Europe's finest golfers make their mark on the PGA Tour

It is turning out to be quite a year for European golfers on both the PGA Tour and in the sport’s world rankings.

Of course Scottie Scheffler sits on top of the world, but Rory McIlroy is second, Matthew Fitzpatrick is fourth, Justin Rose fifth, Tommy Fleetwood seventh, Jon Rahm 12th, Ludvig Aberg 13th, Robert MacIntyre 14th, new major winner Aaron Rai 15th, Sepp Straka 18th, Alex Noren 20th. In other words, ten of the world’s top-ranked players are European.

Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Kristoffer Reitan and Nicolai Hojgaard are also in the top 30. 

And who knows where Alex Fitzpatrick is going to end up? At the end of last year he was 203rd. He is now 83rd after winning the Hero Indian Open and Zurich Classic of New Orleans with his brother, Matthew, finishing tied ninth in the Cadillac and fourth at the Truist. It is a meteoric rise. And he is loving every minute of it.

He should have won the Truist. He said: "The whole thing still feels very surreal. I still haven't woken up, which I think is a good thing! I feel like it's crazy to be disappointed, but somehow I'm a little disappointed."

We have seen McIlroy successfully defending his Masters title, Fitzpatrick Sr finishing second at The Players before winning the Valspar, RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic. Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open and then finished tied third at The Masters.

Fleetwood has yet to add to his Tour Championship success but has five top 10s to his credit. MacIntyre was fourth at The Players and should have won the Texas Open, eventually finishing second. Straka is one of the most underrated players on the planet - he was tied second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, tied eighth at The Players and tied fourth at The Cadillac.

When Kristoffer Reitan gained his PGA Tour card for 2026 I predicted big things for him. I was certain he would win on the PGA Tour, but I did not expect him to succeed so quickly. His victory at the Truist Championship was as surprising as it was brilliant. And the manner of it should not be underestimated - he held off a world-class field on a proper golfer course and is now ranked 25th in the world.

Only three years ago, the 28-year-old had been struggling to keep his card on the Hotel Planner Tour - the DP World Tour's feeder circuit.

Reitan said: "I now feel a tremendous amount of relief and joy. I can't put it into words, to be honest. I wasn't expecting to walk away with the win, even though I was in a good position. I feel like it will happen if it happens. My only goal was to free it up as much as I can to allow myself the chance to hit good shots. I'm so glad that I kept that focus the whole way through. I'm struggling to describe how I'm feeling right now.

"I love this place, it's absolutely fantastic. I love the fact that it demands so much from your game, a historic venue. I'm super pleased to be walking away as the champion." The cheque for $3.6m would also have helped!

Aberg should have more wins to his name but he has there or thereabouts several times in 2026 - he had The Players at his mercy before an uncharacteristic meltdown in the final round. He was tied third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tied fifth at the Texas Open, tied fourth at the RBC Heritage and tied eighth at the Truist. He finished in a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship. Aberg’s greatest weapon is his temperament. Nothing gets him down. If he hits a poor shot he simply dusts himself down and moves on.

And then there is Hojgaard. Still without a win, he finished second at the Houston Open and was also joint runner-up at the Truist Championship, one of the tour’s Signature Events. Additionally, he finished tied third at the Phoenix Open and tied sixth at the Cognizant Classic. He is a wonderful ball striker who also possesses a fabulous short game.

We don’t get to see a lot of Hatton but he was tied third at The Masters and remains a big-time player.

Shane Lowry often flatters to deceive. He possesses a world-class short game but sometimes gets in his own head. Nevertheless, he was tied third at the Dubai Invitational, tied eighth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and was tied second at the Cognizant Classic, a tournament he should have won.

There have also been encouraging flashes of form from Harry Hall, Marco Penge, John Parry, Jordan Smith and Matt Wallace.

And what about Aaron Rai - the first Englishman to win the PGA Championship since 1919, who produced a spectacular finish to overcome a packed leaderboard to lift the Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink.

It's looking like a golden age for European golf.