Young Golf Stars to Watch: Who’s Ready to Break Through in 2024?
Let’s be honest – picking tomorrow’s golf stars is pretty much like trying to predict the weather. Last year, I whiffed on most of my picks, but hey, I got a few right.
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David Puig proved me right by winning on the Asian Tour and crushing it late in the season. Chris Gotterup and Kevin Yu both grabbed their first PGA Tour wins, while Ricky Castillo and Noah Goodwin fought their way onto the big stage through the Korn Ferry Tour.
Before we dive into this year’s picks, here’s what it takes to make our list:
• Under 25 years old
• Never won on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, or LIV Golf
• Hasn’t cracked the top 100 in world rankings yet
Here are 10 young guns who could make serious noise in 2024:
Karl Vilips leads the pack at just 23 years old. This former child prodigy is already showing why people have been talking about him for years. He turned pro last summer and immediately won on the Korn Ferry Tour. Now he’s headed to the PGA Tour with a complete game that could make him dangerous right away.
Frankie Capan III might be the most exciting player you’ve never heard of. He shot an incredible 58 this year – yes, 58! – and his short game is absolutely ridiculous. At 25, he’s ready to show what he can do on the big stage.
Aldrich Potgieter is pure power. At 20, he’s already one of the longest hitters you’ll see. Sure, he missed a bunch of cuts last year, but when he’s on, watch out. He could be this year’s Cameron Champ.
Robin Williams (no, not that one) is making waves on the European tour. He’s bulked up recently and his putting is silky smooth. The only question is whether his short game can keep up with the rest of his talents.
William Mouw might be the safest bet of the bunch. The former basketball player made the cut in almost half his starts last year. He might not win right away, but don’t be surprised to see him hanging around on Sunday afternoons.
The list goes on with guys like Frederik Kjettrup (headed to LIV Golf), Christo Lamprecht (all 6-foot-9 of him), and Kensei Hirata (already a three-time winner in Japan).
Johnny Keefer and Josele Ballester round out our top 10, but keep an eye on players like Joshua Berry (19) and Neal Shipley (24) too.
Will they all make it? Probably not. But that’s what makes following young talent so fun – you never know who’s going to be the next big thing in golf.
