18 Questions as the PGA Tour begins its 2025 season

We’re only a few hours into 2025, but golf doesn’t take a holiday. Or not much of one, at least. Barely a month after the end of the 2024 fall season, the PGA Tour’s 2025 slate kicks off in earnest — and in style, in Hawaii — this week at the Sentry. Here’s everything you need to know heading into the 2025 season, from Scottie to Tiger to everything in between.

1. Can anyone stop Scottie Scheffler?

At the moment, Scottie Scheffler did a pretty good job of stopping Scottie Scheffler; a freak injury suffered on Christmas sent him to the hospital for surgery to remove bits of broken glass from his hand, an injury that will keep him off the course for at least a couple tournaments. That news must come as a relief to the rest of the field, which had to watch Scheffler thunder his way to seven Tour victories last season, a second Masters win, an Olympic gold medal … and also welcome a new baby and do a stint in jail, as if his year wasn’t cinematic enough. Once he’s back on the course, there’s no one that comes close, yet.

2. Will Rory McIlroy finally win another major?

We’re now past the 10-year mark since Rory McIlroy’s last major. He came as close as he ever has in the last decade last year at Pinehurst, when he led Bryson DeChambeau by two strokes with five holes remaining, only to surrender the lead and the U.S. Open on the final hole. That will leave a mark, but fortunately for McIlroy, he’ll have more chances, given that he still seems to be at the top of his game.

3. When will we see Tiger Woods playing golf again?

Potentially, we’ll see Woods playing a variant of golf very soon, at the tech-heavy TGL indoor golf league that begins next week. (More on that later.) As for a return to the course … who knows? Woods recently conceded that he’s nowhere near tournament shape after a September back surgery. He played recently with son Charlie at the PNC Championship, but he could use a cart at that event. Woods only played five events last year, withdrawing from one and missing the cut in three of the four majors. His only complete tournament: the Masters, where he kept his made-cuts streak alive but finished dead last among players who made the cut. It could be awhile before we see Woods in the mix again.

4. How will Xander Schauffele top his 2024?

If you want a look at how fast your life and career can change in golf, look no further than Xander Schauffele. This time last year, he had an underachiever rep, coming close in major after major but unable to close the deal. Now? Now he has two majors, and he’s just two wins from a career slam. He’s figured out how to close on Sundays, and that makes him the most serious major threat to Scheffler. Schauffele-Scheffler, Scheffler-Schauffele … spare a thought for the announcers at the majors this year.

5. Will Jordan Spieth return to form in 2025?

Speaking of players seeking a career grand slam … Jordan Spieth is a long way from his major-winning days, and he shut down his 2024 season in August for long-delayed surgery on his left wrist to treat nerve issues. Spieth hasn’t had a top-10 finish since last April, and he missed the cut in both the Players Championship and the Masters. He’s one of the game’s most popular players and strongest voices, and golf is better when he’s in the hunt on Sundays.

6. Who’s the next breakout star on Tour?

Consider Ludvig Åberg, the Swedish flamethrower who very nearly won two majors the very first time he played in both. He finished solo 2nd in Augusta, and faded late at the U.S. Open to finish T12. (He also missed the cut in the other two majors.) He ranked seventh overall in strokes gained, fourth in total driving. If he can clean up his putting, where he ranks 67th on Tour, he’s going to be a force for years to come.

7. Who’s going to have a Schauffele-like bust-out season?

Collin Morikawa was close in every major last year — he finished in the top 4 in both the Masters and PGA Championship, and no worse than T16 in any major — but couldn’t quite break through. He’s not exactly an unknown, given that he has won two majors already, but he only has one victory since that 2021 Open Championship, and none in 2024. He ranks fifth overall in strokes gained, and he’s one of the most accurate drivers on Tour. He’s also one of the most accurate putters in the game, all of which is a recipe for sustained success. Is 2025 the year?

8. Who’s going to win their first major this season?

After a FedEx Cup-winning 2023 season, Viktor Hovland struggled early in 2024, missing the cut at three of the four majors. But a T2 finish at the FedEx St. Jude was a promising return to form, and if Hovland is able to recapture some of his Ryder Cup/FedEx Cup mojo from 2023, he’s long overdue for that first major.

