If we're talking the best players yet to win a men's Major, or contenders to become first-time Major champions in 2026 then Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood must be right up there in the conversation.
But how do the two compare?
Ahead of every new golf year the subject of who'll win the Majors is always the most talked about - with the question of best players not yet to become Major champions always provoking lively debate.
History suggests we'll have at least one, as we have done in 10 of the last 11 years, with a total of 24 first-time Major champions during that spell.
There's a lot of names you could pick out - Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Russell Henley, Patrick Cantlay, Robert MacIntyre and Joaquin Niemann among many others, but the English pair look primed for a Major breakthrough.
But which one?
Let us know who you think will win a men's Major title in 2026 by joining the conversation below...
Why Fleetwood and Hatton are primed for Major win
Both men have been in and around the Major challengers for a while without threatening to win very often - Fleetwood had runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019 and has two 63s in the US Open to his name.
A serial winner in Europe, he had issues showing that form on the PGA Tour despite the odd Major challenge, but this year he showed his mettle by coming through in one of the biggest ones of all.
After heartbreaking near misses Fleetwood won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup - which not only made a huge difference to his bank balance but also surely his mentality.
That memorable Ryder Cup followed and then another win in India on the DP World Tour showed his amazing consistency that will also give him a chance - but that PGA Tour breakthrough could be huge.
It's a similar story for Hatton, who has added a lot more consistency in the big events in recent years and seems to be thriving after joining LIV Golf.
Hatton got his win early in the year in Dubai and seemed to build from there, but his defining moment could be going so close at the US Open at Oakmont only for a huge slice of bad luck on Sunday.
But for a bad break in the bunker maybe Hatton, and not JJ Spaun, would be celebrating a maiden Major - but crucially he learned what it was like going down the stretch in contention, and he never really faltered.
Those two huge moments could be just the lift both men need to get over the hump in 2026.
Fleetwood |
Hatton |
|
|---|---|---|
Events |
25 |
25 |
Wins |
2 (Tour Championship, India Championship) |
1 (Dubai Desert Classic) |
Runner-Up |
2 |
1 |
Top 5 |
6 |
7 |
Top 10 |
11 |
8 |
Data Golf Ranking |
2 |
32 |
OWGR |
4 |
19 |
Who had the better Major form?
From a similar amount of Major championships it's Fleetwood who has gone closer on more occasions, with two second-placed finishes to his name.
Hatton's best is this year's T4 at Oakmont, but he came a lot closer than that bare result suggests, being tied for the lead with just two holes to go, so it really was a near miss.
After going four years without a Major top 10, Hatton got one in the 2024 Masters and it's when players start grouping results like that together when you start to think they'll capture one soon.
Hatton's results in the last two years have probably been a touch better than Fleetwood's, he's come closer to winning one and had more top 10s and top 20s, so he's certainly trending in the right direction.
Fleetwood went close once a year from 2017-19, before then returning five top 10s in eight Majors from 2022-24, which isn't so long ago so there's no real worry about his ability to go close.
Fleetwood |
Hatton |
|
|---|---|---|
Majors |
48 |
42 |
Cuts Made |
30 |
28 |
Runner Up |
2 |
0 |
Top 5 |
7 |
2 |
Top 10 |
8 |
7 |
Best |
2 (2018 US, 2019 Open) |
T4 (2025 US Open) |
Majors 2024 |
T3-T26-T16-MC |
T9-T63-T26-MC |
Majors 2025 |
T21-T41-MC-T16 |
T14-T60-T4-T16 |
So who will win a Major first - Hatton or Fleetwood?
You'd like to think both would win a Major, they're certainly both good enough and as we can see they've both gone close.
But we're not talking going close, being in the shake-up, we're talking getting over the line, getting the job done - and that's where it's hard to judge who can hold their nerve.
Hatton didn't do too much wrong at Oakmont, and on another day those final two holes go a different way for him - but nonetheless it was a loss.
He did seem to take it well, which was a great sign, and as Fleetwood showed, and more famously Rory McIlroy, it's all about putting yourself in those situations as often as possible to get comfortable in the most uncomfortable of cricumstances.
Fleetwood, though, would get my vote - for a large part of the PGA Tour season he was producing consistency only Scottie Scheffler could better, and you can't overstate just how influential that Tour Championship victory could be.
It'd be no surprise to see Fleetwood holding a Major trophy in 2026.
What do you think? Who would you back to win a Major next year out of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton? Let us know by joining the conversation below...
