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After a virtually seven-week hiatus, the 2024 PGA Tour season begins Thursday on the Sentry in Kapalua, Hawai’i.
The game nonetheless stays divided, because the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund proceed to hammer out the main points of a potential alliance that may unify the fractured sport.
Will probably be tough to disregard the division surrounding males’s skilled golf this week, as defending champion Jon Rahm will not be in Hawai’i to defend his title. On Dec. 7, the reigning Masters champion grew to become the most recent star to leap to the LIV Golf League. He signed a multiyear contract reportedly value greater than $300 million.
Listed here are the PGA Tour Energy Rankings heading into the primary match of the 2024 season:
A 3-time winner in 2023, the reigning FedEx Cup champion appears poised to win his first main championship this yr. He completed within the prime 13 in every of the 4 final season, together with a tie for second on the PGA Championship. He went 3-1-1 on the Ryder Cup, serving to lead the European workforce to a 16½-11½ victory. Hovland is enjoying on the Sentry and has dedicated to the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am, WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational.
Regardless of his struggles with the putter in 2023, the world No. 1 golfer had 17 top-10 finishes in 23 tour begins and not using a missed minimize. He picked up two extra official victories on the Phoenix Open and the Gamers and received a report $21 million. Scheffler’s win on the Hero World Problem proved his work with placing coach Phil Kenyon is paying off; he prevented a three-putt over 72 holes within the Bahamas.
Will or not it’s a much less tense 2024 marketing campaign for the four-time main champion? After stepping down from the PGA Tour coverage board, McIlroy appears extra dedicated than ever to ending his greater than nine-year drought and not using a main title. McIlroy is skipping the Sentry once more and can begin the brand new yr with two occasions within the Center East: the Dubai Invitational on Jan. 11-14 and the Hero Dubai Desert Basic on Jan. 18-21. He is the defending champion within the latter.
Homa picked up two extra victories in the course of the 2022-23 season, ending first on the Fortinet Championship in September 2022 and within the Farmers Insurance coverage Open in January 2023. He had a comparatively quiet summer season earlier than a string of top-12 finishes in every of his previous six begins in official tour occasions. He tied for tenth at The Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Membership in England, his finest end in a serious, and completed within the prime 10 in every of the three FedEx Cup occasions. Then he picked up his first victory exterior the U.S. on the Nedbank Golf Problem in South Africa on Nov. 12.
Schauffele did not choose up a victory this previous season however in any other case performed spectacular golf. He had two runner-ups and 11 top-10 finishes in 23 begins. He did not miss a minimize. Schauffele final received on the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open virtually 18 months in the past. The 30-year-old appears primed to win his first main championship in 2024. He has 11 top-10 finishes in majors in his profession and did not end exterior the highest 18 in his previous seven begins in majors.
The usually stoic Cantlay discovered himself within the highlight usually in 2023. He was on the heart of controversy on the Ryder Cup in Italy over experiences that he needed to be compensated for his look. Cantlay denied the experiences. Then his caddie, Joe LaCava, had a dustup with McIlroy on the 18th inexperienced. Cantlay is also serving on the PGA Tour coverage board for the primary time and denied that he tried to wrest control of the negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund. He has gone greater than 16 months and not using a victory.
Morikawa ended a 27-month drought and not using a victory on the PGA Tour by capturing the Zozo Championship in Japan on Oct. 22. The 2-time main championship winner will return to Kapalua, the place he squandered a 6-stroke lead firstly of the ultimate spherical of the 2023 Sentry Event of Champions and misplaced to Rahm by 2. It tied for the biggest collapse after 54 holes in PGA Tour historical past.
A yr in the past, the 24-year-old was preparing for his ultimate school season at Texas Tech. Now, he already has two worldwide victories; he received the Omega European Masters on the DP World Tour in September and the RSM Basic on the PGA Tour in November. The Swede went 2-2 on the Ryder Cup as a European workforce rookie. Aberg completed within the prime 25 in eight of his 11 PGA Tour begins final season. He lately picked up veteran caddie Joe Skovron, who labored with Rickie Fowler and most lately Tom Kim.
The Englishman picked up his second PGA Tour victory on the RBC Heritage in April, then he ended a two-year drought on the DP World Tour by successful the Alfred Dunhill Hyperlinks Championship in Scotland in October. He battled a neck damage by means of a lot of 2023 however is anticipated to be wholesome heading into this season.
Clark lastly broke by means of together with his first PGA Tour victory on the Wells Fargo Championship in Could, then he stared down McIlroy and Fowler to seize his first main championship on the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Nation Membership in June. Clark wasn’t performed, as he tied for fifteenth on the BMW Championship and was solo third on the Tour Championship. He pocketed greater than $10.7 million in on-course earnings final season.
Harman had his breakthrough second in July when he captured The Open by 6 photographs to win his first main championship. At 36 years, he was the oldest first-time main championship winner since Sergio Garcia received the 2017 Masters at 37. Harman tied for fifth on the BMW Championship and was twenty third on the Tour Championship.
