Golf has never been in better hands when some of the biggest names in the sport are still young. Secure in the prime of their careers, these players were able to carve their names into the golf history books and will continue to add to their stories in the years to come.
In 2022, all four major championship winners register as under-30 golfers, and the same will happen in 2021 if there is no win at the worthy PGA Championship. memory of Phil Mickelson at Kiawah Island. As of 2017, 16 of the most recent 23 major championship winners have yet to reach 30 with exceptions like Tiger Woods’ 2019 Masters championship and Dustin Johnson’s blue jacket a year later.
Some of them also include Hideki Matsuyama and Brooks Koepka, who have turned 30. Patrick Cantlay is another player who has just celebrated his 30th birthday, and therefore, will not be on the list below.
While the golf world is divided, for this particular list the focus remains on the PGA Tour. Cameron Smith should be in this pool of players and Joaquin Niemann is probably outside, but without playing against the best on a consistent basis, the waters they enter are only going to get muddier.
Here is a list of the 10 best under-30s on the PGA Tour and what to expect from them in 2023.
Top 10 under 30 years old
1. Jon Rahm (28): Three victories are considered by most prophets to be a year of defeat, not Rahm himself. Champion of the Mexico Open, Open de España and DP World Tour Championship, the man who started 2022 as world No. 1 ended his year with a three-time win in his last 14 starts worldwide. . Making all four cuts at major championships, the Spaniard’s best was T12 at the US Open, where he hit five of his last 36 holes. Competing and winning in major championships is the defining measure of success for him moving forward – whether he likes it or not. If he can replicate his 2020-21 period, where in six major championships he has won five top 10 finishes, including his only major title at the 2021 US Open, then it is very likely that Rahm will return to the top of the world golf village in 2023.
2. Scottie Scheffler (26): His launch party is in the spring of 2022, but the rest of Scheffler’s year remains impressive. Championed four times in six protracted tournaments, the Texan won the World Golf Championship, rose to world No. 1 and donned the green jacket in less than two months. Scheffler wasted a late lead at the Charles Schwab Challenge and Tour Championship, where he ended up finishing second. The third and runner-up came at the US Open, where a near miss on the birdie on the 72nd hole, a playoff with Matt Fitzpatrick would be forced to take place. The Presidents Cup is a disappointment, but even the best players have moments of lull. Scheffler will be a fixture on this list for the foreseeable future, and given the all-round nature of his game, other major championship titles are likely to go to him.
3. Xander Schauffele (29): The past year has been a transformative year for Schauffele, who, like Tony Finau, is seen as a player who withdraws from the big leagues. Winning the Zurich Classic with Cantlay added to the uncanny nature as he advanced the titles (limited field, uncut, Olympics), but Schauffele added to his total it during the summer. Sahith Theegala outlasted at the Visitor’s Championship, he was back in the winner’s circle again in his next match at the Scottish Open. A strong showing in the FedEx Cup Qualifiers resulted in a fine season, but similar to Rahm, the big-league acumen we’re used to seeing is gone. Since 2017, Schauffele has finished 15 times in the top 20 after participating in 22 major tournaments. With six of them in the top five – and two of them second – Schauffele may have lost a title in 2022 but is likely to add another to the “player of the year” list. no major” in 2023 unless he does something, well, major.
4. Justin Thomas (29): Now having won 15 times on the PGA Tour, Thomas is definitely one of the elite in the game. Placing him at number four on the list might even be a bit harsh, but while the quality of his wins is still there, the numbers are lagging behind. It took a tremendous effort — and some help from Mito Pereira — at the PGA Championship to win a second Wanamaker Trophy for his only title in 2022. Overtaken by Sam Burns at the Tournament. Valspar and Rory McIlroy champions at the Canadian Open, Thomas beat himself well enough to claim a multi-win season, but was unable to do so. This is the third season in the past four years that he’s gone with just one trophy. Those tournaments could include the 2022 PGA Championship and the 2021 Players Championship; however, Thomas is too good a player to make it to the winner round once a year. Hopefully this will change in 2023.
