From Jordan Spieth’s memorable PGA Tour Rookie of the Year campaign to teenage sensation Tianlang Guan making the cut at the Masters.
From Jordan Spieth’s memorable PGA Tour Rookie of the Year campaign to teenage sensation Tianlang Guan making the cut at the Masters.
After beginning the season with no status on any tour, Jordan Spieth provided one of the most remarkable rookie seasons ever. The former Texas Longhorn registered nine top-10 finishes in 2013, broke through with his first PGA Tour victory at the John Deere Classic in a playoff, and became the first player to start the year with no status and play his way into the Tour Championship since Tiger Woods in 1996. All of this, combined with making this year’s U.S. Presidents Cup team, is why he takes the No. 1 spot. (Getty Images)
Although he was already an established PGA Tour veteran, Adam Scott finally broke through to win his first major at the Masters, becoming the first Australian ever to don a green jacket. Winning the last leg needed for his country to complete the Grand Slam was an accomplishment for the ages, considering the fashion in which so many of his countrymen infamously failed. Scott’s playoff triumph over Angel Cabrera is one of the most memorable Masters victories and that’s why he comes in at No. 2 on our list. (Getty Images)
It was a year Inbee Park will never forget. You can take your pick as to what her No. 1 feat was over the course of this season: winning three straight majors, claiming the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, or becoming the first ever South Korean to be named Rolex Player of the Year. One thing is for certain, the 25-year-old has gained the attention of the golf world. (Getty Images)
It was a remarkable year for Henrik Stenson, who fell to 206th in the world in at the start of 2012. The Swede dominated the last few months of the season, turning momentum from a win at the Deutsche Bank Championship into a Tour Championship and FedEx Cup victory. He then became the first player ever to claim the Euro Tour’s Race to Dubai in the same season he won the FedEx Cup. (Getty Images)
Despite being a 16-year-old amateur for most of the season, Lydia Ko comes in at No. 5 on our list. Ko stormed onto the scene in 2012 with her win at the CN Canadian Open, but didn’t stop there. Continuing to turn heads in 2013, the teenage sensation successfully defended her title at the Canadian Open, before finishing runner-up at the LPGA’s fifth major, the Evian Championship, nearly a month later. That feat vaulted the New Zealander to No. 6 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. Ko successfully petitioned the LPGA to waive their age requirement and turned pro in October. (Getty Images)
Billy Horschel got off to a promising start in 2013, making the cut in his first 12 tournaments as a professional. That impressive streak included a four-week span in which the former Florida Gator didn’t finish outside the top 10, including a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April. Add in the fact that the 26-year-old finished T-4 at the U.S. Open and he’s good enough to make our top 10. (Getty Images)
Despite not breaking through for his first win on the PGA Tour, Graham DeLaet did manage to accumulate seven top-10 finishes this season, including a pair of top-5s in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Given all of his success on Tour, the Canadian’s true breakthrough came during the Presidents Cup where he posted a 3-1-1 record for the International squad. DeLaet’s marvelous performance included two dramatic finishes at No. 18, a hole-out from the bunker to defeat Jordan Spieth, 1-up, and a hole-out from the fairway for birdie to halve the alternate-shot match against Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley. (Getty Images)
Even though Hideki Matsuyama only played in seven events on the PGA Tour this past season, the Japanese star made the cut in six of them. What may be even more impressive, however, is that the 21-year-old posted two top-10s in those events, a T-10 finish at the U.S. Open and a T-6 finish at the Open Championship. Matsuyama’s play was so stellar that it caught the eye of world No. 1 Tiger Woods, who stated at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational that the Japanese phenom ‘has a boatload of talent.’ (Getty Images)
Teenage star Guan Tianlang has been turning heads since becoming the youngest player to ever compete in the Masters at the age of 14. Guan, who recently turned 15, went on to become the youngest player ever to make the cut in a major championship in that same tournament at the age of 14 years, 169 days. Unfortunately, Guan’s historic achievement was secondary to a few headlines that week ranging from Tiger Woods’ infamous drop at No. 15 to a slow-play penalty assessed to Guan in the second round. (Getty Images)
Peter Uihlein, a 24-year-old former Oklahoma State standout, became the first American to capture the European Tour Rookie of the Year award after compiling four top-5 finishes across the pond this past season, including a victory.The 2010 U.S. Amateur champion is beginning to live up to the hype he created as an amateur and showing newly minted pros that there is a viable route internationally. (Getty Images)