Connect with us

Opinion & Analysis

2019-2020 PGA Tour rookies to watch

Published

on

Each year, a new slate of players join the PGA Tour ranks hoping to kick off a long and successful career in the big leagues. With five PGA Tour rookies earning victories in their inaugural seasons on tour, as well as Sungjae Im becoming just the 13th rookie in the FedEx Cup era to qualify for the Tour Championship, the impact of first-year PGA Tour professionals was on clear display during the 2018-2019 campaign.

With the 2019-2020 season already underway, another group of players hope to have similar success in their debut seasons.

Here’s a quick look at some 2019-2020 PGA Tour rookies to remember as the season continues.

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler’s T7 finish at the Greenbrier is just a continuation of his stellar play in 2019. He finished at the top of The 25 standings on the Korn Ferry Tour. He won twice this past year, at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and the Evans Scholar Invitational. In addition to his victories, he finished runner-up on two more occasions.

His scoring average of 69.29 led the Korn Ferry Tour, and he made the cut in 16 of his 21 events. He finished in the top-10 10 times, leading the Korn Ferry Tour in most top-10 finishes this past year.

Viktor Hovland

A name already familiar to many golf fans, Hovland has started his rookie campaign strong with a top-10 finish at the Greenbrier. With his final round 64, he tied the PGA Tour record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s, at 17. During this fantastic streak of golf, his scoring average sits at a tidy 66.59.

His success at the professional level may not come as a surprise, with his success at the amateur level serving as an indication of his talent. He was the low amateur at this year’s Masters, just one of the many accolades he achieved prior to turning pro. The Norweigan standout was sensational at Oklahoma State, garnering All-American honors and was the top-ranked amateur in the world. Winner of multiple prominent tournaments, including his 2018 victory at the U.S. Amateur, Hovland looks to have a bright future as a professional.

Doug Ghim

A former top-ranked amateur in the world, he was college teammates with Scottie Scheffler at the University of Texas. While playing college golf at Texas, he won multiple tournaments and earned numerous accolades. He earned low amateur awards at the 2018 Masters and turned professional later that year.

In 2019, his first full year on the Korn Ferry Tour, the former Longhorn made the cut in over half of his events. Ghim finished in the top 10 three times throughout the season, with his best appearance being a top-3 finish at the Country Club de Bogota. He’s off to a solid start to this 2019-2020 season, with his T31 finish at the Greenbrier.

Maverick McNealy

Another former top-ranked amateur in the world, McNealy turned many heads with his eye-popping results at Stanford. He won numerous awards and accolades, including the Haskins Award. He holds the record for both the best season scoring average and career scoring average at Stanford, beating out prominent Cardinal alum like Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers.

Since turning professional in 2017, it’s taken just two years to reach the big leagues. He’s on an upward trend; he improved over 40 spots in the Korn Ferry Tour’s The 25 standings to earn his PGA Tour card.

Tom Lewis

In 2011, a young English amateur surprised the world at The Open Championship, sharing the lead at the conclusion of the first round, with the help of the lowest single-round score by an amateur in tournament history. Lewis shot a -5 round of 65 to share the lead with Thomas Bjorn, and would end up tied for 30th place and low amateur.

Fast forward to today, and he comes off the two most successful years of his career on the European Tour. Lewis achieved his career-best result at a major championship this year when he finished 11th at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. His stroke average of 68.02 on the European Tour in 2019 is the best of his career so far. The young Englishman earned his PGA Tour card with a victory at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

Benedict has been involved in sports his entire life. In addition to participating on the playing field, he loves talking and discussing every facet of the game.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

on

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)


Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Continue Reading

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

on

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

Follow Club Junkie:
Instagram: @clubjunkiepod
TikTok: @clubjunkiepod
Threads: @clubjunkiepod
X: @ClubJunkiePod

Continue Reading

Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

on

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.

 

Continue Reading

Announcement

Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use have been updated as of January 29th, 2026. Please review the updated policies here Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. By continuing to use our site after January 29th, 2026, you agree to the changes.

WITB

Facebook

Trending