Every Mulligan Tour season has to start somewhere, and for 27 years it has started the same way: a field of competitors, seemingly a cold April morning, and some prestigious hardware on the line. The Tin Cup typically holds court on the second weekend of the season, but in 2026 it gets the spotlight all to itself — the undisputed season opener, the first event on the calendar, the round that gets everything started. Saturday, April 11th, that tradition continues with a 36-player field, eight brand-new faces making their Mulligan Tour debuts, and a defending champion who made it look easy a year ago.
That defending champion is Mike Lee, who won the 2025 Tin Cup with a clean net 69 (-3) — the kind of round that sets a tone before Memorial Day even arrives. Lee returns at an 11.7 index and carries the target that comes with being the reigning titlist. The Tin Cup never has a soft field, and 2026 is no exception. Greg Kline arrives fresh off his 2024 Tin Cup victory — his fourth all-time — and is quietly chasing $3,000 in career earnings, a number no player in tour history has ever reached. Kline also has the deepest Tin Cup résumé in the active field, having won it in 2006, 2018, 2021, and 2024. When he steps to the first tee at Hickory Creek, he knows every slope of it. Kevin Gregoire, who won the Tin Cup himself in 2020, brings a 6.6 index and the kind of ball-striking that makes him dangerous every time the season begins. Jeff Klipa, the tour’s all-time wins leader with 33, is in the field at 13.4 and has never stopped being a threat. Chuck Withey — the 2025 money title holder — and Mike Prieskorn, who holds 24 career victories, round out a group of veterans that will put serious heat on anyone trying to run away with it early. Chris Stalo, who pushed all the way to the Tour Championship last year, is also in the draw and looking to build on a strong 2025.
The course demands respect. Hickory Creek plays to a par 72 from the white tees at 5,909 yards — rating 68.8, slope 129 — and it has chewed up enough scorecards over the years to earn that reputation. Gold tees are in play for senior players, red tees for the ladies. The field goes off in a modified shotgun start at 8am. Players get two extra mulligans to deploy anywhere on the course except the greens, with the proceeds from those mulligans going directly to Gleaner’s Food Bank. Closest-to-the-pin competitions are set up on holes 6 and 11.
Eight players are making their Mulligan Tour competitive debuts Saturday: Jamie Wilson, Mike Wassman, Jon Stanis, Chase Keilitz, Vinnie Calles, John Donitzen, Nancy Wright, and David Jarboe. Several of them already have Q School rounds under their belts from late March — Wassman, in particular, caught attention with his ball-striking at Q School 2. None of them have handicap histories on this tour yet, but that’s exactly what the Tin Cup is for. The season opener has a way of telling you quickly what kind of player you are and what work lies ahead. A few of these names will surprise people before the day is over.
As for conditions, bring a layer or two for the first tee. Temperatures are expected to sit in the low 40s at the 8am shotgun, with the thermometer climbing to the mid 50s by the time the field reaches the 18th hole. The forecast is sunny, which means cold but clean — the kind of crisp spring morning that rewards players who keep the ball in play and don’t let the early chill get in their heads. Hickory Creek in April is no Caribbean vacation, but it beats watching golf on TV.
The 2026 Mulligan Tour season has been building since March. Q School is done. Handicaps are stamped. Storylines are set. All that’s left is the golf. Hickory Creek opens its gates Saturday at 8am, and the first player to sign a winning scorecard puts their name on a champion’s list that goes back to 1999. That’s what the Tin Cup has always been — the moment the whole season stops being hypothetical.