Augusta National Women's Amateur, Fleetwood Picks New Sponsor And The Fastest Drive Ever Recorded: This Week In Golf

This Week In Golf: Our regular look at the biggest stories in professional golf, tournament previews and other key details you need to know.

Last week saw several brilliant stories unfold as Gary Woodland earned his first PGA Tour victory since the 2019 US Open and Hyo Joo Kim held off Nelly Korda for the second week in a row to land the Ford Championship.

It was also a crucial few days for those chasing a spot at Augusta, with one of the final qualification windows closing after the Texas Children's Houston Open.

As the build-up to The Masters continues to dominate the headlines, we're here to remind you that there are plenty of other narratives to follow right now.

Below are all of the key storylines to follow this week as well as recap on the most notable events to have already happened since Monday morning.

AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

Shortly before The Masters, it is tradition for the Augusta National Women's Amateur to commence, with an elite field of 72 amateurs competing over 54 holes of stroke play.

Once again, Champions Retreat Golf Club will stage the opening two rounds on Wednesday and Thursday before a rest/practice day takes place on Friday at Augusta National.

Finally, the leading 30 players will do battle at Augusta National on Saturday in a bid to land one of the most prestigious trophies in golf.

In 2026, 48 of the world's top-50 will be in action, including World No.1 Kiara Romero and past champions Tsubasa Kajitani (2021) and Anna Davis (2022).

TEXAS OPEN

This is it, the final PGA Tour event prior to The Masters. The Valero Texas Open represents the last chance anywhere on earth to qualify for the year's first men's Major championship.

Notables competing for a last-gasp Masters start this week include Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and Billy Horschel.

Held at TPC San Antonio, winners of the Valero Texas Open in recent years have included Brian Harman, Akshay Bhatia, Corey Conners, JJ Spaun and home-state favorite Jordan Spieth.

The last non-North American champion of this event was Steven Bowditch in 2014. The Australian shot eight-under and triumphed by one stroke to earn $1.16 million. Whoever wins in 2026 will land a spot at The Masters and a check for $1,764,000.

Several players have already withdrawn, though, including Woodland, last week's runner-up Nicolai Hojgaard and Pierceson Coody - grandson of 1971 winner Charles.

ARAMCO CHAMPIONSHIP

The Aramco Championship is taking place for the first time in 2026 and will form the biggest tournament in women's pro golf this week.

A 72-hole strokeplay event which has been co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and LET, the Aramco Championship therefore has a Major-like field competing against each other shortly before the first official Major of the year.

Each of the world's top-20 are involved at Shadow Creek as the Saudi-backed PIF Global Series puts up another huge prize fund for the women's game, with $4 million on the line in Nevada.

INTERNATIONAL SERIES STARTS

This week sees the Asian Tour's International Series begin in Japan at Caledonian Golf Club near Chiba, east of Tokyo.

The Asian Tour currently has eight elevated tournaments which ultimately offer LIV Golf cards to the leading pair of pros at the end of the season.

Most of the International Series events have a $2 million prize purse before the $5 million PIF Saudi International which closes the campaign in November.

Current LIV players Richard T. Lee, Yosuke Asaji and Miguel Tabuena are in the field, as are other familiar names such as Sangmoon Bae, Kieran Vincent, Jinichiro Kozuma and Chieh-po Lee.

THE MASTERS FIELD ALL BUT FINALIZED

As previously mentioned, last week represented the final chance for tour pros to earn their spot at the year's first men's Major via the OWGR top-50.

However, no one from outside the cut-off line made it in once the rankings were updated on Sunday night, leaving Nicolai Hojgaard, Matt McCarty, Jake Knapp and Daniel Berger as the final four players to lock up a tee time having not been exempt via any other category.

FLEETWOOD PICKS HAT SPONSOR

No, it's not a full apparel deal, but Tommy Fleetwood has picked out a new hat sponsor this week. The popular Englishman has signed with investment management company Blackstone as its first ever global brand ambassador.

Fleetwood moved away from Nike at the start of the season and has been rifling through pro shops like they're going out of fashion ever since. However, while there is still no full apparel deal in sight, the head of the World No.4 will remain protected by the Blackstone badge for the foreseeable future, it would appear.

FASTEST DRIVE EVER RECORDED

If you thought Bryson DeChambeau was capable of cranking his driver and unleashing hellfire down on golf courses, wait until you see this guy!

Australia's Thomas Fliniks is a world long-drive golfer and recently wondered if he might be able to break the all-time speed record after practicing his extraordinary talent.

It turns out, he absolutely can. The previous record belonged to the USA's Ryan Winther, who smashed a drive 217.1mph back in 2013, but the new record is now owned by Fliniks after the Australian was recorded firing a drive at a truly remarkable 235.1mph in February.

For context, the average ball speed on the PGA Tour with driver in hand is 175mph while the top-ranked pro - Aldrich Potgieter - is top with a tickle under 190mph. My back hurts just thinking about all of this...

MINI TWIGS - WHAT ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka will team up for the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans after Rory McIlroy decided not to play this year
• Jack Nicklaus will join Amazon Prime Video's inaugural Masters coverage as a special guest
• Royal Porthcawl in South Wales has been announced as the host of the 2027 ISPHS Handa Senior Open Championship
• Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait was released on Amazon's Prime Video, with the feature-length documentary showing the Northern Irishman's life-long pursuit of a Green Jacket
• Gary Woodland shot up to World No.51 following his emotional Houston Open victory on Sunday
• Ping has unveiled its new Scottsdale TEC putter line with 'onset hosel' options and a new alignment system
• Jason Kelce has been confirmed as part of ESPN's Masters broadcast team, with the former Super Bowl-winning Eagles centre taking up the role as on-course reporter during The Masters Par 3 contest