5. Collin Morikawa (25): Tell most players that they will finish in the top five in two of the four major tournaments, and they will accept and run away. Morikawa? Not much. About to track Niemann at the Genesis Invitational, the two-time major champion looks well-suited to enter the winner’s circle in early spring. That’s not it, Morikawa finished his fifth solo at masters ahead of a relatively smooth start to his summer. Battling his swing, he went to The Country Club for the US Open disappointed with his irons, only to become a 36-hole lead a few days later. A 7 to 77 in the third round scuppered his chance to add to the third leg of the Grand Slam of his career, but he still fought in the final round to finish in T5. Without a worldwide win in over a year, Morikawa remains a top player. Given the quality of his irons and the use of a putter coach, he should have no problem finishing this dry period in 2023.
6. Matt Fitzpatrick (28): The perception of Fitzpatrick has changed in 2022. Once a skinny British player who needed a hot week to compete, he has become a major champion at his helm with good riders. most of them. While it seemed to happen overnight, consistent pace and hard work were the basis for Fitzpatrick’s rise. Joining Jack Nicklaus and Juli Inkster as the only players to win the US Amateur and US Open on the same golf course, Fitzpatrick defeated haters who questioned whether he could never win the PGA Tour or not. In total, Fitzpatrick has won 17 top 25 finishes from 24 starts around the world and his strengths have been on full display in Europe since 2015.
7. Will Zalatoris (26): He was built for the present moment, and although the pop-ups didn’t go his way for much of 2022, they did happen eventually. Zalatoris continued to be one of the best major championship contenders of the past year as he lost in the playoffs at the PGA Championship and was one stroke behind Fitzpatrick at the US Open. In 10 appearances at major tournaments, he had 3 runner-up finishes and 3 top 10 finishes. His batting allowed him to take on difficult golf courses and it did. that at the St. Jude in August. Simultaneously with some well-timed shots, Zalatoris defeated Sepp Straka in the playoffs in Memphis to win his first PGA Tour title. The floodgates were quickly closed the following week when he was forced to withdraw from the BMW Championship due to a back injury and he has not competed since. Back injuries are always scary when discussing golfers, and Zalatoris will be no different. Possessing a burly frame, he will return at the Tournament of Champions and will hopefully put any health concerns in the rearview mirror.
8. Viktor Hovland (25): Simply put, Hovland wins. It may not be pretty, it may not be flashy, and it may not happen in the most prestigious tournaments, but the Norwegians still find a way to collect hardware on a consistent basis. That must count for something. As of 2020, he’s been seven times world champion and 2022 shows us he could soon get his chance at the biggest championship. Along with Rory McIlroy in the final pair on the final round of the 150th Open in St. Andrews, Hovland finally slowed down to finish in T4. Getting a taste of what it feels like to compete in a major championship for the first time will only help him in future endeavors. His short game has improved dramatically from the low point of the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he let that trophy slip out of his hands, and if it continues on this trajectory, win totals. Hovland’s underrated should only increase.
9. Jordan Spieth (29): By this time next year, he’ll be 30, but Spieth has still found his way onto this list. Since experiencing the lowest of all lows from 2018-2020, he has found his way back in line with victories at the Texas Open 2021 and RBC Heritage 2022. As a member of the After winning the Ryder Cup and Presidents for the past two years, the next step in the three-time major champion’s return to prominence is to win a major. He has finished a few times on the podium in 2021 and thanks to his improvements both at teeing off and on approach in 2022, this upcoming year will say a lot about Spieth’s position. in the game. The pitcher is bound to have better behavior, and if that’s the case, Spieth could be at the peak of his first multi-win season since 2017.
10. Cameron Young (25): He’s going to win in 2023. Standing on the podium seven times in his rookie campaign — not breaking through a single one — Young always puts himself in a position where he can win. in golf tournaments. Diversity, luck and perhaps some inexperience have hindered his attempt to raise the trophy, but that will no longer be a valid excuse in 2023. Second place at Genesis Invitational, third place at Genesis Invitational. PGA Championship and runner-up at The Open, his name has become a household name. on the first page of the charts in some of the biggest events of the year. His father left his position at Sleppy Hollow to join the Tour full-time with him and perhaps this familiar face will take Young to the next level and into the winners’ circle.
Honorable Mentions: Sam Burns, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim
