levels down the stretch. And now? In theory, he’ll have that offseason he didn’t get last year. Ruh roh.

If there were two (quite contrived) critiques left of Scheffler last, they were that he hadn’t proven himself on a links course, and he sometimes struggles to meet the erratic, incalculable tests of certain U.S. Open venues. Well, he dominated the Open at Portrush so handily that he removed any doubts about that. Next, he’ll head to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock looking to both complete the career slam and remove the final question mark. Let’s keep in mind he’s finished T7 or better at four of the last five U.S. Opens, so the narrative is a little silly. But even more importantly, he will likely be preparing for this all offseason. Good luck.