2026 Fried Egg Pro Golf Survey
Our anonymous expert panel weighs in on men's golf
Welcome to the inaugural Fried Egg Pro Golf Survey. Inspired by Mike Sando’s quarterback tiers at The Athletic, Andy Johnson, Brendan Porath, Kevin Van Valkenburg, and Joseph LaMagna assembled an expert panel of golf insiders — caddies, players, coaches, network analysts, agents, and others — to share their perspective on the professional game.
Panelists submitted their ballots during the offseason, a context worth keeping in mind as you review the results. We’re excited to have participation from many of the sharpest minds in golf, with active players making up the largest segment of the panel.
We provided voters with a list of 50 golfers and definitions for four tiers (outlined below). Panelists were not instructed to place a specific number of players in each tier; instead, they were asked to include as many names as fit each tier’s definition. They were also encouraged to add players beyond the original set of 50 we provided if the player warranted inclusion. In total, 83 players received at least one vote, while 42 received a high enough average vote to be included in the finalized tiers. Next to each player’s name, you’ll see a numerical composite rating, calculated using a simple scoring system tied to the tiers in which the player received votes.
You may notice that a few of the world’s top players received an occasional Tier 5 vote, indicating that a panelist omitted them from their ballot. We followed up with panelists who left off clear top players to confirm those omissions. In the interest of data integrity, we made the editorial decision to leave all votes as submitted if a panelist did not respond with a correction. In practice, those omissions had little impact on the final rankings.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the only unanimous Tier 1 player in this year’s survey. Rory McIlroy is the only other golfer whose composite score was strong enough to join Scheffler in Tier 1. Michael Brennan and Rasmus Højgaard were the final golfers to make the cut, while Sahith Theegala was the first left out.
Following the player tiers, you’ll find responses to a series of open-ended questions. We’ve highlighted the most common response for each question along with insightful and occasionally amusing answers.
Tier 1
This is an elite player with little to no discernible weakness in his game. If he does not win a major championship in 2026, he should be disappointed.
Tier 2
This is a top-five-caliber player who posts consistently strong results. He might have a flaw in his game, but he is elite in at least two other areas. You would not be at all surprised to see him win a major championship in 2026.
Jon Rahm
Tommy Fleetwood
Bryson DeChambeau
Xander Schauffele
Ludvig Aberg
Tier 3
This is a strong player who may be great or even elite in one or two skill areas. He has the game to contend in a major championship in 2026, but his game is too flawed to consistently beat the best golfers in the world.
Tier 4
This is a solid top-25-level player. You are confident that he will contend in tournaments with strong fields in 2026. He is not a significant threat to win a major championship, but you wouldn’t be surprised to see him win a strong-field, non-major tournament.
Robert MacIntyre
Russell Henley
Shane Lowry
J.J. Spaun
Joaquin Niemann
Harris English
Brooks Koepka
Patrick Cantlay
Keegan Bradley
Sam Burns
Chris Gotterup
Sepp Straka
Wyndham Clark
Akshay Bhatia
Maverick McNealy
Marco Penge
Cam Smith
Jason Day
Jordan Spieth
Adam Scott
Patrick Reed
Min Woo Lee
Sungjae Im
Will Zalatoris
Michael Brennan
Rasmus Hojgaard
Inside the Results
According to our panel of insiders:
- Twenty-two of the top 42 golfers in the world are from the United States
- England (five) and Australia (four) are the only other countries with multiple golfers to make a tier
- Thirty-two of the top 42 golfers in the world are between the ages of 27 and 36
- Justin Rose (Age 45 | Tier 3) and Adam Scott (Age 45 | Tier 4) are the only golfers over 39 to make a tier
- Thirty-six of the top 42 golfers in the world play on the PGA Tour
- Five play on LIV Golf
- One plays on the DP World Tour
Dustin Johnson — formerly the top-ranked player in the world as recently as 2021 — finished tied for 48th in the voting.
Luke Clanton — a player highlighted in our open-ended response section below — finished tied for 44th, just barely missing out on a spot in Tier 4.
Auburn's Jackson Koivun — still an amateur — finished tied for 54th in voting, a little shy of earning a tier designation. Koivun was the only amateur to receive a vote.
Open-Ended Questions
After completing the tiering exercise, each panelist answered 10 free-response questions. Below, we have aggregated and compiled the most popular and insightful responses.
Based on public perception, who is the most underrated golfer in the world?
Top answer (tie): Cameron Young, Russell Henley
Other top vote-earners: Akshay Bhatia, Ben Griffin, Harris English, J.J. Spaun, Tyrrell Hatton
Based on public perception, who is the most overrated golfer in the world?
Top answer: Wyndham Clark
Other top vote-earners: Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee, Patrick Cantlay
Which young golfer, 25 years old or younger, has the best chance of developing into a superstar? You may answer with either a professional or an amateur golfer.
Top answer: Luke Clanton
Other top vote-earners: Michael Thorbjornsen, Michael Brennan, Jackson Koivun
Who is the best candidate to lead Team USA as a future Ryder Cup captain?
Top answer: Tiger Woods
Other top vote-earners: Justin Thomas, Stewart Cink, Kevin Kisner
Which current professional golfer would make the best television analyst?
Top answer: Jordan Spieth
Other top vote-earners: Keith Mitchell, Phil Mickelson
Scottie Scheffler has won four major championships. How many major championships will Scottie Scheffler have won by the end of 2028?
Top answer: Seven
Note: Every voter selected six, seven, or eight, with slightly more votes for six than eight.
Does Scheffler finish his career with more or fewer than 8.5 major championships?
Answer: 70% of respondents answered “More.”
What is the best major championship venue (excluding Augusta National) on the men’s professional golf schedule in 2026?
Most common answer: Shinnecock Hills (73% of the vote)
Note: Aronimink did not receive a vote
What is the weakest major championship venue (excluding Augusta National) on the men’s professional golf schedule in 2026?
Most common answer: Aronimink (86% of the vote)
If you were given blanket power over all of professional golf, what is the first change you would enact?
Most common answers (tie): Shrink the driver head, expand field sizes, and reinstitute cutlines
Other amusing responses, all from current or former players:
“Roll back the ball 10%, shrink the driver head to 360cc max, max driver length of 44 inches, only 10 clubs in the bag, no tapping down spikemarks and imperfections.”
“Abolish the 501(c)(6) member structure of the PGA Tour.”
“Remove players from the decision-making on Tour. Put the tournaments in charge.”
“Require the top guys to play a predetermined schedule.”
“Fix the PGA Tour Playoffs.”
“Reinforce and enforce pace-of-play guidelines.”
“One global tour with a unified points system. The Tour has elite players with 14-18 events outside of the majors. Have PGA Tour and DPWT developmental tours in each respective continent. Zero conditional categories. You're on the Tour or you aren't.”
“Every field has 120 players with a cut. Fewer events but all members have access. Some events can be bigger than others but full PGA Tour members should have access to all. Small/limited fields suck!”
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