Burns and Scheffler share top spot on 2026 majors table
CBS Sports’ cumulative 2026 major leaderboard has Sam Burns and Scottie Scheffler tied at 20 under across the four championships.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
3 min read
Sam Burns did not win one of golf’s four biggest trophies in 2026, but CBS Sports’ cumulative major leaderboard still puts him right at the top of the season-long major pile.
Burns and Scottie Scheffler finished tied at 20 under par across the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open, according to the CBS Sports tally compiled after the final major of the year. The list counts only players who made the cut in all four majors, meaning they played all 16 rounds.
Only 14 players cleared that bar in 2026, CBS Sports reported. Among the hundreds who teed it up in at least one major, that group made every weekend and earned a place on the cumulative board.
Four majors, four different winners
The 2026 major season produced four different champions, according to CBS Sports: Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai, Wyndham Clark and Ryan Fox. McIlroy won the Masters, while Fox closed the major schedule by winning The Open Championship.
CBS Sports’ Patrick McDonald also reported that Rai finished as the top DP World Tour member in Race to Dubai points earned across the four majors, narrowly staying ahead of Fox after Fox’s Open win. McIlroy was not eligible for that distinction as framed by CBS Sports.
Burns’ route to 20 under came through a steady card across the four events: 9 under at the Masters, even par at the PGA Championship, 3 under at the U.S. Open and 8 under at The Open. Scheffler matched him with 11 under at the Masters, 2 under at the PGA Championship, even par at the U.S. Open and 7 under at The Open.
Neither Burns nor Scheffler finished over par at any of the four majors, CBS Sports noted.
The top names on score to par
- Sam Burns: 20 under
- Scottie Scheffler: 20 under
- Xander Schauffele: 13 under
- Rory McIlroy: 11 under
- Cameron Young: 11 under
- Ludvig Åberg: 10 under
- Collin Morikawa: 6 under
- Chris Gotterup: even par
Schauffele finished third on the cumulative score-to-par table at 13 under, despite placing inside the top 20 in all four majors, according to CBS Sports. McIlroy and Cameron Young were next at 11 under.
Young’s season featured two runner-up finishes, CBS Sports reported. Gotterup, another player who made all four cuts, ended the major campaign at even par overall.
Strokes gained tells a tighter story
A separate strokes-gained leaderboard, credited by CBS Sports to Rick Gehman, put Scheffler just ahead of Burns. Scheffler gained 40.85 strokes across the four majors, while Burns gained 40.83.
The same list had Schauffele third at 33.85, Young fourth at 31.87 and McIlroy fifth at 31.86. Åberg was sixth at 30.87, making him the last player above 30 strokes gained.
That measure also brought in players who did not make every major cut. Justin Rose, who had three top-15 finishes before missing the cut at The Open, ranked seventh at 28.02 strokes gained, according to CBS Sports. Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed and 2026 major winners Rai, Fox and Clark also appeared in the top 14.
Among players above 30 strokes gained, McIlroy was the only one who won a major in 2026, CBS Sports reported. On the other side, none of the players who finished over par on the cumulative score-to-par leaderboard cracked the top 14 in strokes gained.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS Sports.