Underrated Potential Major Contenders in 2026

Today’s weekly professional golf update is focused on underrated potential major champion(s) and, relatedly, perhaps the most overused word in the golf lexicon. Let’s get right into it. 

I’m not sure whether this idea was born more out of a desire to talk about Tyrrell Hatton or my irritation with the liberal use of the word “underrated” in golf discourse. 

In any event, we need to roll back the use of the word. I’m tired of it. “Underrated” has become a crutch, deployed as if it has no meaning at all. Golf commentators abuse the word underrated, frequently as a preface for things that aren’t underrated in the slightest! If I hear another freaking person refer to Rory McIlroy’s short game as underrated, I may pull my hair out. His short game isn’t underrated. It’s excellent. Anyone who follows golf relatively closely knows that it’s excellent. 

When putting together the graphic above, I considered including players like Viktor Hovland or Akshay Bhatia. Instead, I decided to lead by example and cast a narrower net when invoking the word underrated. It should be used sparingly.

So today, I am writing about just one player: Tyrrell Hatton might be the most underrated golfer in the world. 

A few weeks ago, I highlighted players with early major championship success. The point was that strong early results tend to foreshadow future success. The piece was centered on Ludvig Aberg, who ranked eighth on that list by Strokes Gained per round in early-career majors. Fifth on the list? Hatton.

The Englishman missed his first three cuts in majors after turning professional. Then he rattled off a T-25, T-5, and T-10 in his next three starts through the 2016 PGA Championship. Multiple top-10 finishes in majors by the age of 24 require a special level of talent. 

From 2017 to 2022, Hatton’s major championship results were a bit of a mixed bag: three top 10s and nine missed cuts in 23 appearances. Not abysmal, but hardly elite. 

However, since 2023, Hatton’s results in majors have been both consistent and sneakily strong. In 12 starts, he’s made 11 cuts and recorded six top-20 finishes. Only Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are 12-for-12 on cuts over that span, and only six players have more top-20s – all of them major champions. 

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The obvious knock is that Hatton hasn’t had many chances to win major championships. Digging just a little bit underneath the surface, though, he’s been around the top of leaderboards more than his Wikipedia grid may suggest, especially recently. 

At the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, Hatton began the weekend four shots back of the lead. A grotesque final-round 7-over 77 dropped him to T-26. At last year’s Masters, Hatton was three shots off the 36-hole lead before a poor 3-over 75 on Saturday. And at last year’s U.S. Open, he entered the final round five back, steadily climbed the leaderboard, and missed a makeable 10-foot birdie putt on No. 16 for the outright lead. Then, Hatton received a truly terrible break. He found the rough just short of the greenside bunker on the drivable par-4 17th in a brutally difficult position. He went on to bogey 17, followed by another on 18. J.J. Spaun birdied both 17 and 18, leaving Hatton (T-4) four shots in his dust. 

I won’t go as far as to suggest Hatton was a bad break away from winning last year’s U.S. Open. But it’s fair to say that his recent major record is much more competitive than what initially meets the eye. The best way to win a major is to give yourself chances. Lately, Hatton has been doing more of that. 

He’s a four-time Ryder Cupper with eight DP World Tour wins and one victory on both the PGA Tour and LIV. And over his last eight starts – a mix of LIV, DP World Tour, and Asian Tour events – he has four top-five finishes. The form is there. I should also note that he was one of the top vote-getters in our recently published anonymous Pro Golf Survey.

Looking ahead to the 2026 major championship season, the current moment might be as low as Hatton’s stock will be all year. Despite solid form, there is no buzz surrounding his name, in part because his golf isn’t as visible on LIV. 

Where might he break through in 2026? In nine Masters appearances, Hatton has just one top 10. The tempestuous 34-year-old has been candid with his dislike of Augusta National, saying, “You can hit good shots here and not get any reward for it. It’s unfair at times. I don’t agree with that.” But at any of the other three major championship venues, Hatton is a strong dark horse candidate.

For my money, Tyrrell Hatton is one of the few players in the world who truly deserves the underrated label.

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