This 2025 PGA Tour season has been one for the books, with countless moments having spotlighted the sport in its completeness. The understanding of golf comes with the realization of its many highs and lows. You have back to back tournament winners like Scottie Scheffler, or sometimes you are stuck searching for your first career win. Through it all, these talented Tour golfers are their own hardest critic and aim to improve daily. Those like Keegan Bradley, and Wyndham Clark found themselves personally ranking their season in the F grading tier. Whereas others went a little easier on themselves, like J.J. Spaun and Cameron Young.
Season Of Trouble
There are never any guarantees when stepping on a golf course, now amplify that by an entire PGA Season and it’s slim to none. With that comes many difficult moments in keeping a strong mental focus on improvement.
“It’s a complicated question because I’m really proud of the way I played,” Bradley said. “But when you factor in losing the Ryder Cup it’s an F, go and win that and this grade is different.”
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Sep 27, 2025; Bethpage, New York, USA; Team Europe’s Rory McIlroy celebrates after holing his putt on the 14th hole during the four-balls on the second day of competition for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Mcdermid-Reuters via Imagn ImagesSometimes it may only take one tournament, one put, that can change the trajectory of what your season once looked or felt like. On the brighter side of things, these very same athletes will get another chance for improvement. The 2026 PGA Tour season is just around the corner, and now a point of emphasis for turnaround seasons.
“It’s been a F that became an F plus, just was a bad year,” Clark said. “I kind of salvaged it at the end, but the good thing is we have next year and are almost done.”
Never Get Too Comfortable
On the other side of a down season, is one that finished hitting personal goals or an overall success in play seen. A few of those Tour members spoke to that reality, but also may now have added pressure to replicate or put forth a stronger 2026 season.
“Would be an A plus, the way I finished out that season in 2024 is what carried me into a great season this year,” Spaun said. “It’s kind of like a snowball effect and confidence thing, from last year to this year.”
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Being able to build off a strong season of play, will be key for those who fall into the higher of personal season grades. Every Tour member this season has from the outside looking in, achieved some sort of greatness. It’s just those personal goals they hold dearly to themselves, that truly are the outliers in determining the worth of a season.
“I’d probably give it a B, making a Tour Championship is a hard thing to do,” Akshay Bhatia said. “Guaranteeing majors and signature events is a huge thing for me, because that’s where we want to be and I want to be an elite player.”
No matter the personal season grade these players gave themselves, one major thing in common is the ability to progress come the 2026 season. The PGA Tour continues to show why it’s not just about the sport of golf, but all the tiny nuances that go into a career as well.
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