Tag: Justin Thomas

PGA Tour 2023: Power Ratings (Through the Mexico Open)

The PGA Tour “wrap around” season includes fifty events played over forty-six weeks, and with the conclusion of the Mexico Open, thirty of those events have been completed—so it’s a perfect time to review performance and consider the possibilities as the season moves toward the remaining three majors and into the FedEx Cup.

The GolfDay Power Rating is based on PGA Tour wins, Top 10 and Cut percentage, and performance at the major championships. The majors carry the most weight, followed by regular tour wins, and then Top 10 and Cut percentage.

**Scottie Scheffler: 2023 Players Champion**

Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler have been in a back-and-forth battle for the top spot in the Power Ratings (and the World Golf Rankings) since the season began, but Rahm’s win at The Masters opened up some distance between them.

Rahm has recorded 4 Tour wins thus far in ’23, including a major championship, while Scheffler has recorded 2 Tour wins including The Players Championship.

**Xander Schauffele: Ranked No. 3 in 2023**

Xander Schauffele comes in at No. 3. Although he is yet to record a win in ‘23, Xander has made the cut in all twelve of the events he’s played and recorded 7 Top-10’s (including a T10 at the Masters).

Rankings (Top 10 through May 1—minimum 10 events played)

Jon Rahm	228.4
Scottie Scheffler	200.0
Xander Schauffele	160.0
Max Homa	155.1
Tony Finau	142.8
Patrick Cantley	140.2
Victor Hoveland	140.0
Sahith Theegala	134.7
Jordan Spieth	131.6
Cameron Young	122.8

**Max Homa and Tony Finau: 2 wins each in 2023**

With his sixth career win at the Mexico Open last weekend, Tony Finau joined Rahm, Scheffler and Max Homa as the only multiple winners on tour in 2023—and moved Tony into the top 5 on the Power Ratings.

The Numbers

Wins		Top 10 %		Cut %
Jon Rahm	4	Jon Rahm	67.7	Scottie Scheffler	100
Scottie Scheffler	2	Scottie Scheffler	67.7	Xander Schauffele	100
Max Homa	2	Xander Schauffele	58.3	Victor Hoveland	100
Tony Finau	2	Patrick Cantley	54.6	Cameron Young	100
20 Players	1	Max Homa	46.2	Sahith Theegala	94.1
		Jason Day	42.9	Sungjae Im	93.8
		Victor Hoveland	41.7	Tony Finau	92.3
		Jordan Spieth	41.7	Rickie Fowler	92.3
		Sahith Theegala	41.2	Jon Rahm	91.7
		Sungjae Im	37.5	Patrick Cantley	90.9

The Power Rating Top 10 also includes three talented 25-year-olds who will no doubt make some noise at the remaining 2023 Majors:

**Victor Hovland, Sahith Theegala and Cameron Young: Young Gun**s

Victor Hovland has made the cut in all 12 of the events he’s entered with 5 Top 10’s (including a T7 at The Masters). Hoveland is currently No. 12 in the Word Golf Rankings

Sahith Theegala, in his second year on Tour, has made the cut in 16 of his 17 events with 7 Top-10’s (including a 9^th place finish at The Masters). Theegala, who resides in Houston, TX, has climbed to No. 24 in the World Golf Rankings.

Cameron Young, also in his second year on Tour, has made the cut in all 11 events he’s played with 3 Top 10’s (including a T7 at The Masters). Young, who also had a runner-up at The Open Championship in 2022, is No. 16 in the World Golf Rankings.

**Quail Hollow Country Club: Charlotte, NC**

The Wells Fargo Championship

While neither Rahm nor Scheffler is in the field at Quail Hollow this week, the other 8 players in the Power Rating Top 10 will be teeing it up–along with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

Quail Hollow, home to the Wells Fargo Championship, hosted the PGA Championship in 2017 and the Presidents Cup in 2022. And since the Wells Fargo has also been elevated to a “Designated Event” with a $20 million dollar purse, the field is among the deepest all year.

