Golf year 2023 is just around the corner, and it’s time to gauge where the world’s best players are as the new season begins. Depending on where you look, most players are rated right, but there are always those that are rated a little higher because of recent conquests or a little underrated because it’s been a while since they last. raise the title (or maybe for other reasons).
I’ve put together a list of players that are underrated by the golf community in 2023. It includes some serial contenders (Keith Mitchell and Sungjae Im) but also some surprises (Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm). This is not a list of players who have an equal chance to do something great in 2023 but a list of players that I believe in the next 12 months they will perform at a level above expectations. the present that people give them.
Here’s a list of seven golfers I’ve pointed to as evidence of why they’re currently underrated and have a chance to thrive in 2023.
1. Im Sungjae
Arguably the best player in the world hasn’t won anywhere in 2022. I’ve had three runner-up finishes, six other top 12 finishes, and hit strokes. best (1.6) of any golfer without a win in 2022. At just 24 years old, he still has plenty of room to grow. He has improved statistically in six of the last seven seasons and I think he will win one to three times in 2023 and contest at least one major championship.
2. Aaron the Wise
He’s been a sexy “this guy could be on the US Ryder Cup team next year” for the past few months, but there’s plenty of evidence to back it up. Wise is an accomplished striker who seems to have solved his betting problem in 2022. It has earned him five shots in the top 15, including at major events like the CJ Cup. and Memorial. Similar to Im, he has improved statistically in three of his last five seasons, and a 2023 where he won a couple of times and made it to Rome on his own is unlikely. avoid.
3. Keith Mitchell
You can count the number of drivers better than Mitchell on one hand. It’s Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Im and that’s it. Obviously driving doesn’t lead to victory, but with all the focus on distance in the modern PGA Tour game, it’s a skill that if you’re better than nearly everyone in the world, you will compete for a golf spot. Tournaments. Mitchell broke into the top 12 in 2022 and improved his overall tee-to-green game. If that happens again in 2023, he will win.
4. Collin Morikawa
It’s an odd name to be on this list as he is a two-time major champion and one of the earliest career winners of the PGA Tour in its history. However, there was some anxiety in the second half of 2022 about Morikawa not getting a win. This usually happens when the top players enter a certain year with an incredible record and are unable to win a tournament. Still, should not panic for Morikawa. Consider that he ranks sixth in the world in batting in 2022, and the two players below him and five players above him add up. 18 win. The acclaim for Morikawa may have gone a little too far in 2021, but now it’s completely turned the other way to the point that he’s one of the more underrated players in the world in 2023.
5. Will Zalatoris
Again, I’m not sure the world No. 7 can be considered underrated, but Zalatoris’ tackles are too good (World No. 1 in 2022) and he has a lot of near misses. miss (9 top fives 2021-2022 but only one win) that he must be on this list. He can win three times in 2023, and no one will be surprised.
6. Matt Fitzpatrick
Probably my favorite stat in golf is that Fitzpatrick has improved his stroke hit in each of his last 11 seasons. That’s remarkable and not something I imagine happened very often. As a result, he has become — along with Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele — one of the most complete players in the world. He hit at least 0.38 shots per round in each of the four major categories last season and is now a hit hitter of the caliber, leading him to become the world No.
7. Jon Rahm
Another unfamiliar name is on this list, but I’m not sure everyone understands how elite Rahm is. Basically, he wins thrice a year every year without fail, and his hit numbers are amazingly consistent (from 2.0-2.4 in five out of six seasons). recent award). One of these years, his fortune will come a little, and he will win five times, including one or two major prizes. I don’t know if that will happen in 2023, but his statistical record shows that it will at some point, and whenever it does, almost. sure Rahm will have one of the great seasons in the modern era.
