![\"2024](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2147875515-e1764713729386.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Golfers walk to their next hole on the grounds at the Riyadh Golf Club during the first round of the Golf Saudi Open for the 2024 Asian Tour in Riyadh on April 17.<\/p>\n
As the calendar winds down<\/a>, December remains a surprisingly packed month for golf fans\u2013 offering high-stakes tournaments, dramatic finales, and a few curveballs. According to a recently released schedule<\/a> by Golf Channel, there\u2019s still plenty of live action to catch across multiple tours before the year ends.<\/p>\n From the elite, invitation-only Hero World Challenge<\/a> in the Bahamas to the pressure-packed qualifying grind of PGA Tour Q\u2011School<\/a>, plus creative formats like the Optum Golf Channel Games<\/a>\u2013 December offers a little bit of everything.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled with our momentum in 2025, as our season-long ratings and event attendance are confirming that our players and their stories are resonating with fans,\u201d PGA Tour CEO, Brian Rolapp, said. \u201cWe extend our thanks to the entire membership\u2013including player directors and the Player Advisory Council\u2013as well as our events and partners, who are working alongside fans on a vision for the future of both the PGA TOUR and the game of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n Top Events: What You Shouldn\u2019t MissHero World Challenge<\/p>\n The Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods<\/a>, remains the crown jewel of December golf. The 2025 edition runs December 4-7 at Albany Golf Course<\/a> in the Bahamas, featuring a small, elite field of 20 of the world\u2019s top players<\/a>.<\/p>\n Television and streaming coverage is lined up on both NBC and Golf Channel. Opening rounds air Thursday and Friday from 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET, with weekend coverage split between Golf Channel and NBC.<\/p>\n PGA Tour Q-School: Final Stage<\/p>\n For those chasing a tour card, the PGA Tour Q-School final stage<\/a> will play out Dec. 11-14 at the famous TPC Sawgrass<\/a> and Sawgrass Country Club<\/a> in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n The tension and stakes couldn\u2019t be higher<\/a>\u2013this is where players earn (or lose) their shot at full PGA Tour status<\/a> for the upcoming season. TV coverage is slated for Saturday and Sunday, split between the NBC Sports App and Golf Channel.<\/p>\n Other Events to Look Out For<\/p>\n According to Golf Channel<\/a>, here is the full list of tournaments coming up this month:<\/p>\n PGA TOUR CHAMPIONSLPGADP WORLD TOUR As December closes out the 2025 golf calendar, fans also got a clearer picture of what\u2019s coming next season with the release of the 2026 PGA Tour schedule<\/a>. The new lineup blends familiar traditions with notable updates, giving the Tour a refreshed but recognizable structure<\/a>. According to the PGA Tour\u2019s official announcement, the 2026 season maintains all four majors in their traditional windows while continuing the Tour\u2019s commitment to its high-profile Signature Events<\/a>.<\/p>\n One standout change is the return of Trump National Doral in Miami, which re-enters the schedule as the newly established Miami Championship<\/a>. It will run April 30-May 3 and becomes one of nine Signature Events for the season\u2013a status that guarantees strong fields, elevated purses, and substantial FedExCup implications. The move brings back a venue that was once a cornerstone of elite professional golf and signals the Tour\u2019s willingness to lean into historic, fan-recognizable sites.<\/p>\n Beyond that marquee addition, the 2026 schedule remains anchored by the Players Championship<\/a> at TPC Sawgrass, marking its 20th year as part of the FedExCup era<\/a>, along with traditional stops like the Arnold Palmer Invitational<\/a>, the Memorial Tournament<\/a>, and the FedExCup Playoffs<\/a>. While the structure remains familiar, the Tour\u2019s adjustments emphasize a balance<\/a> between tradition and evolution.<\/p>\n Additionally, the Tour confirmed a significant change to player status<\/a> for 2026. According to PGA Tour<\/a>, only the top 100 players in the FedExCup standings after the 2025 Fall will earn full exempt status (down from 125), with Nos. 101-125 receiving conditional cards\u2013a shift recommended by the Player Advisory Council to ensure that 35 standout competitors from the Korn Ferry Tour<\/a>, DP World Tour<\/a>, and PGA Tour Q-School<\/a> have equitable access and meaningful playing opportunities throughout the season.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlyssa Polczynski<\/a> Alyssa Polczynski is a multimedia journalist covering Major League Baseball for Heavy.com. She has experience as an editorial producer for MLB.com and contributed to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). More about Alyssa Polczynski<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Golf\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Golfers walk to their next hole on the grounds at the Riyadh Golf Club during the first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-323702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCrown Australian Open<\/a>
Dec. 4-7, Royal Melbourne GC, Melbourne, Australia
\nNedbank Golf Challenge<\/a>
Dec. 4-7, Gary Player CC, Sun City, South Africa
\nAlfred Dunhill Championship<\/a>
Dec. 11-14, Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa
\nAfra-Asia Bank Mauritius Open<\/a>
Dec. 18-21, Mont Choisy Le Golf, Grand-Baie, Mauritius
\nASIAN TOUR
\nSaudi Open<\/a>
Dec. 10-13, Riyadh GC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
\nGOLF CHANNELTGLGRASS LEAGUELooking Ahead to 2026 and the New PGA Tour Schedule<\/p>\n