20 Golfers To Watch In 2019

Which up-and-coming players will be making headlines next year?

golfers to watch in 2019
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Which up-and-coming players will be making headlines next year?

20 Golfers To Watch In 2019

There is an abundance of strength and depth in today's golfing world, with a number of youngsters and even older players coming through the ranks to mix it with the world's elite.

Below in no particular order, we look at players from all corners of the globe who we think will be making headlines in 2019...

20 Golfers To Watch In 2019

Cameron Champ (Main image)

The big-hitting American has already won on the PGA Tour, with his maiden victory coming at the Sanderson Farms Championship in just his second start as a PGA Tour card holder.

As well as his first PGA Tour victory in October, he also won on the Web.com Tour in July.

Champ, at just 23 years of age, looks an exciting talent.

Georgia Hall

BBC Once Again Proves Its Disinterest In Golf At SPOTY

The 2018 Women's British Open champion could potentially open up women's golf to young girls across the country after becoming the first English major winner since Karen Stupples in 2004.

Hall is just 22 years of age and cracked the world's top 10 this year for the first time.

She isn't stopping there though, as has publicly spoken of her desire to reach the world number one spot.

Hall also won the LET Order of Merit for the second year running.

Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele is just 25-years-old and has won three PGA Tour titles in his first two seasons, including the 2018 WGC-HSBC Champions.

In hindsight, Schauffele was probably overlooked by Jim Furyk for a Ryder Cup wildcard pick but he looks likely to make the team in 2020.

The 25-year-old was the 2017 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and has already reached a career-high of 10th in the world - perhaps he can crack the top five in 2019?

Bryson DeChambeau

Speaking of the world's top five, the Golfing Scientist will occupy the 5th spot heading into 2019.

DeChambeau was one of the best players in the world this year, winning four times on the PGA Tour including two FedEx Cup Playoff events in a row.

The 2015 US Amateur champion now has six wins since turning pro after the 2016 Masters where he was low amateur.

Where does he go from here? Perhaps 2019 could be the year he wins a Major.

Matt Wallace

Matt Wallace

The Englishman can now consider himself one of Europe's finest players after a year which saw him win three times on the European Tour and just miss out on a Ryder Cup debut.

Wallace has proven that he is a winner, after six wins on the Alps Tour in 2016, his maiden European Tour triumph in 2017 and then three more in 2018.

Where does he go from here? You'd have to say that, with the strength of his game and the winning mentality he possesses, the sky is the limit.

Lucas Bjerregaard

Lucas Bjerregaard wins Alfred Dunhill Links

The Dane won his second European Tour title in 2018 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and has seen a huge rise in the world rankings.

Having been ranked 239th towards the end of April, Bjerregaard rose to a career-high 45th and will qualify for The Masters.

Aaron Wise

The 2018 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year looks a special talent, having won his maiden PGA Tour title at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Wise has seen a steady progression in his career, winning on the Canadian Tour in 2016, Web.com Tour in 2017 and then PGA Tour in 2018.

Incredibly, he is just 22-years-old, expect to see a lot of him in the future.

Abraham Ancer

The Mexican burst onto the scene in 2018 and won the Australian Open to rise to a career-high of 57th in the world.

Ancer has had a very decent start to life on the PGA Tour with six top 10s and may well go on to win his first title Stateside in 2019.

Joaquin Niemann

The young Chilean looks to be a future major contender and it is hard to see him not having a great 2019.

Niemann only turned pro in April 2018 after an incredible amateur career which saw him reach the world number one spot, win the Latin America Amateur Championship and incredibly, win six professional tournaments as an amateur.

He has only just turned 20 as well, having been born in 1998, and had five top 10s on the PGA Tour in 2018.

Nasa Hataoka

Hataoka, 19-year-old from Japan, is one of the game's hottest prospects.

Aged 17, she won a professional event whilst still an amateur and she was victorious twice on the LPGA Tour in 2018.

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Andrew Putnam

The American has also seen a big world ranking rise in 2018, moving up from outside of the world's top 350 to 70th.

Putnam earned his PGA Tour card through the Web.com Tour so we can expect to see much more of him next year.

He has won twice on the Web.com Tour, in 2014 and 2017, but 2018 was by-far his best year yet with a PGA Tour win at the Barracuda Championship, a T4th at the WGC-HSBC Champions, a runner-up at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and four other top 10s.

Tom Lewis

Lewis burst onto the scene at the 2011 Open where he shot a 65, the lowest score by an amateur in a Major, to lead after the opening round.

Fast forward seven years and his career hasn't quite taken off like we all expected it to, but he did win on the Challenge Tour in 2018 before winning his second European Tour title at the Portugal Masters just two starts later.

Lewis rose from 370th in the world at the start of the year up to 78th.

Kim Koivu

The unknown Fin has only been a pro for a year but we'll be seeing plenty of him in 2019 on the European Tour.

Koivu was a star on the Challenge Tour in 2018, winning three times.

He ended 2017 ranked 1925th in the world and will end 2018 inside the top 200.

Leona Maguire

The Irishwoman will likely play her maiden season on the LET in 2019 after turning professional as the world's number one amateur, a title which she held for the longest in history.

Maguire is just 24 and has had an esteemed amateur career, including three Curtis Cup appearances and also competed in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Having turned pro in June 2018, it will be very exciting to follow the career of Maguire, whose twin sister Lisa is also a pro.

Lucas Herbert

The young Aussie has risen almost 200 places in the world rankings this year up to 83rd and very nearly got his first victory at the Portugal Masters, where he finished T2nd.

Herbert has only just turned 23 but 2019 will be his fifth year as a pro. Expect him to once again challenge for a maiden European Tour title.

Justin Harding

Justin Harding poses with the trophy after winning the Royal Cup in Pattaya, Thailand

Harding is by no means a spring chicken at 32 years of age but he has clearly found something in 2018, which has turned out to be the season of his life so far.

The South African won four times in six starts in 2018, with a seven-week run of - 2nd, 1st, 1st, 6th, 1st, T18th, 1st.

Two of those wins were on the Sunshine Tour and two were on the Asian Tour.

He also had two seconds, two thirds and six other top 10s, and has seen his world ranking rise from outside the world's top 700 to a career-high 76th.

Beau Hossler

Yet another supreme American talent featuring on this list, Beau Hossler looks likely to win numerous PGA Tour titles and make plenty of Ryder Cup appearances in the future.

The 23-year-old rose from outside of the world's top 300 up to 64th in 2018 and was unlucky not to win his maiden PGA Tour title at the Houston Open, where he was defeated by a rampant Ian Poulter.

Sungjae Im

Sungjae Im poses with the 2018 Web.com Tour Player of the Year Jack Nicklaus trophy and Rookie of the year trophy

The South Korean won twice on the Web.com Tour in 2018 and had three runners-up finishes.

Im turns 21 on the 30th March and is a fully-fledged PGA Tour member. Look out for him!

Adri Arnaus

The Catalan is just 24-years-old and came through the Challenge Tour to earn his 2019 European Tour card.

Arnaus won the RAK Challenge Tour Grand Final after winning the Alps Tour Final in 2017.

In total, he had a win, a second and a third in 2018 plus six other top 10s.

He saw his world ranking rise from 493 to 132.

Shubhankar Sharma

The young Indian prospect was named European Tour Rookie of the Year for 2018 after winning twice on the Tour at the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship.

Those victories, and his excellent showing at the WGC-Mexico Championship where he was T9th after holding the 54-hole lead, led to him earning an invite into The Masters.

Sharma is just 22 and will look to kick on in 2019.

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Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!


Elliott is currently playing:


Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV