Golf is a game of ups and downs. For some golfers, these phases can last an entire season or longer.
Scottie Scheffler’s been in a three-year up period, with the 2022 and 2024 Masters titles under his belt to go alongside an Olympic gold medal from Paris. The consistency Scheffler’s shown over that time signals that he won’t go away anytime soon, either.
In contrast to Scheffler, Xander Schauffele had the biggest sustained surge in his career this season, notching his first major at the PGA Championship and adding a second two months later at the British Open. Schauffele has played well for a handful of years, but sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole at Valhalla Golf Club, quashing Bryson DeChambeau’s comeback attempt in the process, put Schauffele in a different tier of player.
DeChambeau was still the third player to have a spotlight moment this year, winning the U.S. Open by way of a clutch bunker shot that left him a three-foot putt to win. It also helped that Rory McIlroy missed two putts he could’ve made in his sleep, but DeChambeau’s victory at Pinehurst No. 2 added substance to his previously outsized reputation as a character that had become more public than ever through social media and YouTube.
Scheffler, DeChambeau and Schauffele often sat comfortably atop the leaderboard throughout the year, while other golfers struggled to fight for spots below them. However, a few names stood out and had their moments this season and are set up for a revenge tour next year.
Will Zalatoris
Zalatoris has had a rough go of it the last two years. After maintaining a leaderboard position at the 2022 Masters and finishing in a tie for sixth, he went on to be the runner-up at that year’s U.S. Open, narrowly missing a putt that would’ve forced a playoff with eventual champion Matt Fitzpatrick. At that point he had only been a professional for four years, and the former Demon Deacon had seemingly set himself up to be the next big star for years to come.
Then, the injury bug hit.
The 28-year-old’s back problems began at the 2022 BMW Championship, and he was forced to pull himself out of several tournaments that year. In 2023, he attempted to return to the course but had to withdraw from the 2023 Masters and sat out the rest of the season after undergoing back surgery. Zalatoris came into 2024 much healthier, and given some of his recent performances, he looks like he’s ready to compete on the big stage again.
He struggled and missed the cut at both the U.S. and British Opens, but finished tied for ninth at the Masters and played well enough to be in the top 15 at two PGA playoff events. While he’ll have to recover from missing a year-and-a-half of golf, Zalatoris ended the year on a positive note and showed signs that he’ll hit the ground running next year.
Viktor Hovland
The 2024 season was a long one for the Norwegian. Besides his solo-third finish at the PGA Championship and solid performances throughout the Tour Playoffs, Hovland missed the cut at every other major and recorded just two top-five finishes. The 27-year-old’s season was disappointing compared to last year when he ran away with the TOUR Championship.
Hovland’s issues this season likely stemmed from the frequent coaching changes he made. In 2023, the Oklahoma State grad made the shocking decision to split ways with swing coach Joe Mayo right before the 2024 season kicked off. Unsurprisingly, his results at the first few events of the season failed to meet his expectations, and it wasn’t until he reunited with Mayo before the PGA Championship that he returned to the form fans expected.
The youngster’s only been a professional for five seasons and has been better than just good. Now that he’s gotten a disastrous personnel mistake out of the way, Hovland can use the offseason to refind his form and compete at the big tournaments as we’ve seen him do before.
Wyndham Clark
There’s good and bad news for Clark: he’s won a major and gotten that proverbial monkey off his back. But ever since the 2023 U.S. Open, he hasn’t been anywhere near the same.
Clark’s infamous for using a performance coach over the last few years to help with the mental side of his game, which seemed to help when he was neck and neck with McIlroy at Los Angeles Country Club. But the results have simply not been there this year, especially in the majors. His best major finish this season was a tie for 56th at the U.S. Open, and he missed the three other cuts. Clark even began the year on a good note, claiming the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and coming in second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but things went severely downhill from there.
Despite his struggles, Clark’s proven he’s one of the best on tour. He’s already won a major and could easily win more if he can handle the spotlight like he did at LACC. However, Clark needs to return to the approach and short game he possessed during his run in 2023. He’s always been solid off the tee, and putting hasn’t been much of an issue either. For someone like Scheffler, though, success has come because of his consistent approach game. Clark has shown solidity in that area, and if he can find consistency with it in 2025, it’s likely his name will be on the leaderboard at several big events.