A win at Quail Hollow would move Xander Schaufflele or Max Homa very close to Scheffler, and within striking distance of Rahm going into the PGA at Oak Hill, so you can bet they will be geared up and ready to go.

**Justin Thomas: 2017 PGA Champ at Quail Hollow**

Justin Thomas has been under the radar thus far in 2023. Although he’s made 9 cuts in 10 events, Justin has yet to record a win with only 2 Top-10’s—but he won the PGA at Quail Hollow back in 2017, so perhaps he’ll capture some good vibes and get his season rolling.

Rory

After his poor showing at The Masters, Rory backed out of the RBC Heritage and has played only 7 PGA Tour events all year, missing the cut in two of them. While he’s recorded 3 Top-10’s including a win this year, McIlroy will need to light the afterburner if he wants to catch Rahm and Scheffler.

Quail Hollow may turn out to be exactly what the doctor ordered though. Since 2012, Rory has played the Wells Fargo nine times and finished in the Top-10 in eight of them, including two wins, a runner-up and 2 Top-5’s.

If Rory gets it going this week and records his second win of the year, it will set the stage for a heck of showdown at the PGA Championship.

**2023 PGA Championship: Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, NY**

Looking Ahead

This week the Tour heads north for the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, NC (May 4-7), and then to Texas for the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney.

The second major of the season is next with the PGA Championship at famed Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY (May 18-21) and then moves back to Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Wot Worth (May 25-28).

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2022 U.S. Open: Rory Riding High for Battle in Brookline

With his impressive performance at the Canadian Open, it appears that Rory McIlroy is firing on all cylinders in pursuit of his fifth major championship heading into the U.S. Open. Unlike the PGA Championship where he opened with a magnificent 65 and then glided through the second and third rounds with 71 and 74 before finishing with a solid 68 (8^th place), Rory kept his foot firmly on the gas from beginning to end last week, with rounds of 66, 68, and 65 before closing with a sizzling 62 (19 under total). Justin Thomas, brimming with confidence in the wake of his second major championship victory at the PGA, refused to make it easy for Rory in the final round, however. Thomas began the day 2 shots back of Rory at 9 under, and after reeling off six straight birdies from 6 through 11 and adding another at 14, he got to 17 under—within a shot of Rory’s lead. When McIlroy fanned his tee shot into the bunker on the par 3 16^thand made bogey, they were tied going to the last two holes—and Rory had a downcast look about him as he left the green that’s been all too common in recent years.

By the time he reached the 17^th tee Rory had gathered himself and, deciding to let the big dog eat, unleashed a 367-yard bomb that left only a wedge from 127 yards. He then stiffed his approach to 2 feet, and tapped in for birdie. When Thomas faltered with a bogey, Rory carried a 2-shot lead going to the last. At 18 he ripped another 300+ yard drive to the right fairway, once again stiffing his approach (4 feet this time), and tapped in for birdie and his second consecutive Canadian Open Championship.

When Rory kicks it up a notch in the face of a full-on stress test applied by the reigning PGA Champ, it should give the field at The Country Club something to ponder and have golf fans chomping at the bit.

**Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas and John Rahm**

The Contenders

Rory certainly looks to be in full control of his game, and it will be shocking if he is not among the leaders come Sunday. He will have a monumental task ahead though, because the field for the 2022 U.S. Open may be the deepest ever assembled for a golf championship. In addition to the red-hot Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, reigning Masters Champion, is at the top of his game as well—and no doubt casting a keen eye toward backing up his win at Augusta with another major championship. The most dangerous player in the field, however, may be Jon Rham. The career numbers Rham has put up on the PGA Tour thus far are eye-popping, and he is past due for his second major. In 120 starts, Jon has finished in the Top 10 an astounding 49% of the time—the highest of any player in the field. In addition, he’s made the cut in 90% of the events he’s entered—so he’s rarely off his game.

