Jordan Spieth started it in a big way in 2015.
“It” is a major youth movement on the PGA Tour and in the world of golf in general.
Look for more of it in 2016 and by “youth movement” it is not players under 30.
We’re talking players under 25.
Spieth is 22 and has set the bar incredibly high with his two-major win season as the cornerstone of a campaign that led to Player of the Year honors.
There’s a changing of the guard going on. Sure, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day are part of it but McIlroy is 26, Day 28 and if you want to bring in Rickie Fowler, he’s 27. They are all closer to 30 than 20.
First up is Justin Thomas, age 22. Good friends with Spieth and he nabbed his first PGA Tour win last November at the CIMB. Look for great things out of him this season, using the momentum from the first win two months ago. Very motivated by his pal Jordan.
Daniel Berger will get his first win this season. He’s the 2015 Rookie of the Year and he’s only 22 years old.
Here are a couple of 22 year-olds for you who aren’t on the tour yet, but soon will be.
Ollie Schniederjans is 22 and will start the season on the Web.com Tour, don’t be surprised if he earns a battlefield promotion to the PGA Tour.
Bryson DeChambeau will turn pro after the Masters. Sponsors exemptions are waiting for him, he’ll play his way on, much like Patrick Rodgers did. The former SMU and reigning U.S. Amateur champ is 22.
Which brings us to Patrick Rodgers. He played his way onto the tour last season but wasn’t eligible for the playoffs. Look for him to win this season, climb in the rankings and get into contention on a regular basis. Rodgers is 23.
Hideki Matsuyama is 23. He’s already a proven winner and his next step is to get into the scrap at the majors. Don’t be surprised if he’s in contention on Sunday at more than one major. Good chance he can earn multiple wins this season. He’s currently 15 in the world. Impressive.
Ryo Ishikawa: Seems like the young Japanese star has been a pro for 10 years but he’s only 24. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him win for the first time this season. He is finally seeing his game mature. There has always been a tremendous amount of pressure and expectations on him in Japan.
Bud Cauley: He’s now 25 and is getting better. Expect to see him climb in the rankings this season and perhaps challenge for a PGA Tour victory. He is coming off shoulder surgery and is playing on a major medical extension. If he doesn’t play well enough, he’ll pick up some Web.com events but look for him to rebound from his physical problems.
Danny Lee: He’s 25 and is now ranked 47 in the world. You will see him contend more and more in majors and WGC events. Solid player who could get a couple of wins this season.
Patrick Reed: Another 25-year-old who has risen to No. 10 in the world even though he says he’s a top-five player. He’ll have to win a major to prove that. He has four wins on the PGA Tour and to move to the next level, he needs a multiple-win season and needs to be in the hunt on Sunday in a major(s). Still, time is on his side, the kid is damn good.
Okay, we may have saved the best for last.
If you follow amateur golf, you know him. If you follow the European Tour, you know him.
His name is Matthew Fitzpatrick and he is only 21 years old.
He won the 2013 U.S. Amateur championship. He was the first Englishman in 102 years to do that. In October, he got his first win on the European Tour at the British Masters.
You will see a lot of him this season. He has climbed to No. 42 in the world so you will see him in all the major championships and all the WGC events.
Look at him and he looks more like he’s 16. Yet his talent is well beyond his years. Has a great demeanor on the golf course and is not afraid of the big stage.
His big decision at some point will be: does he split his time between both tours. With the WGC events and the majors, he’ll get plenty of exposure in the states this year.
There is no doubt about it, it is a young man’s game and that’s the direction the world is headed.
Consider this:
Jim Furyk is the highest-ranked 45-year-old at No. 9. Phil Mickelson has dropped to 36th in the world and is now 45. Steve Stricker is 48 and is closer to the Champions Tour than he is to winning again. Then there is 40-year-old Tiger Woods. There’s been enough written about Woods in the past three months to fill three books.
It’s getting harder and harder to “older” players to win. Time is not on their side.
It’s a youth movement out there.
Get used to it.
