For much of Tommy Fleetwood's pro career, there was great respect for the Englishman in terms of his game and his personality, but the lack of a PGA Tour win apparently seemed to negate the seven DP World Tour victories he had managed before this year.
Despite hoards of fans continuing to back Fleetwood every week and a growing number of top-10s from the 34-year-old, there often seemed to be an underlying feeling that - until he actually crossed the line in first on US soil - his status in the world of men's pro golf could never be regarded as elite.
He famously came close on a couple of occasions in 2025 before finally breaking through at the most lucrative PGA Tour event of all, the Tour Championship, in front of Scottie Scheffler and co.
Another heroic Ryder Cup display followed as Luke Donald's men reigned supreme and Fleetwood was presented with the Nicklaus-Jacklin award.
Tommy Fleetwood poses with the Nicklaus-Jacklin award in the dark at Bethpage Black
A few weeks later and Fleetwood once again soared highest above the likes of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry and Ben Griffin at the DP World India Championship - his eighth DP World Tour title.
With the PGA Tour monkey off his back and Fleetwood seemingly in the form of his life, what might wait in store for the popular Englishman in 2026?
Could it be a Major or will he rival Scheffler on the PGA Tour? What about displacing Rory McIlroy as the Race To Dubai champion? Four Golf Monthly writers have had their say...
While it's been a phenomenal year for Tommy Fleetwood, I think regression is more likely than a first Major win in 2026.
This season, the affable Englishman has registered his first PGA Tour title, taken home the FedExCup (admittedly it was a two-birds-with-one-stone scenario), claimed a DP World Tour victory in India and played a starring role at the Ryder Cup. Quite simply, he has to win a Major to have a better year in 2026.
I'm not sure I've seen the requisite ruthlessness – in stroke play, at least – to convince me he's going to get over the line in one of golf's four big events; he wasn't really challenged on Sunday at the Tour Championship and he's faltered numerous times this year with the heat on him.
He'll also be dealing with the pressure of increased expectations. I hope I'm wrong, but if I have to choose right now whether Tommy will break his Major duck in 2026, I'm reluctantly saying no.
This year feels like Tommy Fleetwood has finally jumped up a level from a world-class player floating around the top-10 to cementing himself as one of the game’s true elite golfers in a trajectory that reminds me of Xander Schauffele’s rise to becoming a multiple Major winner.
Fleetwood had seven top-seven finishes on the PGA Tour prior to his Tour Championship win so was already one of the world’s best, and it feels like he has gained an awful lot from that week at East Lake. He was the best player at the Ryder Cup and continued that form in India.
I think he genuinely could be the next legitimate challenger to Scottie Scheffler and will cement himself as the second-best player in the world if he continues in this vein of form.
Clearly something has changed mentally and on the greens to the point where the Englishman looks a complete golfer who is near-impossible to beat when at this best.
He is easily good enough to win Majors so I would not be surprised to see him get over the line in 2026, whether that’s at The Masters, PGA, US Open or Open. His game is so well-rounded that he can win anywhere, so you have to now consider him a real contender for the biggest titles.
The way he is going it is hard to bet against him being a Major champion this time next year.
I can't deny that Fleetwood has been immense the last three months and, since his victory at the Tour Championship, he seems to be moving into that upper echelon of players who can close out tournaments when the pressure is on - something that for the majority of 2025 he seemed to struggle with.
Personally, it wouldn't surprise me to see him lift one of the DP World Tour's final events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the end of the season but, with 2026, only time will tell.
Certainly, right now, he has the game to contend for a Major next year, especially when you factor in that two of them are being held at venues where he has course form - Shinnecock Hills and Royal Birkdale.
The slight worry is that, next season, he will have the tag of people expecting him to play well and win the big events, which is perhaps slightly different to how many viewed Fleetwood at the start of 2025, where they expected him to play well and only contend.
If he continues with what he's doing, I see no reason as to why he won't be in the fray for a Major, but it all comes down to whether this red-hot form continues in the early stages of next season.
I can certainly see Fleetwood challenging for a Major in 2026, but whether he wins one or not is a different story. While it is certainly helpful that his form has improved and a PGA Tour breakthrough has been made, but you also have to remember that there are any number of other perfectly capable candidates also trying to fulfil their own Major ambitions.
Course form and his step up in winning experiences have to play some part in giving Fleetwood a chance, though, so I will confidently back the Englishman to follow in Rory McIlroy's footsteps and provide a wildly popular Major champion in 2026.
The other achievement I can see Fleetwood ticking off next term is at least one PGA Tour win. He put himself in position a number of times this year but appeared to struggle under the pressure of the situation slightly.
I find it difficult to believe that if Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley were to go toe-to-toe at the Travelers again, for example, there wouldn't be a different result this time.
In short, I fully expect Fleetwood to continue his form from the back end of this year into the next, possibly via yet another DP World Tour win in the Middle East at the back end of this season or at the start of 2026.
What do you think is in store for Tommy Fleetwood in 2026? Let us know in the comments.
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