Although Jordan Spieth missed the cut at The Masters, he’s recorded a Top 10 in 3 of his last 5 starts, including a win at The Heritage, a runner-up at the Byron Nelson, and a T7 at the Charles Schwab Challenge. With 3 major championships on his resume, Jordan knows how to close under pressure—and his putter is second to none. Although Collin Morikawa has been treading water while making cuts since his strong finish at the Masters (5^th), his driving accuracy and precision iron play is exactly what the USGA looks for in an Open Champ.

Based on his dismal season thus far, one might assume that Brooks Koepka will be lacking confidence when he tees it up at the 2022 U.S. Open today. Don’t count on it. After missing the cut as an amateur back in 2012, Koepka, has played the Open 7 times—recording 2 wins (back-to-back in 2017 and 2018), a runner up (2019), 2 T4’s (2014 and 2021) as well as a T13 in 2016 and a T18 in 2015. Koepka lives for major championship golf, and a win this week would go a long way toward healing the pain of yet another injury-plagued season. Perhaps, Tiger-like, he’ll summon a great performance with sheer will and fortitude.

Based on his uninspired performance at the LIV event in London, and with money no longer an incentive, it will be interesting to see what Dustin Johnson brings to the table at the Open. With so few opportunities to achieve anything meaningful in golf going forward, perhaps Dustin will make a statement. It would seem unlikely, but the talent is still there.

**Young Guns: Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann and Victor Hoveland**

The 2022 U.S. Open will also feature a host of mega-talented young stars on the verge of breaking loose at a major—and you can be assured a few will appear on the leaderboard as the championship rolls into the weekend. Will Zalatoris has already recorded 4 Top-10 finishes at major championships in only his second season on Tour, and 24-year-old Victor Hoveland has recorded 3 Tour wins while making the cut in 58 of the 64 events he’s played (91%). Sungjae Im, also 24 years old, has recorded 23 Tour Top-10’s, including 2 wins and a T8 at Augusta in April. Joaquin Niemann, 23 years old, has racked up 21 Top-10’s including 2 wins, and 25-year-old Sam Burns has already notched 4 wins on Tour (3 wins in 2022).

With McIlroy, Thomas, and Scheffler at the top of their game, and so many bright young stars who are poised to burst through at a major, this U.S. Open promises to be memorable indeed—and we are in for a spectacular weekend of golf.

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2022 PGA Championship: Justin Thomas, Will Zalatoris and Mito Pereira

**Justin Thomas: Two Time PGA Champion**

The 2022 PGA Championship was one of the most exciting final rounds at a major we’ve seen in a long time. Justin Thomas, looking for his second major championship, roared up the leader board with 3 birdies on the closing nine holes to shoot a brilliant 67, tying Will Zalatoris at 5 under par to force a 3-hole playoff. The first playoff hole was the par 5 thirteenth, and after Zalatoris narrowly missed an eagle putt, Thomas calmly knocked in a six-footer for birdie to stay even. The second was the 302 yard seventeenth, and Thomas drove the green, making another birdie to take a one-shot lead going to final hole. With a beautiful tee shot and solid approach, he two-putted for par and the Wanamaker trophy as Zalatoris’ birdie effort failed to fall. With 5 birdies on the final 12 holes of a grueling test at Southern Hills, Justin Thomas earned his second major championship in classic style. And while Will Zalatoris came up just short, he maintained his composure and executed magnificently under stifling pressure down the stretch—so you can expect this 25-year-old to be a force at major championships for many years to come.

Another big story to emerge from the 2022 PGA Championship is Mito Pereira, the talented young South American player who led the championship through the first 3 rounds. A costly double bogie on the final hole denied him a chance to win, but the ball striking and putting stroke he demonstrated throughout the week opened everyone’s eyes—and you can be sure he’ll be lifting a championship trophy in the not very distant future.