12. Tom Kim
Kim labored by means of a little bit of a sophomore droop final season earlier than turning issues round with a tie for second at The Open. With the assistance of swing coach Chris Como, Kim discovered his kind late and received the Shriners Youngsters’s Open in Las Vegas for the second straight yr on Oct. 15. He grew to become the fourth-youngest golfer to succeed in three PGA Tour victories; solely Gene Sarazen, Horton Smith and Tiger Woods did it at a youthful age. Kim employed Daniel Parratt, Okay.H. Lee’s former caddie, to exchange Joe Skovron.
The 44-year-old Glover loved one of the crucial epic heaters in latest PGA Tour historical past when he received the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship in consecutive weeks in August. He was solely the third participant in his 40s to win in consecutive weeks on tour previously 25 years.
Bradley, 37, loved fairly a resurgence final season when he ended a greater than five-year victory drought with two wins: the Zozo Championship in October 2022 and the Vacationers Championship in June. He cooled off late within the season earlier than tying for ninth on the Tour Championship.
Fleetwood, 32, got here painfully near successful his first match when he misplaced to Canada’s Nick Taylor in a four-hole playoff on the RBC Canadian Open on June 11. A six-time winner on the DP World Tour, Fleetwood has 22 profession top-five finishes on the PGA Tour, essentially the most by any golfer and not using a victory previously 40 years. He’s additionally the primary participant to earn greater than $20 million in profession earnings and not using a win.
The Englishman appears nearer than ever to selecting up one other PGA Tour victory after piling up seven top-10s and 13 top-25s in 21 begins final season. He had only one missed minimize and completed second on the Gamers and tied for third on the Wells Fargo Championship and RBC Canadian Open. His lone PGA Tour win got here on the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
A left wrist damage plagued Spieth for a lot of final season, when he did not win and had seven top-10s in 22 tour begins. He misplaced in a playoff to Fitzpatrick on the RBC Heritage. Spieth reinjured his wrist after the Ryder Cup, which led to a correct prognosis: harm to the ulnar nerve, which controls motion within the forearm, hand and fingers. Spieth mentioned he has addressed the damage by means of therapy and feels good about his kind heading into 2024.
It was fairly a 2022-23 season for Straka, who picked up his second PGA Tour victory on the John Deere Basic on July 9 and made his first look within the Ryder Cup. A local of Austria, Straka went 1-2 for the successful European workforce. He additionally had his first two top-10s in majors, a tie for seventh on the PGA Championship and a tie for second at The Open.
The 2022 PGA Tour rookie of the yr did not discover the winner’s circle final season. He got here shut once more earlier than dropping to Sam Burns within the ultimate match of the WGC-Dell Applied sciences Match Play. He additionally tied for seventh on the Masters, one in all his 5 top-10 finishes final season. Younger could have a brand new caddie in 2024 after Paul Tesori moved to Brendon Todd’s bag, as first reported by Golfweek.
The Australian ended a five-year winless drought together with his thirteenth PGA Tour victory on the AT&T Byron Nelson on Could 14. It was Day’s first tour win in 105 begins for the reason that 2018 Wells Fargo Championship. Day additionally tied for second at The Open, his first top-10 in a serious in three years.
21. Rickie Fowler
Fowler’s return from golf purgatory was full when he outlasted Morikawa and Adam Hadwin to win the Rocket Mortgage Basic for his first PGA Tour victory in additional than 4 years on July 2. He birdied the 18th gap on the ultimate gap of regulation and the primary playoff gap at Detroit Golf Membership to get it performed. It got here two weeks after Fowler pale within the ultimate spherical and tied for fifth within the U.S. Open.
Finau claimed two extra victories final season on the Cadence Financial institution Houston Open in November 2022 and the Mexico Open in April. However then he had only one top-20 end in his subsequent 11 begins in official PGA Tour occasions, a tie for seventh on the 3M Open. Finau had been linked to LIV Golf however affirmed his dedication to the PGA Tour.
Burns secured his fifth PGA Tour win by taking the ultimate WGC-Dell Applied sciences Match Play in Austin, Texas on March 26. However it was in any other case a so-so season, as Burns had as many missed cuts (six) as top-10 finishes. He missed two cuts in majors and his finest end was a tie for twenty ninth on the Masters.
The immensely gifted Theegala claimed his first PGA Tour victory with a 2-stroke win on the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California, on Sept. 7. It got here in his 74th begin in an official tour occasion. He additionally tied for second on the 2022 RSM Basic, one in all his eight top-10 finishes final season.
The Australian secured a PGA Tour card by tying for sixth on the Gamers and for fifth on the U.S. Open final season. He additionally tied for ninth on the Vacationers Championship and for sixth on the Zozo Championship. On Nov. 26, Lee received the Australian PGA Championship, his third victory on the DP World Tour.
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