With some of our favourite golfers now starting to enter the twilight of their careers, the golfing landscape is awash with young promising talent. Able to hit the ball a mile as well as show that they are willing and able to win some of the biggest prizes in the game, here are five players to keep an eye on next year.
Ludvig Aberg
There is no better place to start our 2025 preview than by taking a look at the exploits of Swedish sensation, Ludvig Aberg.
Having just completed his first full season on the PGA Tour, Aberg has already climbed the world rankings and currently finds himself at 5 in the world.
Already a winner on the PGA Tour when emerging victorious at the 2023 Sanderson Farms Open, surprisingly Aberg didn’t taste victory in 2024 but he will be hoping to amend that in 2025.
With a temperament that belies his years, 2024 was the first time that Aberg had competed in all four majors and he showed exactly what he is all about when he found himself in contention at the Masters only to be denied by Scottie Scheffler.
Set to play a leading part in Europe’s quest to defend their Ryder Cup trophy next season, don’t be surprised if Aberg finds himself right in the thick of things in at least one of the majors next season.
Nick Dunlap
Nick Dunlap shocked the world when he became the first amateur in over thirty years to win a PGA Tournament when he held his nerve to win the American Express.
With that victory the former world number one amateur found himself eligible to turn professional and able to compete in all of the PGA Tour’s signature events.
Able to steadily climb the rankings, Dunlap showed his win at the American Express was no flash in the pan as he won the Barracuda Championship.
Now 32 in the world and with those two victories behind him, you feel that Dunlap is ready to take another leap. Yet to tee it up at all four majors across a calendar year, he will get that opportunity next season. He knows how to win on the PGA Tour and he will be eyeing up a first major next season.
Akshay Bhatia
The majority of the best young golfers on the PGA Tour have spent time at college in America, but one man who chose to instead skip the college experience was Akshay Bhatia.
Instead opting to turn professional when just 17, Bhatia seems to have been a presence on Tour for years but is still just only 22.
Bhatia has seen his game gradually improve every year and has been able to win a title in each of the last two seasons. His first victory came at the 2023 Barracuda Championship but he really came to the fore when winning a thrilling playoff in this year’s Texas Open, earning an opportunity to play in the 2024 Masters.
Bhatia is now ranked 29 in the world and looks ready to make a serious assault on the world’s top 20. Another player who will be able to tee it up across all of the world’s biggest tournaments, Bhatia could be a sneaky underdog to keep an eye on.
A rangy left hander who can hit the ball a mile, by this time next year Bhatia should be a name that every golf fan is aware of.
Rasmus Hojgaard
Rasmus Hojgaard is due to play his first full season on the PGA Tour next season and the Dane could well make a huge impact.
Alongside his brother Nicolai, Rasmus has long been touted as a player to keep an eye on in European golfing circles and he will hope to live up to that hype when he departs for the States next year.
It was a great 2024 for the Danish superstar who won the Irish Open and posted several highly credible finishes in some of the DP World Tour’s biggest events.
One area that Hojgaard should excel in is with his driving. Without doubt one of the biggest hitters on the European circuit, the bombers paradise courses that help make up the PGA Tour certainly won’t hold any fears for him.
2025 will be huge. Not only will Hojgaard be testing himself in a new environment and new country, but there is a huge chance that he will make his first ever Ryder Cup appearance when Europe travels to New York next year and he will hope to make a splash in the majors.
One of Europe’s brightest prospects, it will be fascinating to see how he adapts to his new surroundings.
David Puig
The four players that we have mentioned above will all ply their trades on the PGA Tour next season but LIV Golf have their own young starlet in the shape of Spanish sensation David Puig.
A highly respected amateur, Greg Norman and LIV were keen to act quickly when Puig studies came to an end and snapped up the young Spainaird to join the LIV ranks.
Despite his age and the potential pull of the PGA Tour, Puig has stayed loyal to LIV and will once again tee it up on the Saudi breakaway tour next season.
Puig flashed on numerous occasions last season but would have been disappointed by only being able to finish 26th in the overall standings.
He posted two top five finishes and that has provided him with plenty to build on for next season. Also a member of the DP World Tour, it will be fascinating to see how much and often he plays on the European Tour. Seen as an outsider to make the European Ryder Cup team for next season, if he can live up to his huge potential he could be a real wildcard to make the team.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
