2024 Platinum
From YouTube sensations to Rookies of the Year, our pick of the bunch have a colourful past and an even brighter future ahead of them.
Viktor Hovland
2021 is set to be Viktor Hovland’s year. The Norwegian won the national amateur championships aged just 16 and has been piling up the accolades ever since. After turning professional last September, the 21-year-old has clocked up nine top-20 finishes in his first 15 starts on the PGA tour. The 31st placed golfer in the world rankings was invited to three of last year’s four Majors but we expect to see a lot more of him in the coming year.
Sungjae Im
Anyone who earns the title of 2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year should be top of your ‘ones to watch’ list. However, there are plenty of other reasons why the South Korean might have caught your eye before now. The 21-year-old scored more birdies than any other player in his debut season, a whopping 480 holes under par across 122 rounds. He’s played more golf than any other professional since the start of the 2018-19 season too.
Atthaya Thitikul
If winning Thailand’s Amateur Open at just 13 wasn’t enough, Thitikul became the youngest player ever to win a professional tournament just one year later. Since winning the Ladies European Thailand Championship she’s claimed the title of the top-ranked amateur in the world and finally went pro in January. When she turns 18 in February next year the Thai golfer can finally join the LGPA Tour and raise her profile in the women’s game.
Conor Gough
Berkshire born Conor Gough represented Great Britain & Ireland in last year’s Walker Cup just two days after turning 17. Although the team’s chances of glory were scuppered by Team USA, the young golfer continued to carve out a successful amateur career. The teenager admits himself “I’m probably ahead of where I thought I would be at this stage in my career but I’m just taking things as they come and going with the flow.” Lifting the English Men’s Amateur trophy at 17 could be just the beginning for the young golfer from Berkshire.
Karl Vilips
Vilips has enjoyed an unconventional rise through golf’s ranks. In fact, he first caught the public’s eye through his YouTube channel in 2008, where his dad Paul posted videos of the then 6-year-old’s swing. The Australian has built a loyal following of almost 45 thousand Instagram followers all before reaching his 19th birthday. On the course he equalled the record at the Northeast Amateur and made the quarterfinals in the U.S. Amateur. Don’t be surprised if the Australian becomes a household name in the near future.