After three straight seasons with at least 30 rookies, the PGA Tour will welcome just 22 newbies to the circuit in 2026.
After three straight seasons with at least 30 rookies, the PGA Tour will welcome just 22 newbies to the circuit in 2026.
Some of this is a byproduct of only 20 (and not 30 as in year's past) graduates from the Korn Ferry Tour earning a promotion.
Last season, there were 36 and that group won five times, the most victories by a rookie class since the 2018-19 season, which coincidentally also had 22 rookies. The 35-member rookie class of 2011 has the most wins (6) since 2007, the start of the FedEx Cup era.
Rookies on the PGA Tour in 2026
- Zach Bauchou
- Chandler Blanchet
- Dan Brown
- Davis Chatfield
- A.J. Ewart
- Emilio Gonzalez
- Kensei Hirata
- Jeffrey Kang
- Johnny Keefer
- Christo Lambrecht
- S.T. Lee
- Keita Nakajima
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
- Pontus Nyholm
- John Parry
- Marco Penge
- Kristoffer Reitan
- Marcelo Rozo
- Adrien Saddier
- Jordan Smith
- John VanDerLaan
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju
The PGA Tour says:
A player’s rookie season ("Rookie Year") is defined as the season in which he becomes a PGA Tour member (including Special Temporary Members) and plays in 10 or more events as a member or finishes in the Top 100 on the Official FedEx Cup Points List or Non-Member FedEx Cup Points List, whichever occurs first.
If you were wondering why Haotong Li and Neal Shipley are not on that rookie list, it's because they are considered "first-year members", a different category per the PGA Tour, which says this category of players is "not eligible for the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award because they played in more than seven official PGA Tour events as a professional in any prior season."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: PGA Tour rookies in 2026 include Marco Penge, Johnny Keefer
Category: General Sports
