It seems like only yesterday that we were talking about Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Hunter Mahan as the new young talent that would compete on the PGA Tour. These players are now proven winners. A new crop of talented youngsters are emerging and trying to make their mark on tour.
Russell Henley burst out of the gates with a win in his first PGA Tour start at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He won twice on the Web.com Tour in 2012. He also won the 2011 Stadion Classic on the Web.com, while still a member of the University of Georgia golf team. He was the first player in 12 years to win his inaugural event on the PGA Tour. Henley combines consistent driving and iron play with a very good short game, especially with the putter in his hands. He has already earned $1.3 million this year, has made the cut in six of his eight starts and had three top-20 finishes. He is ranked No. 9 in the FedEx Cup standings and should be a player to watch for the rest of the year.
Peter Uihlein won every collegiate and amateur award possible prior to turning professional in December, 2011. He won the 2010 U.S. Amateur and was a member of two Walker Cup teams. He did not qualify for an exemption to either the PGA or European Tours for 2012, but was given the opportunity to play on the European Tour’s Challenge Tour. He made 13 cuts and had six top-10 finishes in Europe and had a chance to see a good deal of the world. In 2013 he has played in two Challenge Tour events and four regular European Tour events. Uihlein is currently ranked No. 21 on the Challenge Tour and No. 50 in the Race to Dubai in Europe. His biggest success to date was a T-6 finish in Puerto Rico playing off a sponsor’s exemption. The $121,000 that he earned in Puerto Rico will help him get additional sponsor’s exemptions and hopefully earn enough to eventually play on the PGA Tour full-time.
Patrick Cantlay had a sensational amateur and collegiate career. He was the top-ranked amateur in the world for a record 55 weeks. He won four collegiate tournaments and was awarded the 2011 Haskins Award given to the most outstanding college golfer. He also picked up the Jack Nicklaus Award as the National Player of the Year and the Phil Mickelson Award as the top college freshman golfer. During the summer following his freshman year at UCLA, Cantlay played in the 2011 U.S. Open and was given exemptions into several PGA Tour events. He won the low amateur honors at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club and finished inside the top-25 in four PGA Tour events that summer. Had he not been an amateur at the time he would have won over $700,000 and earned an exemption to the PGA Tour. Cantlay is primarily playing on the Web.com Tour this year. He won the Columbia Championship and is ranked No. 1 on that tour. He has also played in five PGA Tour events. He missed three cuts but finished T-9 at Pebble Beach. Cantlay is a strong young player and will be someone to watch in the future.
Luke Guthrie won seven collegiate tournaments and two Big Ten Conference Championships at the University of Illinois. After turning professional at the end of the 2011 college season he posted four top-10 finishes in his first five events on the Web.com Tour in 2012. He then won the next two events, the Albertsons Boise Open and the WNB Golf Classic. In 2013 Guthrie has missed three cuts on the PGA Tour but has earned $690,000 thus far with third-place finish at the Honda Classic and four top-25 finishes. Guthrie, although somewhat inconsistent, is a great looking young player and once he learns some of the finer points of playing on the PGA Tour could very well contend for major championships.
Jordan Spieth is the youngest of this group and may have the most potential. He is the only player not named Tiger Woods to have won multiple USGA Junior Championships. He began 2013 without exemption to any professional golf tour. Playing on the Web.com Tour, he has a fourth and a seventh place finish in just two events. The big story for him is earning Special Temporary PGA Tour Membership with his performance thus far in 2013. He is allowed to play on an unlimited number of sponsor's exemptions for the balance of the year. Spieth finished runner-up in Puerto Rico, seventh at Tampa Bay and has earned $523,000 in just four starts on the PGA Tour. He will be playing in his home state of Texas at the Shell Houston Open this week. Look for Spieth to win soon. He has confidence and the game to win at the highest level and compete with the best.
This is just a short list of some of the bright young stars on the PGA Tour. With improved junior programs and a high level of competition in college, young players enter the PGA Tour ready to compete and to win.