One thing occurred this yr in golf.
A 23-year-old Swedish rookie, Ludvig Åberg, who had by no means performed in a significant was picked for the Ryder Cup together with a lesser-known 22-year-old Danish twin, Nicolai Højgaard. Two 25-year-olds and 21-year-old Ruoning Yin gained 4 of the 5 girls’s majors, and one of many largest tales in sports activities grew to become 20-year-old Stanford phenom Rose Zhang going from historic beginner to quick LPGA Tour winner.
An beginner, Sam Bennett, had his identify on the high of the Masters leaderboard by way of two days in Augusta. Viktor Hovland went on a historic August heater to make his declare as the very best golfer on the earth — earlier than his twenty sixth birthday. Oh, and South Korean star Tom Kim reached No. 11 worldwide by the point he was 21.
Youth has at all times been on the core of golf, a sport that has at all times produced prodigies and superstars within the highlight since childhood. So perhaps this isn’t new. However as a result of that is such an thrilling time for youth in golf, it’s likelihood to take a look at the subsequent wave of golfers that you simply’ll know very quickly: The 25 finest golfers beneath 25.
Some you already know, as a result of their accomplishments have demanded your consideration, and a few are working beneath the radar however may very properly be subsequent. With out additional ado, meet your subsequent era.
(Word: The checklist is ordered alphabetically by final identify)
Ludvig Åberg (24, Sweden)
He’s tall. He’s robust. He can drive the ball farther and extra precisely than all however one or two gamers on the earth. And Ludvig Åberg is now not coming. He’s right here. After successful almost each nationwide collegiate award at Texas Tech and breaking a few of Rickie Fowler’s Massive 12 data, Åberg instantly turned professional and hung within the high 40 at nearly each occasion. Then he gained the European Masters and earned himself a Ryder Cup spot at 23. He and accomplice Viktor Hovland completely dominated in foursomes successful two matches — together with the biggest blowout in Ryder Cup historical past over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka — on the way in which to the European victory. After which he bought rolling on the PGA Tour fall slate, going T2, T13 and T10 earlier than successful the RSM Traditional on Sunday to qualify for the Masters and two signature occasions. The one query left is that if he can compete for majors in 2024.
Akshay Bhatia (21, USA)
Bhatia determined to show professional at 17 as an alternative of going to school. Whereas many different rising stars his age (and on this checklist) have been successful school accolades and studying find out how to be the highest canine, Bhatia was studying find out how to be a professional. And meaning studying find out how to take care of the nice and the dangerous. He didn’t make a single minimize within the 2020 season, and 2021 wasn’t significantly better, so he went all the way down to the Korn Ferry Tour and figured it out. And thru all that, he’s nonetheless solely 21. In 2023, he earned high 10s at smaller occasions just like the Puerto Rico Open, the Mexico Open and Barbasol earlier than successful the alternate area Barracuda Championship. Now, he’s taking part in fairly properly within the PGA Tour fall occasions, indicating he could be able to take a step.
The golf world bought to know Sam Bennett in the course of the 2023 Masters. (Patrick Smith / Getty Photographs)
Sam Bennett (23, USA)
The good factor about Sam Bennett is that no person ever sees him coming. He wasn’t the highly-touted younger star when he gained the 2022 U.S. Novice. He wasn’t even the massive beginner identify on the 2023 Masters, however he nonetheless discovered himself within the closing teams on the weekend whereas tying the 36-hole beginner document. After which, when folks nonetheless wrote him off as only a good story, he turned professional and earned a T20 on the Canadian Open and made the minimize on the U.S. Open. His type has slowed down this summer time and fall, however now not will we overlook Sam Bennett. He’s a competitor.
GO DEEPER
The gumption of Sam Bennett, the Masters’ most stunning contender
Jacob Bridgeman (23, USA)
Bridgeman was a star at Clemson, successful an ACC title and ending second within the PGA Tour College standings, which gave him quick Korn Ferry Tour standing. And at 23, Bridgeman had an impressively constant first full skilled season. He earned 14 top-20 finishes and ranked No. 14 within the closing KFT standings, incomes him a Tour card in 2024. He has not gained but, however he proved he may very well be a week-in, week-out professional and never lose type.
