A memorable 2021 in golf featured a number of fantastic stories, with Hideki Matsuayama and Jon Rahm both delivering on their promise to become Major champions.
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson rolled back the years to claim the US PGA Championship and Collin Morikawa produced more brilliance at the Open Championship.
Away from the Majors, Jordan Spieth finally returned to winning ways, Tony Finau broke his long winless run, Rory McIlroy bounced back and young guns including Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns emerged as potential stars of the future.
Speaking of the future, it’s time to look to 2022 and which players look most likely to play a starring role on the PGA Tour in the year ahead, as well as up-and-comers poised to make an impact.
Jon Rahm
In many ways, Jon Rahm has already delivered by claiming the US Open title thanks to two wonderful, gutsy putts down the stretch at Torrey Pines which saw him reel in Louis Oosthuizen.
However, the super Spaniard looks assured of more Major glory and will head into 2022 as one of the favourites for each of the four Majors, starting with the Masters in April, for which he is a 9/1 shot.
Rahm has a game built for Augusta National Golf Club and his record at the famed Georgia course reads a hugely impressive 27-4-9-7-5 and he’s also just 37/20 to win at least one Major in 2022.
Viktor Hovland
Another European star, Viktor Hovland is yet to make an impact in Major company, but that is the next logical step for the Norwegian, who proved himself capable of mixing it with the very best when holding off a small but select field at the Hero World Challenge in December.
Hovland, who is 11/2 to become a Major champion in 2022, has already won three times on the PGA (once in Puerto Rico, twice in Mayakoba) and claimed a first European Tour win at the BMW International Open in June.
Sam Burns
Sam Burns finished 2020 ranked outside the world’s top 150, but a year later the Louisiana man is up to 13th in the Official World Golf Rankings and looks sure to play a key role in the biggest tournaments of the coming year.
Burns, 45/1 to win the Masters as a debutant, claimed the Valspar Championship and the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2021 and ended the year by finishing no worse than 21st in his last nine tournaments, including six top-eight finishes.
Scottie Scheffler
The most promising maiden on the PGA Tour circuit, Scottie Scheffler continues to threaten PGA Tour titles on a regular basis and it’s a matter of when not if the Texan gets over the line.
Scheffler, runner-up at the WGC-Match Play and most recently behind Hovland at the Hero, made a serious impact on his Ryder Cup debut as he took down Rahm in the Sunday singles.
Matthew Wolff
Matthew Wolff was grouped in with contemporaries Morikawa and Hovland as a player to watch when he made an immediate impact out of college but the popular Californian has struggled with life on the PGA Tour.
However, Wolff, a winner of the 3M Open in 2019, was starting to show signs of life at the end of 2021, finishing runner-up at the Shriners, second in Mayakoba and fifth in Houston. Expect this serious talent to make further progress in 2022.
*All odds correct at time of writing