Justin Thomas

Justin’s victory at the PGA Championship comes on the heels of a solid performance at the Masters, where he finished in a tie for 8^th. He has not missed a cut in any of the 13 events he’s played this season, while recording 8 Top-10 finishes. While everyone’s attention was drawn to the fabulous year Scottie Scheffler’s had, capped off by his win at The Masters, Thomas was quietly putting together one heck of a year as well—and then he brought out the megaphone at Southern Hills. With 15 wins including two major championships, Thomas is headed for the World Golf Hall of Fame—the only question is how far he can climb in the record books toward the all-time greats of the game. He is certainly poised for a monster year, particularly with his powerful showing at the first two majors. There is an abundance of young talent currently on tour who will stand in his way, so Thomas will need to maintain the Tiger-like drive and focus he displayed at the PGA Championship to muscle them aside. Justin only just turned 29, and the book won’t be closing any time soon—but his path for posting career numbers to rival Tiger and Jack will not get any easier. He delivered a powerful message to the young guns on Tour though—and it will be a lot of fun to see how they take it.

Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris has not recorded a win on the PGA Tour yet, but it won’t be long—and once the dam breaks, watch out for the flood. Just a few months beyond his 25^th birthday, this Dallas Texas native can flat out play. After making the cut in all 16 events he entered on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, with 10 Top-10’s including a win, Will earned his PGA Tour card and recorded a T6 in his first event—the 2020 U.S. Open played at Winged Foot in the Fall. In his first season on tour, Zalatoris made the cut in 21 of the events he played, including 8 Top-10’s. The big eye opener is his performance in major championships, where he has recoded 4 Top-10’s in the 9 majors he has played. Will has always been long off the tee, and one of the best ball strikers you’ll ever see (currently 14^th in driving distance and 5^th in greens in regulation), but the putter has always held him back (in 2020 he ranked 170^th on tour in putting)—so he went to work on the practice green where the effort paid immediate dividends as he rolled his ball beautifully at Southern Hills. If Will’s putting continues to come around with the game he plays tee-to-green, it will be an explosive combination, and it should come as no surprised if he blows away the U.S Open field at The Country Club in June.

Mito Pereira

Virtually unknown in the U.S. prior to bursting onto the scene at Southern Hills, Pereira’s outstanding play came as no surprise to golf fans in his native Chile. After winning multiple junior titles, including a victory on the Chilean Professional Tour in 2013 as an Amateur, Mito climbed to number 5 in the official World Amateur Golf Rankings in 2015 at twenty years old. After some time on the Latinoamerica Tour, Pereira joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2021, and recorded 9 Top-10’s, including 3 wins, earning his Tour card for the 2022 season. Thus far Mito has made the cut in 14 of the 19 events he has played, but showed signs that his game was heating up prior to the PGA with a T13 at the Valero Texas Open and a T17 at the Byron Nelson, where he opened with a 64 in the first round. Pareira currently ranks 4^th on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation, but 143^rd in putting—a pretty clear indicator of why he hadn’t had more success coming into the PGA. He certainly putted well at Southern Hills, particularly under pressure. With his ball striking ability and the experience gained by contending at a major championship on Sunday, look for Mito to begin appearing among the leaders at PGA events on a regular basis (along with his countryman, Joaquin Niemann, who is due to brake out at a major championship in the near future).

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Rory Puts the Pedal Down at Southern Hills

Rory kicked into gear at the opening round of the PGA Championship on Thursday, and threatened to run away from the field when he moved to 6 under par through the first 14 holes. At that point he held a 3 shot lead over his closest competitor, Will Zilitoris, and it brought to mind the famous Bobby Jones quote about Jack Nicklaus “playing an entirely different game, and one which I’m not even familiar with.” At the end of the day Rory finished with a brilliant 5 under round of 65, one shot ahead of Zilatoris and Tom Hoge. In recent years we’ve seen only flashes of what Rory can do when firing on all cylinders, most notably the final round at the Masters in April when he tied the course record with a sizzling 64 and finished runner up to Scottie Scheffler.

