Golf Major Championships Calendar 2026: Dates, Venues & How to Watch
Five events. Four countries. One obsession. The 2026 major championship schedule delivers everything the serious golf fan wants — a Masters at Augusta, an Open back at Royal Portrush for only the second time, and a Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Here is every date, every venue, and every broadcast service you need to watch every shot live.
The Masters 2026 — April 9–12, Augusta National
Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia. The first major of 2026 runs April 9–12, with Par 3 Contest on Wednesday the 8th. The Masters remains the most controlled broadcast in sport — Augusta National produces the feed themselves, restrictions apply on showing specific sponsor content, and the silence policy on the course produces the best audio of any major. The azaleas will be at peak bloom for the first week of April.
TV & Streaming (UK): Sky Sports Golf — full coverage all four days including practice rounds. TV & Streaming (US): ESPN+ (Thursday–Friday), CBS (weekend). Peacock streams select content. How to watch for free (US): CBS broadcasts the weekend rounds on free-to-air television.
Planning a trip to Augusta? The Masters has no public ticket sales — all tickets are allocated through a ballot that closed years ago. The Augusta experience is accessible through corporate hospitality packages (typically $3,000–$8,000 for a practice round badge) or through resale, which is technically prohibited by Augusta National’s badge terms. For the serious golf traveller, a trip to see Augusta National on a public tour day is the realistic alternative — the course opens to the public in November each year. Our simulator build guide features Augusta National replica courses available in GSPro and E6 Connect — you can play the course from your own room year-round.
PGA Championship 2026 — May 21–24, Quail Hollow Club
Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina. Quail Hollow hosted a memorable PGA Championship in 2017 (Justin Thomas’s win) and returns for 2026. The course underwent significant renovation since then — the back nine in particular is now considered one of the toughest finishing stretches in American golf. The Wells Fargo Championship is played here annually, giving the field more familiarity with the layout than most major venues receive.
TV & Streaming (UK): Sky Sports Golf. TNT Sports also has selected coverage rights. TV & Streaming (US): ESPN+ (Thursday–Friday), TNT/Max (weekend).
US Open 2026 — June 18–21, Oakmont Country Club
Oakmont Country Club, Pennsylvania. Oakmont is the most demanding test in American golf — a course so severe that par has been described as a “great score” by multiple US Open winners. The greens run at 14–15 on the Stimpmeter during the championship. Nine previous US Opens have been held here, including Jack Nicklaus’s first major win in 1962. The 2026 edition will be Oakmont’s tenth — no course in US Open history has hosted more.
TV & Streaming (UK): Sky Sports Golf — full coverage including early rounds. TV & Streaming (US): Peacock (Thursday–Friday early rounds), NBC (weekend). The USGA has committed to keeping weekend rounds on free broadcast television through 2026.
Preparing for Oakmont-style greens in your home simulator? See our golf simulator software guide for which platforms most accurately model 14+ Stimpmeter green speeds — a meaningful practice tool for anyone planning to play comparable courses like Quail Hollow or Bethpage.
The Open Championship 2026 — July 16–19, Royal Portrush
Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Northern Ireland. Royal Portrush returns to The Open rota for only the second time in the modern era after the extraordinary 2019 championship (Shane Lowry’s victory on the Antrim coast). The course’s Dunluce links is among the most naturally dramatic in world golf — the opening stretch along the cliff edge, the closing sequence through the dunes, and the Calamity Corner par-3 14th are individually iconic.
TV & Streaming (UK): Sky Sports Golf — exclusive UK rights. Every shot, every round, all week. TV & Streaming (US): Peacock (early rounds), NBC (weekend).
Royal Portrush is a 45-minute drive from Belfast International Airport and 90 minutes from Dublin. Visitor tee times are available throughout the year — the course does not close for The Open preparation until June. If you are planning a trip to Northern Ireland around the championship week, see our Scotland golf travel guide 2026 for links golf preparation — the conditions at Portrush are comparable to the Scottish links we cover there.
Ryder Cup 2026 — September 25–27, Bethpage Black
Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, New York. The United States hosts the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black — the public course on Long Island that hosted the 2002 and 2009 US Opens. Bethpage Black is genuinely public: daily fee golf on a course that measures over 7,400 yards from the tips. The famous sign on the first tee — “The Black Course is an extremely difficult course recommended only for highly skilled golfers” — is not ironic.
The Ryder Cup format (match play, no cut, no individual scoring) produces the most emotionally volatile event in golf. Team USA will be motivated by the 2023 loss at Marco Simone and the 2026 result. The home atmosphere at Bethpage Black — a New York crowd in September — will be among the loudest in Ryder Cup history.
TV & Streaming (UK): Sky Sports Golf — full exclusive coverage including all session recaps. TV & Streaming (US): Peacock (streaming), NBC (free-to-air select sessions).
Where to watch: broadcast services guide 2026
Sky Sports Golf — Best for UK viewers
Sky Sports Golf is the single subscription that covers every major in 2026 for UK and Irish viewers. All four days of every major, practice rounds, and the Ryder Cup in full. → Sky Sports Golf subscription (from £22/month, currently available with no contract on Sky Stream).
ESPN+ — Best for US viewers watching The Masters and PGA Championship
ESPN+ streams the Thursday–Friday rounds of The Masters and PGA Championship in the United States — the early coverage before the broadcast networks take over for the weekend. The Featured Groups and Featured Holes streams are genuinely better than the broadcast feed for following specific players. → ESPN+ subscription (from $11/month, or included in the Disney Bundle with Disney+ and Hulu).
Peacock — Best for US viewers watching US Open, The Open and Ryder Cup
NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform holds rights to the US Open, The Open Championship, and Ryder Cup coverage that is not on free-to-air NBC. At $6/month for Premium, it is the most cost-effective streaming addition for US golf fans in 2026. → Peacock Premium subscription (from $6/month).
TNT Sports (Discovery+) — UK PGA Championship coverage
TNT Sports holds supplementary rights to the PGA Championship in the UK. Available via → Discovery+ with TNT Sports (from £30/month) or through Sky’s channel package.
Play the major venues in your simulator
Every 2026 major venue has a course reproduction available in E6 Connect or GSPro. Augusta National (officially licensed on E6), Oakmont, Bethpage Black and Quail Hollow are all available — you can play the championship layout at home before watching the professionals navigate it on television. See our simulator software guide 2026 for how to access these courses, and our indoor golf simulator buying guide for the setup that makes it possible.
Championship travel: watching in person
If the 2026 calendar inspires a trip, we have destination guides for golf travel built around the major venues. Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland is a short extension of a Scotland golf trip — the Antrim coast is 90 minutes from Glasgow by ferry and flight. The Algarve in Portugal is a natural base for European golfers before or after The Open week. And for US golfers making a Ryder Cup pilgrimage, Bethpage Black is a public course — you can play it on the days before the championship begins. See our Algarve golf travel guide and Bandon Dunes travel guide for the full destination picture.
Broadcast service links on this page are affiliate/referral links. Subscription prices correct as of May 2026 and subject to change. Coverage details are based on announced rights deals — verify with each broadcaster before subscribing. See our affiliate disclosure.
