Golf Talk With Greg Holman – #67

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The PGA Tour seems to have an endless supply of young talent. Will anyone emerge to be the next Tiger Woods? I thought it might be Rory McIlroy. He’s had a good career but not enough Majors to show for his effort. Then there’s Jordan Spieth. Maybe too mechanical and too inconsistent. And don’t forget Justin Thomas. Loaded with talent but tends to get down on himself because he demands perfection. There may never be another Tiger Woods. 82 wins? With the depth of today’s tour, how could one person win that much?

Taking a look at the new breed of under 25 golfers, the short list includes: Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff, Sungjae Im, Scottie Scheffler, Joaquin Niemann, Will Zalatoris, Aaron Wise and Sam Burns.

Burns is a solid player. He has the pedigree. He was the NCAA Player of the Year five years ago. Aaron Wise turned pro at 20 after winning the NCAA. I’m discontinuing him because he’s had to invent a new swing after bulking up in the weight room. Joaquin Niemann from Chile proved he could win without his A-game at LA last week. Tiger Woods says his swing has too many moving parts and he needs to pick up some weight. The same could probably be said about Will Zalatoris. I see Sungjae Im as a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The Korean was the PGA Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was runner-up in the Masters in his debut. Will Matthew Wolff also be that guy with the weird loop in his swing like Jim Furyk? Furyk was able to repeat that swing under pressure. Wolff does have a PGA win. It’s a start. Scottie Scheffler has really been consistent in 2022 so far. He doesn’t get rattled. Reminds me of Tom Kite. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. I could see Scottie finishing second a lot. Viktor Hovland is kind of the same way. The Norwegian acts like he is playing a practice round and doesn’t care if he wins.

Finally there’s Collin Morikawa. You can’t help but like him. The youngest winner of the PGA since Tiger Woods. Morikawa is one of the best iron players in the game. Look out if his short game comes around. He pitched in twice in the final round in LA this past weekend and just missed a third pitch in. He’s also sneaky long. Whether he wins 15 majors remains to be seen but he’s my pick to be the best player over the next five years.

As I am writing this it’s only 27 days until spring, so when you get the chance, hit ’em straight!