These seven Korn Ferry Tour golfers could emerge as breakout superstars on the PGA Tour in 2023
January doesn’t mark the start of a new golf season, but it does represent the time and place where golf really begins in 2023. Most of the world’s best players will. play in the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii, and so many of the next generations of stars and superstars won’t be with them.
That’s because next year’s big winners and 2027’s Ryder Cuppers – at least some of them – toiled on last year’s Korn Ferry Tour without a chance to land the win they needed. necessary to reach Kapalua. Some of the golfers who earned their PGA Tour cards advanced to the big round in the fall, and some of them even played pretty well.
There will always be conspiracies surrounding the top players in the world — Rory McIlroys, Jordan Spieths and Collin Morikawas. But sport is also often built on hope for the future. While that’s not as crazy in golf as some other team sports, it’s still relevant and important for the future. So while we’ll be spending a lot of time and energy on the Tournament of Champions as it goes on, today we’re going to take a look at some of the players who entered the minor leagues last year but there can be significant years at the start of the PGA Tour after the TOC.
1. Justin Suh
I’ve written a lot about Suh, but I’m still fascinated by him. He won the Korn Ferry Tour championship in September and was named Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year in November. If you’re looking for some feedback, his best PGA Tour start in seven fall events was T29 in the CJ Cup, and he only hit hits when hitting the ball in one of them (also the CJ Cup). However, if you look at the previous list of Korn Ferry Tour Best Players, you’ll find an absolute score.
- 2020-21: Stephan Jager
- 2019: Scottie Scheffler
- 2018: Sung Jae Im
- 2017: Chesson Hadley
- 2016: Wesley Bryan
- 2015: Patton Kizzire
- 2014: Carlos Ortiz
That’s a lot of PGA Tour champions. The only question for me is whether Suh will become Scheffler or Kizzire. One is a good PGA Tour player who has won at that level before. The other is a major champion and former world No.
2. Taylor Montgomery
His journey from mid-April to the end of the season has been ridiculous. Eight top 10 of 10 Korn Ferry stars, followed by six top 15 of seven PGA Tour stars in the fall. His game is, at least statistically, not a PGA Tour star, but overall, Data Golf rates him as the highest-rated player in the world (currently 28th). , ahead of Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama and just behind Jordan Spieth). also recently played on KFT.
3. Nick Hardy
The former Illinois golfer finished T14 at the US Open in June and had three top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour in June. He’s been steadily improving over the past three years and a fourth could take him. become a top 50 or top 75 player in the world.
4. Carl Yuan
He’s second on the Korn Ferry Tour score list behind Suh. He doesn’t perform as strongly as Suh (or, to me, even Hardy), but from a production standpoint, he can’t be ignored. In the last 25 Korn Ferry Tour starts, Yuan has had one win and another five top five finishes.
5. Will Gordon
Gordon ended his Korn Ferry Tour year with three best doubles in his last five starts and came in second in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals behind Suh. He nearly won the 2020 Travelers Championship and has enjoyed some success on the PGA Tour track. At 26, he’s certainly not the youngest on this list, but he does tee off pretty far, hit the ball well, and his Data Golf ranking (No. 84) shows that the World Golf Ranking His Official World (No. 134) has some interesting points. up to do.
6. Austin Eckroat
A fellow Oklahoma Stater, Eckroat thrived as the Korn Ferry Tour season progressed. He’s fifth in Korn Ferry Tour Finals scores, and Data Golf quietly places him in the world’s top 200 players list. Similar to his former teammate, Viktor Hovland, Eckroat may struggle with his short play but is a superb golfer, which – thankfully for him – is a skill the PGA has. The most rewarding tour.
7. Davis Thompson
You may remember Thompson as someone who made a brief appearance at the 2020 US Open when he was still an amateur in Georgia, but his pro career on the Korn Ferry Tour has been impressive. He’s 18th in points but won in June and then had some good starts on the PGA Tour in the fall (two in the top 12). The pedigree is huge, too. Thompson is a two-time All-American champion in Georgia, a former SEC Player of the Year and former No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
