Power Rankings: Can anyone dethrone Austin Smotherman at the Austin Championship?

Process. Process. Process.

Every sports psychologist will convey this message to any tourism professional who needs to focus on themselves rather than the destination, especially as the conclusion of the PGA Tour season approaches. But come on, even mental skills coaches can’t deny that the destinations their clients are at make it hard not to look at them. Literally.

After a week in Bermuda and two weeks along the western coasts of Mexico, true paradises, the circuit returns to the wild splendor of the Hill Country in Texas for the first Austin Championship presented by Compliance Solutions. This is the penultimate stop of the Fall 2026 FedExCup program.

What the 120 participants can expect from the Fazio Canyons course at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, how Mother Nature could play a role in determining the outcome this week and more details are presented below the leaderboard of those expected to compete.

The Tour returns to Austin, Texas, for the first time since

Sam Burns prevailed at the last edition of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in March 2023. Surprisingly, especially for Burns, he has not had another victory since. And he won’t do it again this week because he’s not in the entries, but he will remain the most recent winner at Austin Country Club regardless of this week’s result.

Fazio Canyons is new to the PGA Tour. It opened in 1999 and is one of four courses contributing to Barton Creek’s lineup, two of which were designed by Tom Fazio. (Fazio Foothills is the other.) The par-72 stock that serves as the stage for the Austin Championship underwent a renovation in 2022 that took seven months. What was initially planned to be a bunker update turned into a large-scale project that resulted in new tees, greens and irrigation on the course. Amenities off the ropes have also been improved for members and visitors.

The result of Fazio’s recent work allows the Canyons to extend up to 7,451 meters. Not that the PGA Tour is entirely tampering with the advice of the courses it uses, but that would defeat the purpose of Fazio’s philosophy anyway. It balances well by increasing accuracy while rewarding exceptional accuracy with distance off the tee, as any proper test should. Likewise, large greens look inviting, while undulations that reduce targets into subsets of their visuals wait to judge top-down approaches. It’s not about not having the opportunity to score; it’s about being precise while employing the strategy that best fits the talent’s specific toolbox. In other words, it’s fair and consistent.

Bermuda covers the property. The lushest of the roughs measures just over two inches high, while the greens are ready to roll up to 12.5 feet, as measured by the Stimpmeter.

Of course, we’re in Texas, where the wind reigns supreme. But all things considered, locals would probably say the weather won’t be too windy. Golfers will evaluate it for themselves. In fact, residents of the Lone Star State wouldn’t mind if it speeded up a bit. This is what they know best and could be a timely advantage. Still, threats are limited to occasional gusts from the north on Thursday and a slightly stronger sustained push from the south over the weekend as the chance of rain kicks in. The latter is the dominant direction, or at least close to it. After seasonal highs in the 70s through the first three days, Sunday’s finale is unlikely to escape the mid-60s.

What little course history there is in the ranks will largely be limited to University of Texas products. The Longhorns occasionally prepare at Fazio Canyons, which is also a handy recruiting asset. However, given their unfamiliarity with the greens, the ball strikers – those comfortable in the wind and elsewhere – congregate on the inside lane until all have recorded valuable feel with their putters.

Rob Bolton of PGATour.com presents and recaps each tournament. See the schedule of his contributions below. He is also active as @RobBoltonGolf on Xwhere you can connect with him.

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