Well, 2023 was quite the year in professional golf (see our 2023 awards). From John Rahm winning The Masters in April and joining LIV Golf in December and both European teams prevailing in the Solheim and Ryder Cups, it was rather eventful.
We're expecting more of the same this year, but away from all the PGA Tour/LIV/PIF drama, who could excel on the fairways. Below, we pick out 12 players across three categories for you to keep your eyes on in 2024...
Poised For A Breakthrough Season
Pierceson Coody
A former world amateur number one, Pierceson Coody is not just a funky name – he is the grandson of Charles Coody (1971 Masters Champion). By topping the PGA Tour University rankings, Coody gained a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour. He won twice on that circuit in 2023 and will play the PGA Tour in 2024, along with his twin brother, Parker. Many pundits have picked Pierceson as one to watch and we are among them.
Why he made our list:
Anyone reaching number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking must have huge potential, and this 24-year-old is no different. Known as a great driver of the ball, he has the power to compete with the top players and he clearly has the golfing pedigree!
Maja Stark
Stark has already enjoyed success on the Ladies European Tour with six victories and she earned 2.5 points from four games in the 2023 Solheim Cup. She hasn’t yet fully made her mark on the LPGA Tour but looks destined to do so in 2024. She has steadily climbed the Rolex Rankings over the last five seasons and now sits comfortably inside the top 50. Expect her to push into the top 20 by the end of 2024.
Why she made our list:
Stark may have experienced top-level success already, but she hasn’t quite yet made the breakthrough that most believe her capable of – i.e., winning a big event on the LPGA Tour and moving into the upper echelons of the Rolex Rankings.
Rose Zhang
Rose Zhang is one of the most exciting prospects in golf right now. The 20-year-old turned professional in May last year after a stellar amateur career that included victory in the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur. On joining the paid ranks, she won on her very first LPGA Tour start, in the Mizuho Americas Open. She was only the second player to win on debut, following Beverly Hanson in 1951. She finished in the top ten in three Majors in 2023.
Why she made our list:
Zhang has clearly already achieved a great deal as an amateur and did win straight away after turning pro, so you could argue she should be in our ‘heading to the next level’ category. But the rest of 2023 was a little quiet and she will feel she has something to prove in 2024. She has the game to dominate fields.
Freddy Schott
Germany’s Freddy Schott will be little-known to all but the most diehard golf fans. The 22-year-old turned pro in 2021 and had a poor first season on the Challenge Tour. He did better in 2022 and earned DP World Tour playing rights for 2023. Although he had some good finishes, he didn’t retain his card. But he went back to Q-School and produced some superb golf to win the event and secure his status for 2024. Under the highest pressure he closed with rounds of 64 then 65.
Why he made our list:
He’s faced adversity and proven he has what it takes under pressure. He’s a powerful player with the ability to go low. He could be a dark horse to watch out for in some of the bigger DP World Tour events this season.
Heading To The Next Level
Ludvig Aberg
Few players have generated such excitement on their arrival on the world stage. In a short space of time, Aberg has already shown his extraordinary potential and 2024 could be the season he steps up a gear. He only turned pro in June 2023 but has already won on both the DP World and PGA Tours – the Omega European Masters and RSM Classic respectively. His talent is so clear that Luke Donald picked him ahead of more established players for the 2023 Ryder Cup.
Why he made our list:
He’s yet to even play in a Major so we can’t quite put him in our ‘Major expectations’ category just yet, but nobody would be surprised if he contended in one or more in 2024. He’s a modern player, an exceptional driver of the ball and a prolific birdie-maker.
Nicolai Hojgaard
Hojgaard’s memorable 2023 culminated in his DP World Tour Championship victory in Dubai. He has been touted as a future star since he and twin brother, Rasmus, turned pro in 2019 and Nicolai now has three DP World Tour wins to his name. He is yet to enjoy any real success in the Majors, but surely has the game to change that. Although he only managed to secure half a point in the 2023 Ryder Cup, he gained valuable experience that, together with his Dubai victory, sees him well placed to step up a level in 2024.
