But enough about the guys who aren’t on this list. Rasmus Højgaard . Wait a minute — a Korn Ferry Tour player made this list? Collin Morikawa captured his first major title Sunday at the PGA Championship. “Aye, there were harsh words,” MacIntyre told The Scotsman. It seemed past time to take stock of the PGA Tour’s next wave and to reassess the future (and the present!) Dethier joined GOLF in 2017 after two years scuffling on the mini-tours. They even played together on the first morning as they halved their Foursomes match against Akshay Bhatia and Michael Thorbjornsen. Greatest strength: Driver (9th in strokes gained off the tee), Room to improve: Putting (right on Tour average). What’s especially exciting is that Wolff’s valleys are showing signs of rising. 11, which belongs to Doc Redman, who could make me look like a dang fool because he just keeps posting solid finishes on Tour, including three top-25s since the restart. How Matthew Wolff cleverly (and carefully) used the Rules of Golf to his advantage. 38 player in the world, despite the fact that he’s never made a PGA Tour cut. The Højgaard brothers both represented Europe in The 2018 Junior Ryder Cup. Greatest strength: Driver (5th on European Tour in distance, 3rd in strokes gained off the tee), Room to improve: Chipping and putting (slightly below European Tour average). Ah, yes. Greatest strength: Laser-like irons (8th on the European Tour last year), Room to improve: Driving accuracy (hitting just half his fairways this year). Here’s what he had to say after his maiden victory: “My identical twin is as good, if not better than me.”. The biggest outlier? He is a Williamstown, Mass., native and a 2014 graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English. Last week, I recorded a podcast with the guys from DataGolf (embedded below) who emphasized how rarely players on lower Tours play to a PGA Tour level (they have the ability to compare scores cross-tours). Greatest strength: Driver (7th on Tour off the tee), Room to improve: Chipping (204th on Tour around the green). Oh, and speaking of DataGolf’s rankings: they’ve got Scheffler all the way up at No. We have no doubt that the 24-year-old has plenty of game — we just haven’t seen it measured much against the world’s best players. On weeks when Wolff, Hovland or Morikawa get hot with wedges and a putter, look out. And a final tip of the cap goes to last week’s 36-hole leader Haotong Li, who turned 25 the Monday of PGA week. 5 on the list — which feels wrong, given his 1-3-T10 finishes right before the break — is because he has just one top-50 finish since golf’s return, a T35 at WGC-Memphis. Joaquin Niemann is starting to feel like a veteran, so it’s almost unfathomable that he’s just 21 years old. Legitimately — one of the best on the planet. He’s exactly right: Morikawa is head and shoulders above the rest. In many ways, 2020 has actually been a letdown for Niemann thus far — he’s logged two T5 finishes but mostly also-rans. Sure, he hasn’t gotten the hype of the three names to follow, but we’re here to tell you that he’s very much in the conversation. Greatest strength: Irons (8th on Tour in strokes gained approach), Room to improve: Putting (160th on Tour this season). 2 on this list? Even though he’s not yet found his footing since golf’s restart, expect MacIntyre to be an international force — and an entertaining one, at that — for years to come. He didn’t take it well at all.”. Let’s set the parameters, first. The two have been lifelong teammates; they burst onto the world stage by leading Denmark to the 2018 World Amateur Team Championship, making eight combined birdies on the final nine to … There’s two of him. As for that grey-haired generation headlined by Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth? Let’s just say that you should trust us that Will Zalatoris won’t be spending time on golf’s secondary circuit for much longer. World No. Scottie Scheffler is one heck of a rookie. Let’s stay across the pond for a moment with a nod to the reigning European Tour Rookie of the Year. There may have been some hangover effect when he missed his next four cuts, but the “W” was no fluke; since then, he’s reeled off four top-6 finishes in his last five starts. As for the last time the two paired up on the same team? It was only 10 years ago when brothers Francesco and Eduardo Molinari represented Europe at Celtic Manor. Here’s hoping for years of Højgaard leaderboards to come. The clearest example of Wolff’s rising star came when he won last year’s 3M Open with a walk-off eagle. But the Chilean star piled up a win, four top-10s and 20 made cuts in his first complete calendar year on Tour. 131, who is a multi-time winner on the Japan Tour. 14, ahead of names like Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson and Tony Finau. Nicolai has done quite nicely for himself, too, notching a runner-up finish at last year’s KLM Open and working his way to European Tour status. They’re 27 each — practically ancient. Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com, where he’s told the story of a strange cave in Mexico, a U.S. Open qualifier in Alaska and plenty in between. First, a shoutout to Rikuya Hoshino, the world No. Let’s get to who did make the cut! GOLF.com and GOLF Magazine are published by EB GOLF MEDIA LLC, a division of 8AM GOLF. That’s under 25, not 25-and-under, which eliminates a few key names. There’s also no shame in being behind these next four players. A final pre-amble: This no space for participation trophies, but it’s worth acknowledging the first couple golfers outside this vaunted list. One of the most fascinating things about the top three players on this list is how similar their playing styles are. Am I a prisoner of the moment in suggesting that Scottie Scheffler could be as high as No. Somehow we’ve gotten this far without really mentioning Nicolai Højgaard, Rasmus’ twin brother. Scheffler was arguably the best player on the Korn Ferry Tour last year and leapt straight into PGA Tour contention once fall events started, logging three top-5 finishes in one four-tournament stretch around the new year. When you throw in his top-tier iron play (still 8th on Tour this year), it’s worth remembering that this guy’s eligible for this list for the next three years, too. While the brothers have turned away most media requests – including Global Golf Post’s – their rare comments have revealed a healthy rivalry between the two and a clear desire to play together in future Ryder Cups. Apologies, too, go out to 26-year-olds Bryson DeChambeau and Xander Schauffele. Let’s get to it. That would be Nicolai Højgaard, Rasmus’ brother, who was actually heralded as the better player for a while. Somehow we’ve gotten this far without really mentioning Nicolai Højgaard, Rasmus’ twin brother. 2015 Aon Junior Tour Drenge 1; 2016 Danish International Amateur Championship, McGregor Trophy, DGU Elite Tour III Drenge; Still, it feels like a sure thing that Im will get back on the right track — nobody is more devoted to staying dialed in. We could just tell.”. Of the three emerging superstars, Casey has his money on Morikawa. In 2018, he played 34 tournaments and was the best player on the Korn Ferry Tour. In his last seven starts, he’s posted six top-6 finishes, including a victory. We can make that happen. You’ve heard plenty of writers on this very website wax poetic about the way he hits his irons. Where Morikawa sets himself apart from his peers is that his weaknesses are better and his strengths are positively elite. Greatest strength: His golf swing (15th on Tour off the tee, 10th approaching the green), Room to improve: His short game (179th around the green, 135th putting). The youth movement has some faces you know — and others you soon will. In April he won a professional tournament, the Bravo Tours Open on the Nordic Golf League. If there’s any Zalatoris stock still available, we’d recommend you buy it up. To this point, the rest of his game hasn’t matched his elite ball-striking; he himself has maligned his chipping, and his streaky putter has kept him from contending at a handful of events. But nobody who is as young as Niemann has the same level of experience that he does. The biggest shocker, to me, was realizing that one of those PGA contenders, Cameron Champ, is also too old for this list. One pro makes an interesting wardrobe decision and 2 other stories you might've missed, Sergio Garcia reveals why Sanderson Farms win was so emotionally charged, Tour Confidential: The meaning of Sergio Garcia's dramatic win, Matthew Wolff made this promise after the U.S. Open, Major-winner shares a new theory on why bombers are thriving at U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau, Matthew Wolff trade ridiculously clutch eagles at U.S. Open, This 107-year-old U.S. Open record is primed to be matched on Sunday, Who is Matthew Wolff? In other words, the peaks have always been there, back to his college days. They have him ranked as their No.