In 2025 the PGA Tour conducted a three-event golf influencer series that kicked off at TPC Sawgrass last March, with notable YouTubers like Grant Horvat, Luke Kwon, and Roger Steele.
This week’s Players Championship, however, won’t be featuring any golf creators in organized competition.
While YouTube Golf and content creators with the sport have continued to grow in popularity, the PGA Tour did not set out to make the Creator Classic an annual occurrence at the Players, or any other tournament, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Front Office Sports.
Overall, there have been four Creator Classics, which featured popular golf influencers and other celebrities (between nine and 12 players) competing in live made-for-TV showcases on the same course as that week’s PGA Tour event the day before a tournament begins.
The inaugural edition took place ahead of the 2024 Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which also hosted the 2025 Creator Classic Series finale that awarded $100,000 to winner Brad Dalke, a former collegiate golfer at Oklahoma and current member of influencer group Good Good Golf, which has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers.
Horvat, who has 1.6 million YouTube subscribers, won last year’s Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass, but didn’t participate in the second or third edition at the Truist Championship and Tour Championship, respectively. However, Horvat did compete in several editions of LIV Golf’s influencer series, The Duels. PGA Tour member Wesley Bryan was suspended for also competing in one of the LIV Duels.
The PGA Tour has yet to announce what’s next for the Creator Classic franchise, but has overall been pleased with its execution and expanded relationship with YouTube (which sponsored the events) because of it, the source says.
Last year’s events were broadcast on YouTube, Golf Channel, ESPN+, and other streaming options. In addition to the live broadcasts, creator participants were allowed to film their rounds, and most posted extensive videos from the competition after the fact.
Last year, the PGA Tour said the Creator Classic at TPC Sawgrass delivered more than 16 million video views across all social platforms.
Creator Classic or not, golf influencers that have been involved with the series figure to remain a priority for the PGA Tour.
Good Good Golf is hosting a new PGA Tour event this fall—the Good Good Championship. Paige Spiranac, who has more than 11 million social media followers, is launching a joint media venture with Pro Shop, a production studio the PGA Tour has equity in. Steele is the in-venue MC for TGL, the Tiger Woods-led indoor golf league that the PGA Tour has an ownership stake in.
LIV, meanwhile, has also not yet announced any plans for The Duels during its 2026 season, which completed its third event Sunday in Hong Kong.
The Duels have featured content creators competing along LIV players like Bryson DeChambeau, who has more than 2.6 million YouTube subscribers.
DeChambeau, whose contract is expiring after this season, told FOS in January that not re-signing with LIV or returning to the PGA Tour, and simply playing the four major championships while ramping up his YouTube Golf content was an “incredibly viable option.”