Why he made our list:
He’s a power player and a great putter, a combination that will serve him well in the big events he’ll look to contend in this year. He surely has the self-belief needed to kick on in 2024.
Tom Kim
Kim Joo-hyung or ‘Tom’ Kim has been a professional for over five years, despite being just 21, and has already proven himself an effective winner. He won on the Philippine Tour aged just 16 and has won on the Korean Tour, the Asian Tour and three times on the PGA Tour, including back-to-back Shriners Children’s Opens. In fact, he has already won 12 professional tournaments. He played on the 2022 Presidents Cup team and was joint runner-up in the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Why he made our list:
Kim can go low – he had a closing 61 in his Wyndham victory. His approach play is so good, he keeps giving himself chances. He can mix it in Majors, too, with two top tens in 2023.
Linn Grant
The Swede is one of the most technically gifted players in the women’s game. She has only been a professional for two and a half seasons but has already shown her winning ability. She has five victories on the Ladies European Tour, all secured in the space of just over a year, and in July of 2023, she claimed her first LPGA Tour title – the Dana Open. Grant was both Rookie of the Year and the Order of Merit winner on the 2022 Ladies European Tour. She made her LPGA debut in the 2018 US Women’s Open as an amateur.
Why she made our list
She’s yet to properly contend in a Major but Grant clearly has the necessary skills. She’s a long hitter and a great iron player, ranking 5th for GIR on the 2023 LPGA Tour.
Major Expectations
Max Homa
The Californian has been a late bloomer in the pro ranks, only really starting to see top-level success in 2019 at 28 years of age. But, in just under five years, he has made his mark at the pinnacle of the game, reaching a high of 5th on the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s won six times on the PGA Tour and, last November, claimed the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the DP World Tour. His record in Majors is not great but he finished top ten at Royal Liverpool in 2023 and has proved he has the game to excel at the highest level.
Why he made our list:
A look at Homa’s PGA Tour stats from the last couple of seasons is enough to demonstrate what a great all-round game he has. There are no chinks in the armour and, importantly, he is an excellent putter.
Xander Schauffele
The American is one of the very best male players in the world not to have won a Major but he has all the experience and skill to rectify that in 2024. He’s a seven-time PGA Tour champion and has spent almost all of the current decade inside the top ten on the Official World Golf Ranking. He has finished in the top ten in 11 Majors, including four top-three placings, and has only played in 26 Majors in total, so that’s an impressive performance sheet. It may be a while since he last won, but he did have the joint lowest 72-hole score in the 2023 season-ending Tour Championship.
Why he made our list:
One of the great all-rounders in world golf right now, Schauffele is particularly strong in approach play and with the putter. He has a proven track record in Majors and has been close on a number of occasions. He has the skill and temperament to win any one of the big four events in men’s golf.
Charley Hull
It’s hard to believe Charley Hull is only 27 as she’s been a familiar face for over a decade. She turned pro in 2013, two months before her 17th birthday and made an immediate impact as LET Rookie of the Year. It looked like she was a dead cert to become a Major champion but she hasn’t yet been able to convert. But in 2023 she demonstrated her potential to win at the very highest level, finishing . T2nd in the US Women’s Open and then solo 2nd in the AIG Women’s British Open. She finished 4th on the LPGA Tour money list and broke into the world’s top ten.
Why she made our list:
Hull is a great competitor and does everything well. If you look at her stats, there’s no standout area but no weaknesses either and that’s what you need to win Majors. She’s contended in 2023 and will be ready to step up to win in 2024.
Viktor Hovland
In the men’s game, Hovland must be considered the favourite to become the next first-time Major champion. The Norwegian had a stellar year in 2023, winning the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, together with the FedEx Cup. He contended at both The Masters and the PGA Championship and produced some superb golf in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy, winning 3.5 points from his five matches and playing a very big part in helping Europe to secure a memorable victory.
Why he made our list:
Hovland is a true all-round player, particularly so since improving his chipping dramatically with help from coach, Joe Mayo. The 26-year-old is a superb ball-striker and a brilliant competitor. He rightly believes he has the beating of any player, and the confidence he has derived from winning the FedEx Cup in 2023 will only bolster that belief.
