17 Big Name Golfers Poised To Challenge For Their Maiden Major Title In 2026
Who are the best golfers yet to win a Major in the men's and women's games? Here are 17 players we expect to contend in the biggest tournaments next year...
There have been six first-time Major winners in the men's game over the past five years and four of the five women's Majors were won by first-timers in 2025 - so who could be next?
We take a look at 17 of the best players yet to win a Major in the men's and women's game who are among the favorites to get over the line for the first time next season, and let us know in the comment section who you think will become a Major champion next year...
Tommy Fleetwood
- Major appearances: 41
- Major top-10s: 8
- Best result: 2nd (2018 US Open, 2019 Open)
Tommy Fleetwood is the player who many consider to be the best golfer yet to win a Major after arguably the best season of his impressive career to-date.
The Englishman has risen to a career-high of the 3rd in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning his maiden PGA Tour title at the Tour Championship, which saw him claim the FedEx Cup, as well as the DP World India Championship.
He also had two runners-up finishes plus two third-places, and was the best of all 24 players at the Ryder Cup. After finally winning in America, he looks likely to contend for a Major next season.
Jeeno Thitikul
- Major appearances: 27
- Major top-10s: 9
- Best result: 2nd (2025 Evian Championship)
While many will point to Fleetwood as the best player yet to win a Major, it is very difficult to look past Jeeno Thitikul.
The Thai superstar is ranked No.1 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking for the second time after winning four tournaments in 2025 as well as the LPGA's Vare Trophy for scoring average, after beating Annika Sorenstam's previous record.
She will feel like she should be a Major champion already, had it not been for Grace Kim's eagle finish at the Evian Championship this summer. Kim then eagled the first playoff hole to steal the title from Thitikul's grasp.
At the age of 22, she has seven LPGA Tour victories and five wins on the Ladies European Tour.
Viktor Hovland
- Major appearances: 24
- Major top-10s: 5
- Best result: T2nd (2023 PGA Championship)
Hovland is undoubtedly one of the men's game's top players who hasn't yet won a Major, and you feel he will get over the line at least once in the coming years.
The Norwegian has struggled with his game over the past two seasons, where he has been making swing changes, but he still managed to win on the PGA Tour this year and finish 3rd at the US Open.
He has seven official PGA Tour victories and two DP World Tour wins after winning the US Amateur Championship prior to turning professional.
Charley Hull
- Major appearances: 60
- Major top-10s: 10
- Best result: 2nd (2023 AIG Women's Open)
Hull rose to a career-best of 5th in the world rankings this year despite another season going by without a Major win.
She did win her third LPGA Tour title, though, where she pipped World No.1 Thitikul in a dramatic finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship.
The Englishwoman has come close so many times from a huge 60 Major appearances, with a best result of solo-2nd at the 2023 AIG Women's Open along with three other T2nd finishes.
Tyrrell Hatton
- Major appearances: 42
- Major top-10s: 7
- Best result: T4th (2025 US Open)
Hatton is probably a better player than his Major record suggests, with the Englishman proving over the last few years that he is one of the world's top golfers.
He went the closest he has ever done in a Major this summer when he contended right up to the late stages in the US Open before a costly bogey-bogey finish dropped him back to T4th.
The LIV player has shown wherever he plays, whether that's individually or in the Ryder Cup, that he is good enough to mix it with the best so he is certainly someone who could pick off a Major or two in the coming years.
Lottie Woad
- Major appearances: 8
- Major top-10s: 3
- Best result: T3rd (2025 Evian Championship)
The fact Woad is on this list shows just how special a player she is.
She has only played in eight career Majors, and seven of them where while she was still an amateur...then in her maiden Major as a pro at the AIG Women's Open she went in as tournament favorite.
She won twice in July on the Ladies European Tour this summer after a phenomenal amateur career, which included winning at Augusta, so she is almost nailed on to be a Major champion in the future if she can keep on the same trajectory.
Ludvig Aberg
- Major appearances: 8
- Major top-10s: 2
- Best result: 2nd (2024 Masters)
Ludvig Aberg is another who turned pro after a glittering amateur career, and the former Texas Tech man went on to win twice in his first few months as a pro - once in Europe and once in the US - as well as starring for Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup.
He did so having not played in a single Major and went on to finish 2nd in his first ever appearance at the 2024 Masters.
He hasn't had the best of seasons after winning the Genesis Invitational in February but he will likely bounce back fairly soon. Aberg is surely another who looks to be a Major champion in waiting.
Rose Zhang
- Major appearances: 21
- Major top-10s: 3
- Best result: T8th (2023 KPMG Women's PGA Championship)
Rose Zhang is the player who had the greatest amateur career in this list, with a win at Augusta, three years as World No.1, two Curtis Cup victories, the NCAA Division 1 title and more Stanford wins than Tiger Woods.
She went on to win in her first start as a pro on the LPGA and despite a poor season in 2025 plagued by injuries and her schoolwork, she is still only 22.
