The PGA Tour has reached a natural breaking point in its schedule with the first signature event this week at Pebble Beach.

Michael Thobjornsen will play in AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this week, but Davis Chatfield will not. Chatfield will likely play again at the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches on February 26.

This small bucket is going to dive into their stats and play so far this season.

Thorbjornsen has settled into a routine on the PGA Tour and seems poised to win. This week at Pebble Beach would be a heck of a win. There might be some Presidents Cup buzz around him as we get into the summer schedule.

Thorbjornsen climbed 22 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings to No. 43. This time last year, he was ranked 191.

He was also in the driver’s seat at the WM Phoenix Open, standing on the 16th tee box with a one-shot lead at -17 after an electric eagle on the par-5 15th.

“I don't think I failed out there. I'm just learning,” Thorbjornsen said after the round. “So, yeah, I put myself in that position. I was leading after what, 70 holes, 69 holes, whatever it was. I mean, we're inching our way closer and closer. It'll happen at some point.”

However, bogeys on the par-3 16th and the par-4 17th put Thorbjornsen one shot outside the playoff between Hideki Matsuyama and Chris Gotterup.

Here are his three results from the 2026 season:

Thorbjornsen has steadily improved each facet of his game. The DataGolf comparisons between last year and this year are promising.

Last year, Thorbjornsen missed the cut in both the American Express and Farmers Insurance and earned $18,032 for a T74 finish in the WM Open.

Already, things are turning around for the Thorbjornsen. Seeing courses for a second time is helping. The pressure down the stretch this past weekend is also a great learning experience. Being in the hunt with a veteran caddie will serve him well in the future as they learn tendencies as pressure builds.

Thorbjornsen hit his tee shot on 17 into the water on Sunday, a tough break on a tricky hole. But the bogey on 16 highlighted what needs sharpening. He missed the green long, a bit of a course management error, and then couldn’t save par after hitting a pedestrian chip to 17 feet. He then missed a more makeable par putt on 17 from 8 feet.

He even admitted that his shot into 15 surprised him and his caddie JJ Jakovac, “I hit a really good shot. It was just left of the pin. JJ and I were both a little shocked that it flew pin high. Obviously, we were trying to land it 12, 13 yards short.”

On 16, he hit his shot too far. He did the same on 15 but got away with it.

Needless to say, the green shoots of this season are already showing for Thorbjornsen, and even he knows how close he is to truly breaking through.

Chatfield has teed it up in four events so far this season. He made one cut in the American Express, finishing T68.

Over those four events, Chatfield has struggled. Length was always going to be an issue for him. His strengths on the Korn Ferry Tour were his accuracy off the tee and his ability to scramble.

Up to this point, Chatfield is ranked 1st in Total Driving Efficiency, which basically means he gets the most out of his driver when carry distance and swing speed are combined. Here’s a better breakdown from Johnny Wunder on Golf.com.

He’s never going to be the longest guy on tour; he’s never going to be average in distance on tour. He hits it 291 yards and the average on tour is 307.9 (but the ball doesn’t need to be rolled back…).

A look at his driving pentagon suggests that distance is the only way to creep into the top 100 in Total Driving.

But where Chatfield can chip away once he gets to Florida for the next portion of the schedule is on his approach shots. And he might fare better on courses where water and trouble lurk, and his driving accuracy can help him.

But after the opening four events, Chatfield’s approach numbers weren’t ideal for making cuts.

The breakdown of approach ranking by yardage is fascinating, too, and will probably be something worth following for Chatfield over the course of the year. He’ll have longer shots into greens on average, but he’s been okay from 125-150 yards and from 200-225 yards!

Okay, then we can look at his scrambling when he does miss greens. He’s ranked 57th in SG: Around the Green, and he’s pretty solid from outside 30 yards, but that’s no way to make a living.

Then there’s Chatfield’s putting. He’s not 3-putting, but he’s also making many of his first putts either, which puts him near the bottom of the tour in SG: Putting.

In the coming weeks, Chatfield will have a chance to review his performances to date. Everything has been new, and he’s had to travel to Hawaii, Southern California, and Arizona. Grasses are different. He’s playing new courses. He’s trying to settle into routines. The lights are a little brighter.

He’ll have to find the green shoots of the first spell on tour and pick away at the margins where he can make some gains and find some more weekend tee times in Florida and through the summer and fall.