The dry spell Rory’s had at the majors has been marked by extremely slow starts, breaking 70 in the first round only 5 times in the 24 major championships played since 2016—his best being 67 at Winged Foot in the 2020 U.S., where he finished in a tie for 8^th. The difference yesterday was the putter, which came to life on the silky-smooth greens of Southern Hills with 7 birdies—the most in the field. The last time Rory shot 65 in the opening round at a major was the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club, where he went on to a thumping 8 shot victory over runner-up Jason Day.

Friday’s Challenge

The players who tee off early in the day have a considerable advantage, with relative calm and greens that are at least somewhat receptive. In Oklahoma the wind generally kicks up pretty good in the afternoon, and the greens start to dry out and firm up, making the already challenging approach shots at Southern Hills that much more difficult. Thursday’s round was true to form, as only five players broke par in the afternoon, in contrast to those teeing off in the morning where 17 players finished under par. Rory will be teeing it up in the afternoon on Friday, and he will need to pay close attention to his ball flight while maintaining the crisp ball striking that has been his trademark. Having grown up in Ireland however, and with an Open Championship under his belt, Rory is no stranger to the wind—so we will likely see another magnificent performance tee to green. The key will be the putter, and if Rory continues to roll it the way he did yesterday, chances are pretty good that he’ll put some additional distance between himself and the rest of the field going to the weekend.

The Guy’s to Beat

Justin Thomas fired an opening round 67 in the tough conditions on Thursday afternoon, and followed that up with another solid 67 on Friday morning to finish at 6 under going to the weekend. Going for his second major championship, and one of the top ball strikers on Tour, Justin is the guy that will give Rory his biggest test. A few talented young stars hoping to notch their first major championship are also among the leaders, most notably Will Zilatoris (a shot behind after the first round), and Juaquin Niemann who fired a 68 in the tough conditions on Thursday afternoon. Brooks Koepka, lurking at 2 over par after a solid 67 on Friday morning, is poised to make a run as well (and like Rory, bag his 5^th major championship).

The Weekend

The great thing about major championships is that they really don’t start until Saturday. The conditions will be as difficult as they can get, and the pressure will continue to mount until reaching a peak on the back 9 Sunday afternoon. And the 2022 PGA is shaping up to be one of the great ones.

Video Highlights: Rory Round 1
Image by BBC (https://www.bbc.com/)

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Golf Legends: Ranking the Top 30

**The Masters: Honoring the Greats of the Game**

As we enter Masters week at Augusta National, where the greats of the game are celebrated to a degree unmatched at any other major championship, it seems like a good time to examine the best who have ever teed it up, and see where they stand in relation to each other. Because Bobby Jones never competed as a professional, he is not included here—but feel free to place him among the top five, as you see fit. We have also included a group of top active PGA Tour players to see where they currently rate among the all-time greats, and consider their chances of joining golfs elite.

The Criteria

Because the major championships are the most demanding tests of golf with the deepest fields, the majors are given the most weight in our ratings, followed by tour wins, major runner-up, top 5 and top 10 finishes, as well as worldwide wins (wins on other tours, such as the European and Asian tours). Golf clubs and courses have evolved dramatically over the past century, so it is our view that the best way to evaluate a player is by his record against the other tour professionals at the time he was active—without consideration to scoring average, driving distance, etc.