Nick Dunlap (19, USA)
There was Åberg. Then there shall be Gordon Sargent (extra on him later). After which the subsequent in line of the famous person amateurs is Dunlap. He went to Alabama final yr as the highest junior golfer within the nation, and by the tip of his freshman yr he introduced himself as a star to observe. He gained the U.S. Novice in June, beating Sargent in match play, and earned All-SEC first-team honors. He joined Tiger Woods as the one male golfers to win each a U.S. Junior Novice and a U.S. Novice, and he’s already the No. 3 beginner on the earth.
Parker Coody (23, USA)
The oldest (by 37 minutes) of the Coody twins, Parker was a key a part of the 2022 Texas nationwide title staff and completed T2 within the particular person nationwide title. Then, he turned professional that summer time on PGA Tour Canada and gained an occasion in Manitoba earlier than transferring to Korn Ferry in 2023 the place he bought off to a tough begin. He missed 4 of his first 5 cuts, however then he bought sizzling and completed with 5 top-five finishes and ended with a top-30 season and a PGA Tour card for 2024. The Coody brothers are the grandsons of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody.
Pierceson Coody (23, USA)
Each Coody brothers earned their PGA Tour playing cards this yr, however Pierceson earned his in barely easier trend. At one level the highest beginner on the earth, Pierceson was additionally on the 2022 nationwide title staff at Texas and earned quick Korn Ferry standing due to ending first in PGA Tour College. He then gained his first skilled event in solely his third occasion in 2022, and in 2023, he gained twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, which simply earned him his card for 2024.
Adrien Dumont de Chassart went on a heater the second he bought on the Korn Ferry Tour this summer time. (Jeff Curry / Getty Photographs)
Adrien Dumont de Chassart (23, Belgium)
A former Massive Ten golfer of the yr at Illinois, Dumont de Chassart turned professional in June and instantly gained his first Korn Ferry Tour begin on the BMW Charity Professional-Am. Possibly much more impressively, he opened his professional profession with six consecutive top-10 finishes, launching himself into the dialog as a wild-card Ryder Cup candidate. So in only a few months on the minor league circuit Dumont de Chassart was in a position to bounce to No. 11 on the KFT standings and earn himself a PGA Tour card in 2024. He’s a really seemingly candidate to make European Ryder Cup groups sooner or later.
Austin Eckroat (24, USA)
At simply 24, Eckroat introduced himself with a U.S. Open record-tying 29 on the entrance 9 at Los Angeles Nation Membership on Sunday to complete T10 in his first main as a professional. The four-time All-American from Oklahoma State needed to combat to earn his PGA Tour card on the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2022, and his 2023 was fascinating. He missed 13 cuts but in addition completed T2 on the Byron Nelson, fifth at Puntacana, T10 on the U.S. Open T16 at Charles Schwab and T24 on the elevated Vacationers Championship. However then proper when he had an opportunity to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs, he missed consecutive cuts. Eckroat is an enormous expertise, ending the autumn marketing campaign with a top-10 end at RSM, so he’s a enjoyable one to observe in 2024.
Ayaka Furue (23, Japan)
Furue got here up as a star on the Japanese tour, not incomes an LPGA card till 2022, however she has established herself as some of the aggressive golfers on the verge of creating a leap. Along with successful eight occasions in Japan, she earned her first LPGA win in 2022. However perhaps most apparently is how Furue retains placing herself within the combine at majors. At 21, she completed 4th on the Evian Championship, and completed 2023 with a run of T8, T6, T36 and T21 on the closing 4 majors. She’s clearly on her means.
Nasa Hataoka has already had a number of shut requires her first main championship. (Yoshimasa Nakano / Getty Photographs)
Nasa Hataoka (24, Japan)
She is perhaps the closest any golfer has ever come to a number of majors with out successful one. At 17, Hataoka grew to become the youngest participant and first beginner to win a Japanese LPGA main and joined the LPGA Tour the subsequent yr. By the point Hataoka turned 23 she had six LPGA wins and 6 extra in Japan. Hataoka has thrived in majors but come simply quick — 9 top-10 finishes, and he or she has taken two majors to a playoff and misplaced each. The primary was a three-way playoff within the 2018 PGA Championship at 19, and the second got here within the 2021 U.S. Open to Yuka Saso.
