Several sites, including this one, will attempt to forecast what will happen in professional golf next year. Most people will be wrong (raises hand), and those who aren’t will be lucky.
But what’s the use of turning the calendar if you don’t make any predictions? So, after going 3-9 in this exercise a year ago, let’s give it another shot.
Who will win their first major, their first PGA Tour championship, and other important events:
Another player who should have one of these by now is Xander Schauffele. Schauffele, now 30, enters 2024 with 11 top-10 finishes in majors, including two last season when, like Hovland, he did not finish below the top 20. He got out to a hot start at LACC with a 62, but couldn’t get anything going after that, sliding to T-10, his sixth career U.S. Open top-10 in seven tries. Pinehurst is already calling out to him.
Ludvig berg: The Swedish sensation will be competing in his first majors next year, so listing him here now may be a bit early given his lack of experience. But, as berg has repeatedly demonstrated, he is a pathfinder. It would not surprise me in the least if he won the US Open or the PGA, where his driver will be a huge differentiator.
Predictions for 2023: 0-3 (Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Will Zalatoris).
Take a look at them as they win their first PGA Tour tournament.
Cameron Young is an actor. Last season was hardly the follow-up that Young or anyone expected after the Wake Forest product earned PGA Tour Rookie of the Year the prior season following a string of runner-up finishes. He reached the WGC-Dell Match Play final and finished in the top eight at the Masters and Open Championship, but he was never truly in contention on Sunday, and he was ultimately left off the US Ryder Cup team. Young is too excellent to be rejected again, and I’m betting that the Ryder Cup snub will motivate Young to win and earn a Presidents Cup spot in 2024.
Min Woo Lee: Speaking of the Presidents Cup, Lee is another rising star for International skipper Mike Weir. The flashy Australian, who can split the fairway with massive drives and turn red-hot on the greens, starts the new year ranked No. 33 in the world after winning twice and finishing in the top-10 seven times in 2023. He should maintain a high enough world ranking to compete in all of the marquee events, and if his approach play improves, he has the potential to be a top-10 player in the world by the end of 2024.
This is a volume play, Eric Cole. Cole, 35, should earn PGA Tour Rookie of the Year after playing 40 times last season and finishing with two runners-up and seven top-10s. The previous mini-tour champion understands how to win; he simply hasn’t done it on the big stage yet. If he gives himself multiple chances again next year, Cole could win a non-signature event or two while the rest of the premier Tour pros are resting.
Predictions for 2023: 2-1 (Taylor Montgomery, Davis Riley, and Sahith Theegala).
Watch them break into the top 50 in the OWGR.
Justin Suh (no 69): It took a bit for the Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year to get rolling as a PGA Tour rookie. He missed his first three cuts and didn’t even make the top 20 until the Farmers Insurance Open in January. But he finished in the top six at Honda and The Players, and while he didn’t finish in the top ten again until the fall, he was there on most weekends in 2023, missing only two cuts. He isn’t assured all of the marquee tournaments in 2024, but he has as strong a chance as anybody to break into the global and FedEx top-50s by the end of next year.
Ryo Hisatsune ( No. 76): The 21-year-old won the French Open on the DP World Tour this past season and was a top-20 performer to earn his PGA Tour card. We’ll have to wait and see how he goes on the PGA Tour, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Hisatsune in Montreal next fall.
Alejandro Tosti (no 106): Tosti can do things with the golf ball that most people can’t, and if he can keep his emotions in check, he’ll prove a lot of people wrong this year. He might not win, but he’ll spend a lot of time on the first page of the scoreboard – and will almost certainly lead the Tour in strokes gained: expletives, but who cares? Make a note of it.
Watch them break into the top 100 in the OWGR.
Nick Hardy (No. 150 right now): Hardy found some consistency this year after opening 2023 with five MCs in his first eight starts. He won Zurich with Davis Riley and finished his PGA Tour season by making 11 of his last 12 cuts. He’s in the first three signature events, so he’ll have an early chance to rack up some points. He’s a much better driver of the ball than No. 80 in strokes gained: off-the-tee, thus if he’s a top-50 driver, he’ll easily crack the top 100 in the world. All he needs to do is stay healthy.
Jacob Bridgeman (no 198): Bridgeman, one of 30 KFT graduates, has a great short game that he doesn’t need to utilize much (he was No. 15 in GIR on KFT last season). He’s a great all-around player who nearly no one knows about. Next year, he’ll have a slew of top-25 finishes.
Casey Jarvis ( No. 288): The 20-year-old South African was the Sunshine Tour Rookie of the Year two years ago, and this season he won on the Challenge Tour while also shooting a 59 in a Sunshine Tour tournament. He’s now a full-time member of the DP World Tour, and he’s positioned to keep putting up outstanding numbers – perhaps enough to earn some Presidents Cup consideration.
2023 predictions:Â 1-2 (Chris Gotterup, Davis Thompson, Kevin Yu)