The Ranking

It is no surprise that Jack Nicklaus is at the top, followed closely by Tiger. Sam Snead rounds out the big three, with a wide margin between them and number four (Ben Hogan). Both Hogan and Snead’s ratings are negatively affected by World War II, when the majors (and all PGA events) were put on hold—while each was in his prime. Also, following the war, American golf dominated the international scene, with the U.S. winning six of the seven Ryder Cups played between 1947 and 1959 in overwhelming fashion, led by Hogan and Snead. With world-wide travel being a challenge, and neither feeling they needed to prove anything by competing at The Open (then known as The British Open), they pretty much ignored it—although they each made the trip once during that time (and both won—Snead by four shots in ’46 and Hogan by four in ’53). Snead played the British Open two more times later in his career, recording a T6 in 1962 at fifty years old. In addition, the ratings for Walter Hagan and Gene Sarazen are negatively affected because the Masters wasn’t founded until 1934, when Hagen was 42 years old and Sarazen was 34. Field depth and competition level also affect ratings and ranking, and this is addressed in the wrap-up.

The Chase: Tiger and Phil

If Tiger returns for the Masters this week, so too will his relentless pursuit of Jack. And should he somehow pull off another eye-popping win, as he did in 2019, Tiger will move within two of Jack’s record for major championship wins. With another major victory, a few more major Top 10’s and a couple of additional regular tour victories, Tiger will definitively move past Jack as the greatest of all time. Even if he doesn’t tee it up at the Masters this year, he is obviously getting close—and that means he may be seeing Jack in the rear-view mirror by as early as next year.

Phil, on the other hand, is conspicuously absent from the Masters this week. While it is not likely that Mickelson can reach Palmer and Player, he can most certainly add to his accomplishments (as demonstrated by Phil’s win at the PGA Championship last year), and put some distance between himself and those closest to him (Walter Hagan, Tom Watson, and Byron Nelson). And when he joins Tiger for the opening ceremony on the first tee at Augusta in the distant future, the current unpleasantness will undoubtedly be forgotten.

The Current Crop

The chance that anyone currently on tour can make a run at Jack and Tiger is extremely remote—making their accomplishments all the more amazing. Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson are the leaders among active players, followed by Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia.

Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson

At 32 years old, Rory still has a chance to move into the top ten, but he will need to pick up his pace. His last win at a major was eight years ago, and all four of his major victories came between 2011 and 2014. If his putter were to suddenly return from the dead, however, Rory would climb the list at lightning speed—with plenty of time to get near the top.

Dustin, at 37 years old, has enough time to break into the top twenty, but the group of talented youngsters behind him will make it a tough task.

Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia

At 41 and 42 years old respectively, both Scott and Garcia appear to have enough left in the tank for a move into the top thirty. Both are fit and healthy, so if the youngsters’ edge over a bit, they should be able to take their seats.

Brooks Koepka and Justin Rose

Brooks Koepka is 31 years old, and he has ample time to muscle his way up the list. But while his record at the major championships is impressive, he will need to continue his performance at the majors while recording a significant number of additional regular tour wins along the way if he is to reach the top ten. The talent is there, but his motivation seems to be lacking when a major trophy is not on the line.

Justin Rose, at 41 years old, can still get to the top thirty–if his back can hold out for a few more years. Lately he has been getting off to fast starts, only to struggle on the back nine—an indication that the back is not so good. Justin still has that gorgeous golf swing with plenty of power, so if he can maintain his physical condition the top 30 is still within reach.

Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Jason Day

Jordan Spieth, at 28 years old, has plenty of time to make a move into the top twenty, or perhaps even the top ten. Jordan will have to put his foot down hard on the accelerator, however, to make that happen. Spieth won the last of his three majors back in 2017, although he showed signs of returning to form in 2021 with a runner-up at the Open Championship and a T3 at the Masters.

Justin Thomas, also 28 years old, and with a vast amount of talent, has plenty of time to make a move as well. With only one win, a Top 5 and three Top 10’s thus far in his career at the major championships, however, Justin will need to make his presence felt at the majors in a much bigger way as he heads into his thirties.

For Jason Day, at 34 years old, the clock has begun to tick. The talent and putting stroke appear to be intact, so if he can stay healthy there is still time for him to make a move.

Jon Rham, Bryson DeChambeau and Hideki Matsuyama

At 27 years old, Jon Rham will be a force at the major championships for many years to come. Like Koepka, however, Rham will need to start packing on regular tour wins to move into the top thirty and beyond.