Nicolai Højgaard (22, Denmark)
The wild card addition to Europe’s successful Ryder Cup squad, Højgaard didn’t essentially steal the present or achieve consideration the way in which Åberg did, however he had loads of moments asserting his expertise in clutch moments. He’s been racking up accolades for years now, successful the 2018 European Novice and serving to Denmark win the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy, however his win this previous weekend on the DP World Tour Championship towards most of the finest golfers on the earth could be closing step to point out he actually is considered one of these guys. He now has three DP World Tour wins and made the cuts at each the PGA Championship and Open Championship this summer time, even getting T23 at Royal Liverpool. Højgaard needs to be one of many subsequent stars of the era.
Rasmus Højgaard (22, Denmark)
The second set of twins on this checklist, Rasmus really has extra wins to his identify than Nicolai with 4 DP World Tour victories. He simply hasn’t fairly hit a public peak the way in which his brother has to get Ryder Cup calls already. Nonetheless, Rasmus has some huge wins just like the European Masters and is at present on a European run of 4th, T25, T26, T16 and T6 in his final 5 occasions. He simply barely the missed the tenth spot in within the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings due to a painful end on the championship, however there’s little doubt he’s an enormous a part of the rise of the Scandinavians.
Tom Kim (21, South Korea)
If this checklist have been a rating, Kim could be the highest male golfer. He introduced himself in 2022, at 20 years previous, by successful the Wyndham Championship, the Shriners Youngsters’s Open and stealing the present on the Presidents Cup. However 2023 was seemingly the yr of proving that hype was legitimate. He rose as excessive as No. 13 within the DataGolf rankings with 15 top-20 finishes in his first full PGA Tour season, and he excelled in majors going T16 at Augusta, T8 and the U.S. Open and T2 on the Open Championship. Profitable once more in Las Vegas in October solely made it extra clear — Kim won’t have the driving size of different younger stars, however his iron play and placing have an opportunity to spark a particular profession.
GO DEEPER
A 20-year-old in contrast to every other is golf’s subsequent international famous person
The 6-foot-8 Christo Lamprecht wowed followers at this yr’s Open Championship. (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Photographs)
Christo Lamprecht (22, South Africa)
Keep in mind Christo Lamprecht? The 6-foot-8 South African who gained the British Novice after which held the first-round lead on the Open Championship weeks later? Nicely, he’s not just a few shock story. He’s a extremely thrilling younger golfer who jumped to No. 1 on the earth beginner rankings this fall thanks to a different beginner win in September. The Georgia Tech star is No. 2 within the present PGA Tour College standings (wherein the winner will get an automated Tour card), and he has automated exemptions to the 2024 Masters and U.S. Open, so we’ll get extra probabilities to see the absurdly lengthy teenager.
Ingrid Lindblad (23, Sweden)
As soon as Rose Zhang turned professional, Lindblad took over because the No. 1 beginner on the earth. She is a embellished Swedish star most well-known for setting the beginner U.S. Open 18-hole scoring document with a 65 at Pine Needles in 2022. She helped Sweden win the European Women’ Staff Championship in 2019 and 2020, and earned SEC Participant of the Yr at LSU. The subsequent yr she gained the 2021 European Women’ Novice Championship by three strokes in Italy after which was runner-up on the 2022 Augusta Nationwide Girls’s Novice. She’s made just one main minimize up to now, however Lindblad is likely one of the high younger stars in golf.
David Puig (21, Spain)
The lone LIV golfer on this checklist, Puig leaving Arizona State to show professional and be a part of LIV was an enormous coup for the upstart league. He was turning into one of many high amateurs on the earth, and in 2023 he joined Torque GC. He completed thirty first within the LIV standings and is at present a free agent, however he completed the ultimate two months with a T5 and T3 earlier than occurring a heater on the Asian Tour this fall together with a win in Singapore. Time will inform what occurs with LIV golfers in regards to the European Ryder Cup staff, however in idea, Puig has the expertise to be a mainstay for Europe’s subsequent era.
Gordon Sargent (20, USA)
Sargent is the highest star on the beginner circuit, even when he’s not at present ranked first general and didn’t win the U.S. Novice. He’s the identify everyone seems to be speaking about, the massively lengthy driver with management who gained the 2022 particular person nationwide title at Vanderbilt and made the minimize on the U.S. Open in June. The joy round his expertise is on the extent of Åberg, but Sargent is 4 years youthful. And due to the brand new PGA Tour U Accelerated program, Sargent instantly has PGA Tour standing at any time when he turns professional.
