I started watching the PGA Tour pretty actively around 2022. At first, it was overwhelming. Hundreds of names to follow, usually different ones each week aside from a few constants. Unlike team sports, or even tennis where a few teams or big names tend to dominate. Golf is far more unpredictable. The schedule is also confusing.
There are eight signature tournaments a year where there is an increase in the prize money. And four majors which are the most prestigious tournaments.
The most famous of these majors is The Masters which is played every year in April in Augusta Georgia. It is beautiful to watch. The coverage is incredible and free online. Fans aren’t allowed to have their phones. It all makes for a beautiful television product.
This video will give a brief overview of what’s going on in the golf world for casuals who will tune into The Masters and maybe one or two other tournaments this year.
Each golf tournament is an aggregate of the player’s scores over four days from Thursday-Sunday. There is typically a cut after the second day, and only about half the players make it to the weekend. Winning scores (at least at the Masters) are typically around ten under par.
Last year was a fun year in the PGA. Two breakout stars emerged.
First, Scottie Scheffler. He had been on the rise since 2020, when he won PGA Tour Rookie of the year. In 2021 he won 1 title. In 2022 he had the biggest win of his career at the Masters which was his fourth win in only six starts. From 2022–23, Scheffler had an unprecedented 18 consecutive top-12 finishes, the first person to do so since Tiger Woods in 2000–01.
This includes a win at The Players Championship, which is the biggest tournament in golf that is not one of the four majors. He has been ranked number one in golf since March 2023. In 2024, he won seven PGA titles, including a repeat at the Players, a win at The Masters then going on to win Gold at the Olympics. The most since, you guessed it, Tiger Woods in 2006. Vijay Singh also did so in 2004 (at 42).
Scottie started the 2025 year coming off an injury. He needed to have glass surgically removed from his hand after breaking a glass of wine. He has been hanging around the leaderboard, finishing in the top 25 in all five of his starts and tied for third at the Genesis Invitational, which is one of eight signature events. He also tied for second last weekend at the Houston Open
Additionally, 2024 saw the rise of Xander Schaufele, also returning from an injury, who won two majors in the same year for the first time since Brooks Koepka in 2018, Jordan Spieth in 2015, and Rory McIlroy in 2014.
One complaint people have about Schaufele and Scheffler is that they are a little boring and they lack personality.
So where are all the golfers with big personalities? Many of them have moved to LIV Golf, a Saudi-backed league designed to compete with the PGA and bring more international exposure to the sport. However, one of the key aspects of professional golf remains unchanged: the four major tournaments.
These are the only events where the best golfers in the world—whether from the PGA or LIV—are allowed to compete together, as LIV players are not permitted in PGA Tour events. The four majors are The Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and The Open Championship (held in the United Kingdom). In the three years since its creation, LIV Golf has struggled to gain significant traction, with its appeal still limited despite its bold ambitions.
Some people claim that LIV golfers are less moral because they took “blood” money from the Saudi government that runs the organization. Personally, I am upset with the LIV players because they made the product of golf on television less compelling as a fan, but I can’t claim that I wouldn’t have taken an eight-digit payday if I were in their shoes.
One of the most notable LIV golfers is Bryson DeChambeau who won last year’s U.S. Open (his second time) after an unbelievable bunker shot on 18. People love him or hate him for his quirky personality. Personally, I think he is an Elon Musk type who was a nerd who became popular later in life (and is also friends with the Trumps).
Brooks Koepka, also joined LIV, one of the most accomplished golfers of his generation, with five major victories, more than anybody else under the age of forty-five, and a nonchalant attitude my wife says is hot.
Two other golfers who were wildly successful in their time with the PGA, but seem to have taken their foot off their gas pedal since joining LIV and taking that fat payday are John Rahm and Dustin Johnson. DJ is a few strokes away from having a career grand slam (winning all four majors), having tied for second twice at the PGA Championship and once at the Open Championship.
Since joining LIV Johnson hasn’t had a decent showing at a Major. Rahm was outspoken against the stupidity of LIV golf, but he surprised the golf world when he decided to join in December 2023 after winning the Masters that same year. He didn’t do much in 2024, but he was recovering from an injury and finished fifth at the Olympics.
Cam Smith, known for his mullet, had a banger of a year in 2022 when he won the Players then The Open then joined LIV. He finished top 10 at The Masters last year and finished second in 2020.