Bryson DeChambeau can certainly hit it, and at 28 years old a great many opportunities remain before him. He’s also a lot of fun to watch, so hopefully he can double down on his 2021 U.S. Open Championship and make a push to join the greats of the game.

With his win at the Masters in 2021, Hideki Matsuyama suddenly came back into focus as one of the top players on the PGA Tour. Having just turned 30 years old at the end of February, he’s got some time to beef up his record. Perhaps his Masters win will ignite a run?

Collin Morikawa

In only two full seasons on tour, Collin Morikawa has already notched two major championships and five regular tour wins. Of all the young guns currently on tour, Collin has the best chance to make a move on Jack and Tiger. If he can maintain his current pace for the next twenty-odd years, Collin will find himself among the top five players in golf history. But both Rory and Jordan were in similar positions when they were 24 years old, and neither were able to sustain it.

First there was Snead, then Jack, and now Tiger. Will Collin be the mega-star of the next generation? We’ll just have to watch as golf history continues to unfold before us.

The Wrap-Up

Nicklaus was up against Arnie, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Billy Casper. Tiger had Phil, Ernie Els, and a large cast of highly talented players to contend with. Sam Snead lost four years to the war at the height of his career (but conversely, he also chose to skip The Open throughout the ‘50s, which makes a statement about the level of competition at that time). There are other factors to consider as well, but hopefully our ratings and ranking can form a basis for debate. And we will continue to provide updates as Tiger makes his latest come-back, and the young stars seek to stake their claim among the legends of golf.

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The PGA Tour: Changing of the Guard-Volume I

A group of young guns is emerging on the PGA Tour, flexing their muscle and exerting a powerful influence that will change the landscape of professional golf for the next decade and more. Each is seeking to etch his name in golf history, and all have the talent to do so. Currently twelve players under the age of 30 are included among the top twenty in the World Golf Rankings, and we will take a look at them all as the 2022 tour season gets under way. Can one of these mega-talented young stars approach the seemingly unattainable records of Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods? To put it in perspective, Jack Nicklaus recorded 73 tour wins in his career (30 in his twenties), with 18 major titles (7 in his twenties).: Tiger Woods has accumulated 82 wins on tour (46 in his twenties) including 15 major titles (8 in his twenties). Let’s take a look at the first three to see where they currently stand, and consider the possibilities.

John Rahm (27 years old/No. 1 in the World Rankings)

John Rahm is currently at the top of the official World Golf Rankings, and it should really not come as a surprise. With power and precision off the tee, steely nerves and singular focus, Rahm has recorded 6 PGA Tour Wins in the span of just 4 years, including a major title (2021 US Open). Born in Barrika, Spain as ‘John Rahm Rodriguez’, he was an exceptional golfer from an early age, earning a golf scholarship to Arizona State University where he won 11 college golf tournaments before graduating in 2016 (second only to Phil Mickelson, who recorded 16 wins at ASU). He waited to turn pro until the conclusion of the 2016 US Open, having received an invitation to compete as the #1 ranked amateur in the world, and recorded a top 25 finish. The following week he finished 3^rd at the Quicken Loans National Tournament, gaining an invitation to The Open at Royal Troon where he made the cut, and followed that up with a runner-up finish at the Canadian Open the very next week. Adding two top 15 finishes in the fall secured his tour card, and Rahm exploded onto the golf scene in January 2017 with a remarkable come from behind victory at the Farmers Insurance Open (Torrey Pines–against a powerhouse field). He continued his success, recording four more wins between 2018 and 2020, and then took home the U.S. Open title in 2021, where he fired a final round 67 to defeat Louis Oosthuizen on the difficult South Course at Torre Pines. And with two Ryder Cups under his belt already, expect Rahm to be a pillar of the European team for many years to come. To get close to the bar set by Jack and Tiger however, Rahm will need to pick up his pace quite a bit with at least fifteen more wins and four or five major titles in the next few years. It can be done though, since he won’t turn 30 until November of 2024, giving him 3 more full seasons to beef up his record. Jack won 19 times from 1971-1973, and Tiger recorded 22 wins between 1999 and 2001. The problem is that Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy are still in their prime, along with a host of youthful superstars who also want to make their mark on the game.

