Winning in golf can be really difficult and over the last few decades we have seen players rise right to the top of the game before then suffering a loss of form to tumble down the rankings.
With Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm dominating all before them across the PGA and LIV Tours there were several players who struggled to make an impact in 2024 and will be keen to put this year behind them. Here are five players who will be hastily looking to the future.
Viktor Hovland
The 2024 decline of Viktor Hovland has been a tough one to watch considering the heights that the Norwegian scaled in 2023.
The 2023 FedEx Champion, Hovland reached the dizzy heights of world number two and was a huge reason behind Europe’s brilliant Ryder Cup success in 2023. Not one to follow normal golfing conventions, Hovland then made the surprise decision to part with his longtime swing coach. Considering the success that he had enjoyed in 2023 the decision seemed odd and the rebuilding of his swing didn’t bring the immediate results that he had hoped it would provide.
Failing to make any sort of impact in any of his first tournaments in 2024, it wouldn’t be until May that he would record his first top ten of the season.
The impact of that top ten didn’t really have the desired effect as his next top ten effort wouldn’t come until August.
Although he was able to finish the season well, Hovland’s fall from grace has been stark and he will hope that 2024 is just a blip. When Hovland is in full flight there is usually no finer sight and the PGA Tour and European Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald will hope that he can rediscover the form that made him such a force in 2023.
Max Homa
Over the last few seasons Max Homa has become one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour. A winner of six different PGA titles, Homa usually enjoys the early Californian swing that is a feature of the first few months of the PGA Tour this season, but for some reason he found things far tougher this time around.
Unable to win in the Californian swing for the first time in three years, it looked as if Homa had a real chance of landing his first major title at the 2024 Masters. Locked in battle with Scottie Scheffler, it all fell apart for Homa on the tricky par 3 twelfth. Sailing the green Homa was unable to repair the damage and could only watch on as his Ryder Cup teammate sailed to victory.
That seemed to knock his confidence as he would only go onto record just one more top ten finish for the rest of the year. Missing out on a place at the season ending Tour Championship, the popular American now finds himself ranked all the way down at 36 in the world and has plenty to find ahead of the new season starting.
Rory McIlroy
To most of you reading this, including Rory McIlroy in this list is probably incredibly harsh but McIlroy is one of the most talented players that the PGA Tour has ever seen and it seems remarkable that a man with his considerable talents has now gone ten years without winning a major.
Let’s firstly look at the positives, two PGA titles were captured and he once again finished the year with another Race to Dubai title, but it’s the majors where he will look back on 2024 with regret, particularly the U.S. Open.
With Pinehurst playing brutally, McIlroy managed to handle the navigations with aplomb, working his way into the lead with just a few holes left to play, it would all unravel when somehow the four time major winner would miss a putt from well inside two feet.
Seemingly harder to miss, he would once again suffer heartbreak on the 18th, missing a tricky four footer to drop yet another shot he left the door open for Bryson DeChambeau and the American would go on to make no mistake.
The world is waiting for McIlroy to capture that elusive major title and at just 35 he still has plenty of time on his side. He will hope that 2025 will finally be the year where he finally gets back inside the major winning circle.
Tiger Woods
Another man who many may feel is harshly on this list is Tiger Woods but it’s been a tough year for the former world number one.
Still recovering from the impacts of a devastating leg injury which he suffered in a brutal car accident, Woods was bullish at the start of 2024 that he would be able to compete in all four majors and even planned to play in some of the PGA Tour’s signature events. However, things didn’t go to plan.
Although he made the cut at the Masters he would have to withdraw from the Genesis and he would go on to miss the cut at the remaining three majors of the season.
Worryingly for fans of the great man, his decision not to play at the Hero World Challenge could perhaps be an indicator that we won’t see him in 2025. With age catching up and with him unable to tee it up regularly hopefully 2024 isn’t the last we will see of Tiger Woods on a golf course.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth
We are slightly cheating by putting Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth but it’s fair to say that both are struggling right now.
Once billed as the future of golf, it’s fair to say that with five major titles between them, they have both enjoyed stellar careers but what their futures hold remains in some doubt.
Let’s start with Thomas, regarded by many as a generational talent, Thomas has now gone over two years without a title and has slipped to 22 in the world rankings.
A fierce competitor, the fact that he wasn’t picked to play in this year’s Presidents Cup is a sure sign indicator of where his game currently is.
You can rest assured that the man from Kentucky will be doing everything he can to make the Ryder Cup team in 2025.
Jordan Spieth finds himself in a similar position and will hope that 2025 will provide a first PGA title since 2022.
Spieth is now ranked outside the top 50 in the official world rankings and considering that some of the game’s best players are now operating on the LIV tour, that isn’t good enough for a man of his talents.
He has an excuse for his bad form as he was having to deal with a nagging wrist injury which ultimately required surgery. Once billed as the next big thing in world and American golf, Spieth needs to rediscover his game quickly to find himself back in golf’s elite circle. He will hope that will happen in 2025.
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.