The most accomplished LIV golfer is Phil Mickelson, who was one of Tiger Woods biggest rivals during their heyday in the early aughts. He is already the oldest player to win a major at the 2021 PGA Championship at nearly 51 years old. He also had a wild Masters in 2023 finishing second after a -7 on Sunday.
The person who was most outspoken against the LIV players initially was Rory McIlroy. A lot of people’s favorite golfer for his good-natured personality and the success he had early in his career. He has become a tragic character as of late for his inability to win another major since winning four in his early career. He won four by the time he was twenty-five, the only Major he hasn’t won is the Masters, where he finished second in 2022. Last year he had two opportunities to win a major, but he had an all time choke at the U.S. Open, losing to Beefy Bryson. Golf fans love to say “it’s all between the ears,” for Rory meaning he has to overcome a mental hurdle.
So far, in 2025, Rory is having the best season of any golfer, winning at Pebble Beach and at The Players, and finishing in the top 20 in the other two events he’s participated in. The thing is, unless he wins a major this year, he will look back at 2025 as a failure, despite how many tens of millions he wins otherwise. Most golf fans are cheering for him to do so. The Masters course is not particularly suited to his skillset, but being one of the best golfers in the world, he certainly has a shot at winning.
Shane Lowry, McIlroy’s bestie, won The Open in 2019, and is playing well this year. He came in 3rd at The Masters in 2022.
One of my favorite golfers is Colin Morikawa, who has six tour wins including two majors, but is constantly a runner-up. He has come in second two times this year already and eleven times in his career. His last win was in 2023 at the Zozo Championship.
My wife likes Wyndham Clark for his emphasis on mental health and how focusing on it helped him to get his first major at the 2023 U.S. Open. In 2024 Windy should have taken Scottie to a playoff in the Players, but he missed his putt on 18 by the edge of a fingernail.
Other notable players to watch are a couple of fan favorites Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith, both 31 and previous major winners, but neither have gotten a win since 2022, although JT came in second earlier this month at The Valspar Championship.
Some noteworthy international players in their twenties, include Ludvig Aberg, 25, who people say was created in a Swedish lab and won at The Genesis this year, but has yet to win a major. Viktor Hovland, a Norweigian, who has shown flashes of brilliance, and seems to be overcoming his struggles earlier this year, besting JT at the Valspar.
Fan favorite, Australian Min Woo Lee, who is a fun guy and big internet personality, finally got his first win in the PGA at the Houston Open this past weekend. His sister, Minjee Lee is one of the most successful golfers on the LPGA side.
Tom Kim, a long shot, but a fun player, has three wins on tour, but has yet to get a signature win. Sungjae Im, also Korean, has 47 top 10 finishes and is only 26. He’s a streaky golfer, missing cuts then top 5’ing the following week.
What’s so compelling about golf is that although the players I’ve mentioned will be the favorites, anybody is liable to win. Let me do a lightning round—
Hideki Matsuyama, one of my favorite golfers because I bet $1 on him to win The Genesis last year and he pulled through earning me over $60. He is liable to go on a heater at any given time. He won the Masters in 2021.
Tommy Fleetwood, perhaps the best player on tour to not have a single PGA title (maybe ever). He has two runner-ups at majors.
Patrick Cantlay might be the best active player on tour who has yet to win a major, but he drives me and several other fans crazy for his unapologetic slow pace of play.
Some golfers who are always hanging out near the rim but rarely close it out are
Tony Finau, 65 Top 10 finishes and only six wins (no majors)
Will Zalatoris, 21 Top 10 finishes but only one win. He had a chance to win at the Players this year and self-combusted on the back 9 on Saturday.
Theegala, 22 Top 10 finishes and only one win.
Sam Burns has decent odds to win it.
My buddy likes Max the Homie Homa, but he hasn’t played well this year.
Sepp Straka has been having a good year, wouldn’t be surprised to see him top 10, would be shocked to see him win.
I like Bhatia, at 23 he has seven top 5 finishes, but I think he is a year or two away.
I’m sure there’s a bunch of people I’m forgetting that deserve mentions like Michael Kim and Aaron Rai, but that’s what is so fun about watching golf. Anybody can win it any given week. We’ll see what happens next week in Augusta. Stay down on the ball, grip it and rip it, and hit it in the hole.
Here is a video I made:
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