Playing Through: Sony Open Tees Off 2026, TGL Heats Up, and Women Get Their Own League
Welcome to Playing Through, your weekly guide to the world of professional golf. I’m Brendon Elliott, PGA Professional. The 2026 season kicks off next week in Hawaii, Netflix finally gave us a premiere date, and women’s golf just got a massive boost. Let’s get into it.
THE SONY OPEN KICKS OFF 2026
Golf is back. Next week, 120 players head to Waialae Country Club in Honolulu for the Sony Open (January 12-18). The purse is $9.1 million, and the course plays as a par-70 at 7,044 yards.
Nick Taylor defends his title after winning in a playoff last year for his fifth Tour victory. He became the 11th international winner of this event, and now he’s back to prove last season wasn’t a one-off.
Here’s what matters: under the Tour’s new structure, only the top 100 in FedExCup points keep full status. That makes every tournament count, especially early ones like this. Players need to start stacking points immediately.
The Sony Open has also raised over $26 million for Hawaiian charities since 1999, supporting more than 350 nonprofits across the islands.
FULL SWING RETURNS IN APRIL
Netflix finally gave us a date. Full Swing Season 4 drops in April.
If you’ve watched since Season 1 in 2023, you know why this matters. The show does for golf what Drive to Survive did for F1: it shows you the humans behind the swings. The pressure, the doubt, the relief when things go right.
What makes Full Swing work is the access. You’re in the locker room when a player is melting down. You’re watching them with their families, dealing with injuries, questioning whether they still have it. The show doesn’t shy away from failure. It leans into it. Because that’s what makes the victories mean something.
The format captures golf’s mental game in ways traditional broadcasts can’t. You hear players talking to sports psychologists. You see self-doubt creep in during majors. You watch marriages strain under constant travel and missed cuts. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, but it’s real.
Season 4 covers 2025, which was absolutely stacked. The Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Rory finally winning the Masters for the career Grand Slam. Scottie adding two more majors. J.J. Spaun’s U.S. Open breakthrough. The storylines are already there. Netflix just needs to show us what happened behind the scenes.
Netflix hasn’t announced the full cast or an exact date yet, but April is close enough. Clear your calendar.
HORSCHEL DOES IT AGAIN AT TGL
Billy Horschel is automatic when it counts. Tuesday night at SoFi Center, he drained another clutch putt, this time a 7-footer for birdie at No. 13, to push Atlanta Drive GC past The Bay Golf Club 7-4. That’s three straight matches where Horschel has delivered the decisive shot.
Atlanta is now 2-0 and riding a seven-match winning streak dating back to last season. They’re not just winning. They’re dominating. Their +25 point differential in Singles format tells the story.
The match had some wild moments. Patrick Cantlay and Chris Gotterup both chipped in during Triples to keep things close. Gotterup also became just the second player this season to successfully hit a stinger under the overhanging rock at the “Stinger” hole, using the same 1-iron he won the Scottish Open with.
Atlanta’s strategic use of the Hammer proved crucial. They declined three throws from The Bay to avoid potential two-point swings while picking up two points of their own. That tactical decision-making adds a layer to TGL that traditional stroke play doesn’t have.
The holes themselves keep things interesting. “Cenote” and “Stinger” force players to hit shots they’d never face on a regular course. It’s part video game, part real golf, and somehow it works.
And the mic’d-up access keeps delivering. After Gotterup holed that awkward chip with both feet in the bunker, he admitted: “It was a lot of luck involved. I was standing over it for a second, we had to call timeout because I didn’t know what I was going to do. Sometimes you get lucky in this game.”
That’s why people watch TGL. You’re not just seeing shots. You’re hearing the strategy, the uncertainty, the real reactions.
Next Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, Tiger Woods returns to SoFi Center. He’ll be mic’d up as Jupiter Links takes on New York Golf Club. Atlanta faces Jupiter on February 2, while The Bay tries to get its first win on February 9 against Los Angeles.
WTGL GIVES WOMEN’S GOLF THE PLATFORM IT DESERVES
The LPGA and TMRW Sports just announced WTGL, a women’s team golf league launching winter 2026-27 at SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens.
If you’ve watched TGL, you know the format works. Fast-paced team matches. Players wearing mics. A hybrid simulator and real green setup that feels more like playoff basketball than traditional golf. It keeps everything that makes golf compelling while cutting out the slow parts.
Now, the women get their own version with the same production quality and technology.
Here’s why this matters: women’s golf has the talent, the drama, and the personalities. What it lacks is the platform. TGL proved this format reaches new audiences. 32% of viewers aged 18-34 don’t regularly watch the PGA Tour. The average viewer age is 52, with 41% between 18 and 49. That’s younger than almost any golf broadcast.
The format solves a problem traditional broadcasts have struggled with: pace. A four-hour Sunday round loses casual viewers. TGL matches run about two hours and deliver moments that actually get shared on social media. WTGL will do the same for women’s golf.
The team format changes the dynamic entirely. You’re not just rooting for individual players anymore. You’re invested in team strategy, chemistry, and those moments when teammates celebrate together.
WTGL isn’t a favor or a charity case. It’s recognizing that women’s golf creates excitement when given the right showcase. The LPGA keeps doing its thing: majors, world travel, building careers. WTGL adds another stage, another way to connect with fans.
Those mic’d-up moments change everything. You hear the strategy, the jokes, the frustration, the celebration. You’re inside the competition. The LPGA has incredible personalities and stories. WTGL will finally show that side in a format traditional broadcasts can’t match.
Details on players, teams, and schedule are coming later. But the foundation is set. The venue exists. The format has been tested. And the audience is waiting.
SPRAGUE STEPS DOWN FROM PGA OF AMERICA
Derek Sprague is stepping down as CEO of the PGA of America after just one year to return to New York and care for his aging mother and mother-in-law.
Sprague took the job in January 2024 after a career that started in the bag room at Malone Golf Club and included stops at Liberty National and TPC Sawgrass. At his daughter’s wedding last month, he realized his family needed him home.
“Focusing on family has become my priority,” Sprague said. “The best decision for me is to step away from my role as CEO and return home to be with them.”
It’s unusual to leave a CEO position after one year, especially in an industry built on ambition. But sometimes life requires different choices. The PGA of America supports his decision and expects to name a new CEO soon. Sprague will help with the transition.
The season starts next week in Hawaii. TGL keeps delivering. Women’s golf gets the showcase it deserves. And sometimes the biggest decisions happen away from the course.
We’ll be back next week.