Zhang has already played in 21 Majors, including eight before she turned pro, and probably has an underwhelming record in them. That will surely change in the coming years as when she's on form, she is very difficult to beat.
Russell Henley
- Major appearances: 44
- Major top-10s: 5
- Best result: T4th (2023 Masters)
Henley is somewhat of a veteran at the age of 36 but he has taken his game to a new level over the past year.
The Georgian made his Ryder Cup debut at World No.3 following a season of consistent play and the biggest win of his career at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He only has five top-10s in 44 Major appearances, but they've all come in the last three years. 2025 may have been his peak and go down as the best season of his career, but if not then he is certainly going to keep knocking on the door in the Majors.
Haeran Ryu
- Major appearances: 19
- Major top-10s: 5
- Best result: 5th (2024 Chevron Championship and Evian Championship)
Haeran Ryu has emerged as arguably the best Korean golfer in the world after winning the LPGA Rookie of the Year title in 2024.
It looked like she would become a Major champion this year when holding the Chevron Championship lead after 54-holes before stumbling to a T6th result.
She is only 24 and already has eight professional victories, three on the LPGA and five on the KLPGA.
Joaquin Niemann
- Major appearances: 26
- Major top-10s: 1
- Best result: T8th (2025 PGA Championship)
Niemann has a baffling Major record with just one top-10 from 26 appearances, something that is becoming somewhat of a monkey on his back.
His quality cannot be denied, though, with five LIV Golf victories this year in a career that includes two other LIV Golf wins, two PGA Tour victories and wins at the Australian Open and Saudi International.
He has been a top player for many years now so will surely begin to contend more at the Majors over the coming seasons.
Linn Grant
- Major appearances: 19
- Major top-10s: 4
- Best result: T8th (2022 Evian Championship)
Linn Grant saw her close friend Maja Stark become a Major champion at this year's US Open so she will surely be inspired and confident to go and do the same in the near-future.
Grant has emerged as one of Europe's top players, with two DP World Tour wins in the co-sanctioned Scandinavian Invitational highlighting her class.
She is now a stalwart of the Solheim Cup team and recently won her second LPGA Tour title at the Annika. She is also a Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner and has a solid Major record so far without challenging for the win...yet.
Robert MacIntyre
- Major appearances: 19
- Major top-10s: 5
- Best result: 2nd (2025 US Open)
Many thought MacIntyre would become a Major champion in June when he finished strong at the US Open to set the clubhouse lead late on Sunday. JJ Spaun's birdie-birdie finish took the title away from him but he will have learned a lot from that day at Oakmont.
The Scot has climbed into the world's top 10 for the first time this year and appears to have grown in stature as one of the game's top players.
He recently won the Dunhill Links Championship to add to his two PGA Tour titles so could well challenge for more Majors in the future.
Rio Takeda
- Major appearances: 9
- Major top-10s: 3
- Best result: T2nd (2025 US Women's Open)
It has been an historic last 18 months for Japanese women's golf, with Mao Saigo and Miyu Yamashita winning Majors this year following on from Ayaka Furue's maiden triumph in 2024.
Rio Takeda could well be the next Major champion in waiting, with the 22-year-old boasting an incredible 10 professional victories already.
She won on the LPGA Tour in November 2024 and again in March, and her Major record is strong from just nine appearances with a T2 at the US Women's Open and T4 at the AIG Women's Open this year.
Cameron Young
- Major appearances: 18
- Major top-10s: 6
- Best result: 2nd (2022 Open)
Cameron Young finally won on the PGA Tour in impressive fashion at the Wyndham Championship after finishing 2nd on seven occasions.
He then shone in his long-awaited Ryder Cup debut, where he was arguably the USA's best player in New York.
Young has come close at Majors on numerous occasions, notably at the 150th Open at St Andrews, so he is certainly a player who could be hoisting one of the big trophies fairly soon.
Angel Yin
- Major appearances: 49
- Major top-10s: 9
- Best result: 2nd (2023 Chevron Championship)
With the LPGA seemingly getting younger and younger, Angel Yin is now an experienced head with almost 50 Majors under her belt.
She has spent time inside the world's top 10 this year after a solid season, where she won her second title at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Yin has had some close calls in Majors through the years, notably at the 2023 Chevron Championship where she bogeyed two of her final three holes to fall into a playoff, which she lost against Lilia Vu.
Ben Griffin
Griffin won his third PGA Tour title of the year at the World Wide Technology Championship
- Major appearances: 7
- Major top-10s: 2
- Best result: T8th (2025 PGA Championship)
Ben Griffin has had a superb season in 2025 to become one of the sport's real breakout players.
He won three times on the PGA Tour and made his debut for Team USA at the Ryder Cup, while he also finished inside the top-10 at both the PGA Championship and US Open.
His fearless style of play means he makes a lot of birdies, and he's clearly very good at getting over the line when in contention towards the late stages of tournaments.
Which of these 17 players do you think will win Majors next year? Let us know in the comments section...
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