Yuka Saso was days shy of her twentieth birthday when she gained her first main. (Yoshimasa Nakano / Getty Photographs)
Yuka Saso (22, Japan/Philippines)
Saso is a Philippines-born Japanese golfer who turned professional at 18 and gained two Japanese LPGA occasions inside a yr. Then, weeks earlier than her twentieth birthday, Saso made the massive leap by successful the 2021 U.S. Open in a playoff towards Hataoka, tied for the youngest to ever win the occasion. She’s at present No. 24 within the Rolex Rankings and racked up two top-five main finishes in 2023.
Caleb Surratt (19, USA)
By the tip of his freshman season at Tennessee, he gained a person SEC Championship, grew to become the first-ever first-team All-American at school historical past, and made the Walker Cup staff that took down Nice Britain and Eire at St. Andrews. He was then in a position to make the minimize on the Bermuda Butterfield Championship on the PGA Tour. Nonetheless a youngster, he’s prone to be proper up there as a high identify to observe for years.
Atthaya Thitikul (20, Thailand)
It’s been a dream rise for Thitikul, turning into world No. 1 at 20 and LPGA Tour Rookie of the Yr at 19. She made the Open Championship minimize at 15 and have become the highest beginner on the earth by 16. So when she turned professional in 2022, it was no shock she gained two LPGA Tour occasions, however perhaps probably the most spectacular feat is that Thitikul has six top-10 finishes in majors all earlier than she turns 21.
Michael Thorbjornsen (22, USA)
For no matter cause, Thorbjornsen hasn’t acquired the identical degree of consideration as Sargent, Åberg or Dunlap, however he’s been one of many high amateurs for years, successful the Pac-12 title this previous yr and making the minimize on the 2019 U.S. Open whereas simply 18. Thorbjornsen has additionally completed very well in restricted skilled begins, ending fourth on the 2022 Vacationers Championship and T17 on the John Deere Traditional in July, plus a T20 on the Hero Dubai Desert Traditional. The Stanford star is the No. 4 beginner on the earth, and he’ll seemingly be one to comply with when he turns professional.
Ruonying Yin is the No. 1 participant on the earth. (Yong Teck Lim / Getty Photographs))
Ruoning Yin (21, China)
This September, Yin grew to become world No. 1 at simply 21. It’s been a fast rise — she dominated the Chinese language beginner circuit, successful 9 junior beginner occasions and the Nationwide Novice Championship. When she turned professional at 17, she gained her first three China LPGA Tour occasions (a document) after which took her stardom worldwide by successful the 2023 PGA Championship for her first main this yr whereas racking up high 10s all season.
Angela Zhang (14, USA)
Meet the 14-year-old golfer from Washington who certified for the U.S. Open this summer time. She reached the semifinals of the U.S. Girls’s Novice 4 Ball Championship (with fellow 14-year-old Alice Zhou) and first made a reputation for herself successful the ladies 7-9 nationwide title on the Drive, Chip and Putt competitors at Augusta Nationwide wherein she drove the ball 33 yards farther than her nearest competitor. She will be able to now drive it 240 yards, and we’ll seemingly see her at extra majors quickly sufficient.
Rose Zhang (20, USA)
Let’s save the largest phenom for final. Zhang is a Tiger Woods-esque phenom in girls’s golf, a former Stanford star who gained the 2020 U.S. Novice after which took back-to-back particular person nationwide titles in 2022 and 2023. Oh yeah, and he or she gained the 2023 Augusta Nationwide Girls’s Novice and set the ladies’s document with 142 weeks because the No. 1 beginner on the earth. Turning professional this yr was already huge information that grew to become exponentially larger when she gained her first skilled LPGA Tour occasion. And simply to wrap all of it up, she then made three consecutive top-10 main finishes this yr, solely reassuring that she’s on tempo to turn out to be one of many all-time greats.
GO DEEPER
The world is prepared for Rose Zhang. Is she prepared for the world?
(Prime photographs: Jonathan Bachman, Orlando Ramirez and Dylan Buell / Getty Photographs)