Collin Morikawa (24 years old/No. 2 in the World Rankings)

When talking about young guns on the PGA Tour, Collin Morikawa jumps right to the top of the list. Known for precision iron play, Morikawa evokes images of Johnny Miller at the top of his game. When you add his accuracy off the tee and a beautiful putting stroke, the possibilities are unlimited. Morikawa was born in Los Angeles, California. Like Rahm, Morikawa started playing golf very early and proved himself to be a talent. He received a golf scholarship to play at the University of California, Berkley, where he excelled on the collegiate golf stage, winning numerous amateur championships and rising to #1 in the World Amateur Golf rankings in 2018. After graduating from college in 2019, Morikawa turned professional and immediately recorded a top 15 finish at the Canadian Open after receiving a sponsor’s exemption (a field that included Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson). The following week he made the cut at the US Open (held at Pebble Beach), closing with a final round 69. He then finished runner up at the 3M Open, recorded a top 5 at the John Deere Classic the very next week, and secured his card for the 2020 season by winning the Barracuda Championship. After making the cut in all nine of the tournaments he entered in 2019, Morikawa started the 2020 season by making the cut in his first 11 events before the season was put on hold due to COVID 19. When the season resumed, Morikawa recorded a runner up at the Charles Schwab Challenge, the 21^st consecutive cut he had made from the start of his PGA career, with a chance to challenge Tiger’s record of 25. Unfortunately, his streak ended at 22 with a missed cut two weeks later at the Travelers, but Morikawa wasted no time with what might have been, and notched a second tour win two weeks later in a playoff with Justin Thomas (the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village). The following month Morikawa won the PGA Championship, his first major title, firing a final round 64 (tying Steve Elkington’s record for lowest final round at the PGA) and ended the season with a sixth-place finish at the Tour Championship. The 2021 season was even more spectacular, as Morikawa added two more wins, including his second major title at the Open Championship, a top 5 at the US Open, top 10 at the PGA Championship and a top 20 at the Masters. With 5 wins including 2 majors under his belt already, and six full seasons before he will turn 30, Morikawa has plenty of time to make Tiger and Jack take a serious look over their shoulder.

Justin Thomas (28 Years old/No. 7 in the World Golf Rankings)

It may come as a surprise that Justin Thomas is still in his twenties, since he made his first appearance on the PGA tour way back in 2009. Thomas was just sixteen years old, and still in high school, when he teed it up at the Wyndham Championship, where he opened with a first round 65 and made the cut. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was taught the game almost as soon as he could walk by is his father, Mike Thomas, the head golf professional at Harmony Landing Country Club. In 2012, as a sophomore at the University of Alabama, Thomas received the Haskins Award as the outstanding college golfer of the year, and opted to join the PGA Tour in 2013, after Alabama won the National Championship. He recorded his first tour victory in 2015 (the CIMB Classic), and added 13 more titles over the next five years, including a major (2017 PGA Championship) and the Players Championship in 2021. Known for his length off the tee, Thomas can roll it on the green as well (ranked 5^th in putting in 2017 while recording 5 wins). He only has one more full year in his twenties though, so 2022 needs to be a big one for him if he wants to keep Tiger and Jack in his sights. Keep in mind that Vijay Singh won nine times in ’04, and with his power and putting stroke, Thomas can most definitely make a statement.

Stay tuned as we next look at Bryson DeChambeau (28 years old/No. 13 in the world), Jordan Spieth (28 years old/No. 15 in the world, and Patrick Cantley (29 years old/No. 4 in the world).

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