If Pro Golfers Were Stocks And We Had $100 To Spend, Who Are We Buying In 2026?

Imagine we live in a world where all professional golfers are available to buy stocks and shares in. You've just started a job as a junior associate at an investment company and you've been given $100 to start you off. Which players are you buying?

There are the blue-chip options such as Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy - players you know are going to cost a lot but they will almost certainly maintain their share price for at least the next 12 months.

Then you have golfers like Jeeno Thitikul, Jon Rahm, Nelly Korda and Joaquin Niemann who are just below that top price but are capable of featuring in the same circles as Scheffler and McIlroy.

Moving down, golfers such as David Puig, Marco Penge and Lottie Woad are clearly destined for an extremely bright future and could be worth picking up at this price before they inevitably increase in cost over the coming years.

In the comments below, let us know how you'd set up your portfolio and which players you'd be looking to buy shares in ahead of the 2026 season. To help you out, four Golf Monthly writers have written down their respective plans.

IF GOLFERS WERE STOCKS, WHO WOULD YOU BUY?

Elliott Heath

I will make Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy 40% of my portfolio to ensure some safe returns as I’m confident both will continue to dominate the top of the men’s game for the next five years.

I think Jon Rahm is one of the greats of his generation with more Majors in him so I am happy to have him making up 12.5%, which is the same as Lottie Woad who will surely be a World No.1 and Major winner very soon.

Xander Schauffele and Ludvig Aberg each make up 10%, which should give a good return on investment in the medium term. Tom McKibbin will likely continue his rise in the game, especially after that superb Hong Kong Open victory recently, and I’m happy to put 5% into the Hojgaards as at least one of them will go on to win multiple PGA Tour titles, you would think.

LIV’s two other hot prospects Joesele Ballester and David Puig, both from Spain and Arizona State University, look to be future Ryder Cuppers and two of Europe’s top players who will have esteemed careers.

I think Marco Penge could be very successful in America, and Jackson Koivun is already one of the game’s top players statistically so he should be set for a very good career, too.

At this stage I have 1% left and I am going to stick that on Anthony Kim, who just finished T5th at the Saudi International and is set on getting “1% better” each day. He could well hoist a trophy next year for the first time since 2010, which would be an amazing story and give me a return on my hypothetical investment.

• $20 Scottie Scheffler
• $20 Rory McIlroy
• $12.5 Jon Rahm
• $12.5 Lottie Woad
• $10 Xander Schauffele
• $10 Ludvig Aberg
• $5 Tom McKibbin
• $2.5 Rasmus Hojgaard
• $2.5 Nicolai Hojgaard
• $1 Jackson Koivun
• $1 Josele Ballester
• $1 David Puig
• $1 Marco Penge
• $1 Anthony Kim

Matt Cradock

There are so many players coming through the ranks right now and, following his first PGA Tour win during the FedEx Cup Fall, I think Michael Brennan is one to keep an eye on in 2026, as he possesses incredible distance and an all-round game to match.

For me, LIV Golf has the better younger talent, with Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt, Josele Ballester and David Puig worth monitoring, given that three of those players earned big wins on either the DP World Tour or Asian Tour at the end of 2025.

In the women's game, there are so many young stars already coming through and established, but I'm going for a return of Lilia Vu. The American claimed two Majors in 2023, but has struggled with injury since. She has quality in abundance and, hopefully, with a good off-season recovery, she will be back to full fitness in 2026.

• $20 Michael Brennan
• $20 David Puig
• $20 Josele Ballester
• $15 Tom McKibbin
• $15 Lilia Vu
• $10 Caleb Surratt

Paul Higham

I’m going big on some blue chip stock in Rory McIlroy. You could argue that his stock has never been, or will ever get, higher – but I also can’t see it falling too much in 2026 either.

Also, joining that exclusive Grand Slam club could just release the handbrake, and without that extra pressure on his shoulders he could easily freewheel his way to a fruitful season. We all know how well he can play when he’s swinging it free and easy.

I’m also allocating a decent chunk on Tommy Fleetwood – again he’s about as high value as he’s ever been, but his consistency down the stretch in 2025 means he’ll be up at the sharp end of leaderboards time and again in 2026. Plus, the Majors line up very nicely for him to go and win one in the coming season, which will see his stock rise to another level.

I’ve invested in a couple of Englishman who could make me a nice return in 2026 – Harry Hall knows all about the PGA Tour and if he carries on where he left off in 2025 he could have a seriously good season, while Marco Penge is more of an unknown commodity in the USA but has the game to thrive.

My speculative stock comes in the form of Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen who I’m backing to make the most of that PGA Tour card he earned in Europe.

• $50 Rory McIlroy
• $25 Tommy Fleetwood
• $10 Marco Penge
• $10 Harry Hall
• $5 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen

Jonny Leighfield

Just like the others, it makes so much sense to put a third of my investment into the most consistent golfer of this generation, Scottie Scheffler.

But I'm choosing to spend 40% of my portfolio on two players I believe will be right at the top of the women's game very soon - Lottie Woad and Mimi Rhodes.

The two former Curtis Cup teammates enjoyed extremely successful stints in 2025 with five victories between them and I can see them battling it out for LPGA Tour titles before too long. Because they've not long turned pro, I think now is a great time to invest and watch those profits bloom in the coming months and years.

Harry Hall and Marco Penge are having $10 each because I think both could contend for PGA Tour titles next year and take the next step in their careers with a view to potentially playing Ryder Cup golf in 2027.

The rest of my investment is going on five players I feel it's well worth taking a punt on. Ballester, Koivun and Tan have shown more than enough promise in their fledgling careers to justify a gamble on them, while Jayden Schaper could easily fight it out for the Race To Dubai title next year now that he has two wins under his belt.

The final player in my portfolio is Max Homa. Having fallen from such a lofty position in the game, it's surely only a matter of time until the American finds his feet again, and now could be a great time to invest in him with his price unfortunately at a modern low.

• $35 Scottie Scheffler
• $20 Lottie Woad
• $20 Mimi Rhodes
• $10 Harry Hall
• $10 Marco Penge
• $1 Josele Ballester
• $1 Jackson Koivun
• $1 Jayden Schaper
• $1 Max Homa
• $1 Shannon Tan