9. Who’s a rookie to watch?

Luke Clanton technically isn’t even a Tour rookie yet, given that he has to finish up his senior year at Florida State. But he’s already played in eight Tour events, made the cut in seven of them, and finished in the top 10 in four. A World No. 1 amateur, he placed T41 at the U.S. Open, his first major, and has many more ahead of him in the years to come.

10. What’s the status of the PGA Tour’s negotiations with LIV Golf?

The Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the financial backer of LIV, have had a “framework agreement” in place for a year and a half now, with little to show for it. LIV is still continuing as a tour, adding new sponsors, new executives and new broadcast agreements. The Tour has grown wealthy with outside investment. At the moment, neither of them really “needs” the other, but the fans of golf would obviously love to see more crossover between the best of both tours. It’s unlikely to happen anywhere but majors in 2025, but beyond that? Money talks.

11. Will any more Tour members jump to LIV?

It’s become an annual tradition that LIV Golf and its supporters hint that “big PGA Tour names!” are headed their way … and then most don’t materialize. (Jon Rahm excepted, of course.) Another round ensued this year, with most of the attention focused on Tony Finau, but he reiterated his support for the Tour. That’s not to say there won’t be more defections, but they haven’t happened just yet.

12. What’s the story with the TGL?

As a way to keep golf top-of-mind during the winter months — and, not coincidentally, provide inventory for broadcasters and revenue for players — the Tour is working with McIlroy, Woods and other partners to roll out the TGL, an indoor golf league. The arena that houses the TGL facility is impressive, with a massive screen for driving and a live green for putting. Six teams of four players will compete from January to March on Tuesday nights, starting next week. Much more information on this to come soon.

13. Where are the majors this year?

It’s another East Coast kind of year for the U.S.-based majors:

Masters: Augusta National Golf Club (Augusta, GA), Apr. 10-13

PGA Championship: Quail Hollow Golf Club (Charlotte, NC), May 15-18

U.S. Open: Oakmont Country Club (Oakmont, PA), June 12-15

Open Championship: Royal Portrush Golf Club (Portrush, Northern Ireland), July 17-20

14. Where is the Ryder Cup this year?

The 2025 Ryder Cup will take place at the Bethpage Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York from Sept. 26-28. Keegan Bradley will captain the U.S. team, while Luke Donald will return to captain the European team after a thorough 16 ½ to 11 ½ domination in Rome in 2023. Bethpage has hosted the 2002 U.S. Open (winner: Tiger Woods), the 2009 U.S. Open (winner: Lucas Glover) and the 2019 PGA Championship (winner: Brooks Koepka).

15. Will the United States win back the Ryder Cup?

Homefield advantage at the Ryder is paramount and nearly unstoppable now, and the United States will lean into that at Bethpage. But will the crowd respond, given that tickets started at $750 apiece and spiraled upward from there? That will be one of the key questions heading into the Ryder Cup, always one of the game’s must-watch events.

16. Where are golf’s signature events?

As part of its plan to route more money to the game’s top players, the PGA Tour instituted “signature events,” limited-field, larger-purse events that carry more weight in the annual FedEx Cup race. Here are this year’s signature events:

• The Sentry, Kapalua Resort, Jan. 2-5

• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Jan. 30-Feb. 2

• Genesis Invitational, Riviera Country Club, Feb. 13-16

• Arnold Palmer Invitational, March 6-9

• RBC Heritage, April 17-20

• Truist Championship, Philadelphia Cricket Club, May 8-11

• The Memorial, Muirfield Village, May 29-June 1

• Travelers Championship, June 19-22

17. When is the FedEx Cup?

The 2024 PGA Tour regular season concludes in August. The top 70 players in the Cup standings will qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind from Aug. 7-10. The top 50 in the Cup standings will advance to the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club from Aug. 14-17. And the top 30 will compete in the Tour Championship, Aug. 21-24, playing for a $25 million bonus.

18. Can golf regain its luster and its fans?

Well, that’s the key question the game faces right now, isn’t it? After three years of millionaires wrangling over seven-figure paydays, golf fandom’s patience with the game has grown very thin indeed. There are moments this sport lives up to the elevated image it has of itself — the DeChambeau-McIlroy duel was one of the finest in years, and Scheffler is beginning to hit a critical mass of fans — but all too often, golf seems too consumed with its own internal drama and nitpicking to remember why, exactly, it’s playing this game. Golf as a recreational activity is as popular as ever; golf as a sport to watch is in real trouble. For its own good, the game needs to figure a path forward rather than running in the same old circles.