Every Tuesday, SI Golf will rank nine newsmakers from the golf world. Sometimes, we'll cast a wide net. Tell us what you think on the SI Golf X account.
1. Tiger Woods: It’s kind of surprising that after nearly six months of doing this weekly column, Woods has never been first. But here we are. In a familiar tale, he underwent another back surgery—the seventh of his career—to replace a lumbar disc. Still also nursing an Achilles he ruptured in the spring, this takes Woods out of December’s Hero World Challenge and PNC Championship, along with a large chunk of the 2026 TGL season. And turning 50 at the end of this year, a return to his glory days appears bleaker than ever. However, Woods might have undergone this surgery to alleviate pain while swinging a golf club. So maybe he won’t be ready for Augusta, but a return to golf seems likelier than not.
2. Xander Schauffele: The mini-winless drought is over. He won the Baycurrent Classic in Japan on Sunday by a stroke for his first title since the 2024 British Open—and it was an emotional victory. He was sidelined for nearly two months earlier this year due to a rib injury, returned and was barely in contention all season. Last month, however, he became a father and then won on Japanese soil, where his mother is from, with his 81-year-old and 91-year-old grandparents walking all 18 holes with him. Kudos.
3. Jeeno Thitikul: The improbable LPGA streak is over. The world No. 1 won her second event of the season at the Buick LPGA Shanghai to become the tour’s first repeat champion of the season through 27 tournaments. And she did it dramatically, coming back from four strokes back in her final five holes to force a playoff, which she won on the fifth bonus hole.
4. Marco Penge: What a turnaround for the Englishman. He began the season suspended for gambling, but has since won three times on the DP World Tour. With his victory Sunday at the Spanish Open, he earned a spot in the 2026 British Open and Masters, and will earn full PGA Tour status, finishing inside the top 10 of the DPWT’s season-long points list. Last season, he was 110th in points, barely keeping his card.
5. Don Rea: Last week, he was No. 1 on this list. Seven days later, the PGA of America’s president remains highly ranked. After a report that he sang karaoke to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem at Team USA’s hotel after Saturday’s Ryder Cup matches, a video was finally released—and, as expected, it’s pretty cringe. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as humiliating if Rea had an adequate response to the fans’ deplorable behavior at Bethpage and the U.S. team didn’t get romped.
6. Matt McCarty: It was an unfortunate ending to a potentially all-time round. On Sunday of the Baycurrent, the 27-year-old carded eight consecutive birdies and needed a birdie on the last to shoot 58 and tie Jim Furyk for the lowest score ever shot on Tour, and a par would have given him the 16th sub-60 round. Instead, he hit his tee shot out of bounds and made a gritty bogey for a final-round 60.
7. Max Greyserman: With Tommy Fleetwood off the list, it’s possible Greyserman could become the best player without a Tour win. At the Baycurrent, he finished one back of Schauffele for his fifth runner-up in the last two years. He nearly did the impossible, though. Needing an eagle on the par-4 last to force a playoff, he hit his approach from 182 yards out to a foot. Seems likely he’ll get in a winner’s circle eventually.
8. Jon Rahm: After the Spanish Open, the LIV golfer announced that he won’t tee it up again until 2026. And it was quite a turbulent season for him. It’ll be the first time in his career that he didn’t snag a victory; though he still won LIV’s season-long individual title. Now, it’s possible that he’s made his final-ever start on the DP World Tour. He has appealed his fine and suspension by the circuit for joining LIV golf, but is allowed to compete while appealing. Once it’s heard, however, it’s possible the decision will mean he can no longer compete on the DPWT—and, thus, possibly the Ryder Cup, too.
9. Collin Morikawa: He began the week saying the rowdy Ryder Cup fan behavior wasn’t on him, even though he pleaded for “absolute chaos” before the matches began. Then, he finished it with a T14 in Japan with a final-round 63. That’ll put a bow on his turbulent 2025, marred by media quarrels, multiple caddie changes and one top 10 since March. But Sunday in Japan, he said, “it’s not really the way I wanted the year to end. I can look at the positives, but for right now, I know what I need to fix and kind of tune up if I want to be the player that I know I can be.” Is that the player who won majors in 2020 and ‘21, or the one who has only a single victory since the 2021 British Open?
Also considered: Minami Katsu, Brandel Chamblee, Alex Čejka, Chandler Blanchet, Neal Shipley, Billy Andrade
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Two Notable Streaks End, in China and Japan.
