Out of the Rough: Mitsubishi Electric Classic (2026)

As the first major of the PGA Tour Champions season is behind us, the tour heads slightly north for this week’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Held at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, this year’s installment marks the 13th edition of the event.

The Mitsubishi Electric Classic was founded as the Greater Gwinnett Championship in 2013. Since 2016, the event has operated under the title sponsorship of Mitsubishi. 

TPC Sugarloaf has served as the event’s host since its inception in 2013.

The Field

Although sandwiched between two majors - last week's Senior PGA Championship and next week's Regions Tradition - many of the Tour's stars will be in attendance this week.

Among them include Stewart Cink who won last week's Senior PGA Championship as well as the Hoag Classic and Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the season.

Zach Johnson, the winner of the James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational will also be teeing it up this week.

Other notable names teeing it up this week include Cameron Percy, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Ernie Els, Ben Crane, Refief Goosen and Soren Kjeldsen.

Jerry Kelly comes in as the defending champion, having topped Els by a stroke to claim victory a season ago.

The Course

TPC Sugarloaf sits with the private gated community of Sugarloaf Country Club, roughly 30-miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia.

It is a Greg Norman design and was opened in 2000. It plays as a par-72 at roughly 7,180 yards.

The venue has three separate nine hole courses - The Stables, The Meadows and The Pines. The Mitsubishi Electric Classic will be played across The Stables and The Meadows.

TPC Sugarloaf hosted the Bell South Classic on the PGA Tour from 1997 to 2008.

The course is most notable for its stacked sod-wall bunkers, a rare feature to golf courses during the time of construction. These bunkers create sharp edges and visual problems as some landing areas can’t be seen from within the bunker.

Off-the-tee, golfers will be encouraged to take these bunkers head on as on many holes, testing the bunkers sets up the appropriate angle into the green. Those choosing to avoid the bunkers will have much more challenging approach shots into the greens.

Additionally, as previously mentioned, the course snakes its way through the neighborhood. This means that there will be several out-of-bounds not too far off the fairways.

TPC Sugarload is also known for its slick-shouldered greens which obviously will make them much harder to hold. 

The greens are laid in Bermuda grass, are immaculate and run at roughly 12 on the Stimpmeter

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Friday currently calls for a ten-percent chance of precipitation as Saturday is calling for a 60-percent chance of scattered thunderstorms. Sunday is calling for a 25-percent chance of precipitation. Temperatures will be the highest on Friday at 84-degrees before falling to 75-degrees on Saturday. Temperatures will climb back to 79-degrees on Sunday. Winds will begin the week at 10 miles-per-hour on Friday before dipping to nine miles-per-hour on Saturday. Winds will return to 10 miles-per-hour on Sunday. 

Key Stats

• Total Driving

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Scrambling

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Putting Average

• Three Putt Avoidance

• Par 5 Scoring Average

Betting Card

• Ernie Els (+1600)

• Retief Goosen (+2500)

• Y.E. Yang (+4000)

• Boo Weekley (+10000)