Early Trends in the 2026 PGA Tour Season

We’re now three events into the PGA Tour season, and other than some Europeans who annually choose to start on the DP World Tour, just about every regular member has gotten at least a rep or two.

It’s a small sample size so far, but that shouldn’t keep us from taking what we’ve already witnessed and using it to help form an opinion for wagering purposes – at least in the short-term future.

Let’s take a look at three players who have outperformed expectations and three who have underwhelmed in the first month of the season.

Trending Up

Ryan Gerard

Just before Christmas, Gerard made a business decision. Looking to secure a top-50 spot in the OWGR by year’s end, which would guarantee him a spot in the upcoming Masters, he traveled to Mauritius and played in a DP World Tour event. Gerard wound up losing in a playoff, but received enough points to accomplish that goal. And perhaps his karma is being rewarded in spades.

He finished runner-up at both the Sony Open and The American Express, then added a share of 11th place at the Farmers Insurance Open. He currently leads the PGA Tour money list and that world ranking, which was 43rd at the end of December, is now all the way up to a career-best 23rd. 

Pierceson Coody

If you didn’t see this one coming, maybe you just weren’t paying enough attention. Advanced analytics have opened our collective eyes in recent years about the long game separating players more than short game and putting. Nobody hit it off the tee better in 2025 than Coody, who topped the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy while going back and forth between the Korn Ferry circuit and the PGA Tour.

So far this season, he opened with a pair of top-20s, then posted a final-round 65 to finish in a share of second place at Torrey Pines. Don’t be surprised if his strong play continues for a while to come. 

Si Woo Kim

Every year, in the wake of a Ryder or Presidents Cup, there’s one player about whom people are buzzing, believing his play in the team competition could vault him to another level the next season. (Think Scheffler after the 2021 Ryder Cup or Cameron Young coming into this season.)

Even though he’d been around for a while, I thought Si Woo’s performance at the 2024 Presidents Cup was going to lift him into a different tier. It never really happened last year, but so far this season he’s looked the part of a top-10 type of player. He finished T-11 at the Sony, T-6 at The AmEx and T-2 at the Farmers and currently ranks third in SG: Tee to Green and 10th in SG: Total.

Trending Down

Keegan Bradley

Things didn’t work out at Bethpage the way the U.S. Ryder Cup captain would’ve liked, but the way he compartmentalized his own game throughout the campaign was truly impressive, punctuated with a win at the Travelers Championship.

Maybe he’s just worn out from the past year, maybe he just hasn’t geared up yet, but it’s noteworthy that on a pair of courses where he owns some solid history, Bradley only has a missed cut and T-43 to his name so far. It certainly shouldn’t be enough to worry him too much, but it’s at least cause for pause if you’re looking to bet him anytime soon. 

Rico Hoey

After switching to a long putter last fall, the man who’d ranked last in the PGA Tour’s putting category almost instantly started playing better. He posted four top-10s and six top-25s in seven fall starts and was a trendy selection to skyrocket up the rankings this season, especially starting out in the familiar surroundings of his native West Coast.

So far, though, he’s taken a step in the wrong direction, with a WD at The AmEx sandwiched by a T-50 and T-70. The putter has gotten cold again, as he ranks 138th in that category, but isn’t better than 80th in any other major stat, either.

Max Greyserman

We’ll remember this past week for Justin Rose going wire-to-wire at Torrey Pines, but at one point in Thursday’s opening round, it was actually Greyserman who was atop the leaderboard. The Duke product eventually shot an opening 8-under 64 at the North Course – two shots off Rose’s pace – but he followed with a 6-over 78 on the South that didn’t include a single birdie and left him on the wrong side of the cut line.

After a T-56 at The AmEx, it’s hardly some major setback for a player who’s shown a high ceiling, but it’s definitely not the start he was seeking and should leave us thinking twice before backing him in certain markets for the time being.