Masters Qualification Window Ends, Jon Rahm Ranked Best Player In 2026 And John Daly's Viral 'Bellyflop' Into The Desert: 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 weekend saw four exciting ends to various tournaments all over the world with a quartet of one-shot victories the obvious highlights.

Matt Fitzpatrick claimed the Valspar Championship, Bryson DeChambeau went back-to-back at the inaugural LIV Golf South Africa, Jordan Gumberg achieved a remarkable career turnaround at the Hainan Classic and Hyo Joo Kim triumphed over Nelly Korda at the Fortinet Founders Cup.

Looking ahead, the first Majors of the season in both the men's and women's games are edging ever closer and time is running out to prepare sufficiently.

So, without further ado, here is what is coming up in golf this week as well as a handful of key storylines to have already taken place.

KEY MASTERS QUALIFICATION WINDOW ENDS

The Masters takes place in just over two weeks' time and the chance to qualify is quickly running out.

Aside from the winners of the next two PGA Tour events, both of which take place in the Lone Star State, the only remaining methods of securing a tee time at Augusta National in 2026 is by receiving a special invite (which have historically been sent out by now) or by occupying one of the OWGR top-50 spots come next Monday.

As it stands, there are a number of big names in danger of missing The Masters - including Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel and Sahith Theegala. Pierceson Coody - grandson of 1971 champion Charles Coody - begins the week 51st.

TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOUSTON OPEN

Brooks Koepka and defending champion Min Woo Lee headline a strong field at Memorial Park Golf Course this week for the penultimate PGA Tour event prior to The Masters.

Scottie Scheffler was due to tee it up in his adopted home state, but the World No.1 withdrew on Tuesday as his wife Meredith has reportedly gone into labor.

There have been a multitude of other changes as well, including two extra players thanks to Koepka's inclusion. Andrew Putnam and Kris Ventura are the two pros which top the field up to 135 this week.

Meanwhile, Austin Smotherman, Cam Davis, Ryo Hisatsune, Michael Kim and Matt McCarty have all withdrawn early on. They have been replaced by Doug Ghim, Danny Willett, Jimmy Stanger, Paul Waring and Jesper Svensson.

A $9.9 million prize money payout is on the line in Texas at a public course which normally costs less than $40 to play for residents. Memorial Park is also due to host the Chevron Championship next month - the LPGA Tour's first Major of the year.

FORD CHAMPIONSHIP

Strangely, last week's winner is this week's defending champion, with Hyo Joo Kim apparently loving golf in March. The South Korean has three victories in March on the LPGA Tour, including the 2025 Ford Championship.

This time last year, Kim roared back from four strokes behind to force a playoff with Lilia Vu via an eight-under 64 , which she then won with a birdie at the first extra hole.

Whirlwind Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona hosts this time as most of the biggest players in the game ramp up their preparations for The Chevron Championship. Jeeno Thitikul, Nelly Korda and Charley Hull are all playing in the $2.25 million tournament.

HERO INDIAN OPEN

The DP World Tour's Hero Indian Open is next on the schedule, with the notoriously tough DLF Golf and Country Club hosting once more.

Eugenio Chacarra triumphed 12 months ago to claim full playing rights after only receiving the start in the first place via a sponsor's invite.

This year, there is a special guest from the PGA Tour in the field - Akshay Bhatia. The left-hander recently won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and is set to make his third-ever exclusive DP World Tour start following a missed cut at the 2020 Saudi International and a T37th at the 2025 Dubai Desert Classic.

Bhatia will be joined by LIV golfers David Puig and Elvis Smylie at the $2.55 million tournament where precious Race To Dubai points are also up for grabs - especially crucial given Patrick Reed is not in the field this week.

JON RAHM LEADS THE WAY IN 2026

According to Data Golf, Jon Rahm is leading the strokes gained metric for all male professionals in 2026 so far.

The Spaniard, who is also ranked second in the world by Data Golf compared with 28th on the OWGR list, has gained 2.71 SG: Total to lead Scottie Scheffler by just 0.04.

Rahm has begun the LIV Golf season in fine form, scoring a win, three runner-up finishes and a T5th so far. His stand-out category in terms of strokes gained is tee-to-green where the two-time Major winner has notched up 2.05 strokes on his rivals - bettered only by Collin Morikawa (2.18), Matt Fitzpatrick (2.14) and Si Woo Kim (2.13).

TIGER WOODS CONFIRMS FIRST START OF 2026

OK, so it's not a full length PGA Tour event, but Tiger Woods is back playing golf again. The 15-time Major winner was announced in the Jupiter Links line-up for matches two and three of the SoFi Cup finals on Tuesday night.

The 15-time Major winner, who admitted a return to The Masters was not off the table last month, will play alongside Max Homa and Tom Kim in match two of the final vs Los Angeles Golf Club's trio of Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Sahith Theegala.

LAGC are 1-0 up after winning 6-5 last night and can lift the SoFi Cup with victory in game two, while a Jupiter win would force a third-and-final decider in the best-of-three series later in the evening.

JOHN DALY'S VIRAL 'BELLYFLOP'

John Daly saw a little more of La Paloma Country Club in Tuscon, Arizona than he'd bargained for on Sunday after a risky shot went slightly wrong.

During the final round of the PGA Tour Champions' Cologuard Classic, Daly was videoed trying to hit a chip shot from over the back of a green while standing on a steep slope which fed into the desert.

As soon as Daly made contact with the ball, he tumbled backwards and was chased by musician Joel Cooley who was on hand to try and help.

Daly shared the video of his accident to his social media channels on Monday accompanied by the caption: "Bellyfloppin’ in the desert" and a message in the corner of the clip which read: "On today's episode of Jacka**."

Remarkably, the two-time Major winner recovered suitably to finish T29th on six-under, nine shots behind eventual champion, Steven Alker.

GARY PLAYER PRAISES LIV GOLF SOUTH AFRICA

Nine-time Major winner and Grand Slam champion Gary Player shared his praise for LIV Golf South Africa on X on Monday with a long post which also congratulated Bryson DeChambeau for lifting the title.

LIV Golf South Africa came in for widespread praise and could even go on to become a genuine rival to the PIF-backed circuit's Australian event in terms of the biggest tournament on the calendar.

In a post on X, Player said: "I must say, it fills my heart with tremendous pride to see South Africa hosting such a world-class event. This is a nation with a deep love for the game, a country that has produced champions, and a place where the spirit of golf runs strong.

"To showcase our beautiful land, our passionate supporters, and our rich golfing heritage on the world stage is something truly special."

MINI TWIGS - WHAT ELSE TO KNOW

• Sir Nick Faldo gave a positive update on his health weeks after undergoing open heart surgery in the US
• Titleist shared that its new range of GTS drivers are arriving on tour this week
• Former Ryder Cup player Chris Wood has won the MENA Tour rankings title for the season after its final two events were cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East. As a result, he has earned HotelPlanner Tour status for the remainder of this season
• It is the Sunshine Tour's final event of the season this week, the DNi Tour Championship, and whoever tops the Order of Merit afterwards will earn a spot at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, The PGA Championship and The Open. The leading player on the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit without any DP World Tour status will also pick up a card for next term while the next two in the top-10 will collect HotelPlanner Tour cards for next year