16 January 2019, by:  BET Contributer

10 GOLFERS TO WATCH IN 2019

With wrap-around seasons in the world of the PGA Tour and European Tour the lines can blur from year to the next. There is one thing that every golfer is interested in each year and that’s the four Majors. We look at 10 players we expect to see firmly in the mix for Major glory this year.

For all of golf’s great young talents, the 40-something player with twice as many wins is still the undisputed number one drawcard in the game. His win at the Tour Championship means he’s just three wins away from knocking Sam Snead off top spot while the search Major number 15 is back on after he contended at The Open and the PGA Championship.

European Tour players confident Tiger Woods will win another Major https://t.co/ReAht4DUtS pic.twitter.com/5l2ZppuLGk

— Stuff.co.nz Sport (@NZStuffSport) January 16, 2019

Not your typical golfer in that Koepka prefers to consider himself as an athlete above any other label. Often irritated by his perceptions that the media don’t give him enough credit, two Major wins last year has no one doubting his ability. It’s that ability that made him a number one ranked player in 2018, something he’s bound to achieve once again this year.

Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka are set to rekindle their battle for the world No. 1 ranking while playing halfway around the world from each other. https://t.co/pMAowPNqkU pic.twitter.com/XP9FQdVRlX

— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) January 15, 2019

Don’t know Champ? He’s 23 and already a winner on the PGA TOUR thanks to the wrap-around nature of the modern tour. His win at the Sanderson Farms Championship, where he he was 30 yards closer to the pin hitting his second shot than the field, backed up the claims that this big-hitting prodigy is set to be a star.

One to watch closely this year after the Englishman parted ways with TaylorMade. A blockbuster deal with Japanese manufacturers Honma Golf has since been confirmed but what effect will changing clubs have on the current world number one and golf’s most consistent player over the past 18 months?

Bagged his fourth win at the 2019 opener to highlight once more just how good he is. A final round 62 to leap past some of the best in the game only further indicates that the former Rookie of the Year is ready to play his way to the top of the game. He has the same amount of Tour titles as Rickie Fowler to put his meteoric rise into context.

Modest start to 2019 with a T25 in Hawaii, the reigning Masters champion has plenty to prove after his dismal showing at the Ryder Cup and the outbursts against captain Jim Furyk and golden child Jordan Spieth that followed. Reed reaffirmed his place as golf’s enemy number one and time will tell whether or not, he can stand the heat of all the negative attention.

Jordan Spieth was asked in Hawaii about Patrick Reed’s post-Ryder Cup rant.

NOTEBOOK: https://t.co/gO7jMSafdH pic.twitter.com/N2NRLffPhf

— Global Golf Post (and GGP+) (@GlobalGolfPost) January 16, 2019

“This is his year” – the chorus that follows Rickie every year as he bids to join the ranks of Major winners. Second to Reed at Augusta last year was his best showing in a few years, 2019 really must be his year or the now 30-year-old will go down as “the best player to never win a Major” … and no one wants that.

The South Africans have struggled on the PGA TOUR for some time now with no better example than the fact Oosthuizen has never won on US soil. Like Fowler, he needs to breakthrough this year as a follow on from his success at the SA Open in December if he wants to be considered relevant when the Majors roll around. It’s one thing to have the game’s most admired swing, it’s another thing to win with it.

Simply put, Johnson must add more Majors to his collection if he wants to be considered as one of the all-time greats. Three wins in 2018 took his tally to 19 and that number will likely be closer to 25 by the end of the year but with one US Open to his name but there’ not much else to write about outside that championship . I’s a crucial year for him to get his game in order when it matters most.

Stuck on four Majors, the Northern Irishman has now gone 0-7 when in final groups. It’s led to criticism about his ability to close with questions being asked if McIlroy is a choker! For one of the best players on the planet, he’s had to overcome injury, poor wedge play and indifferent putting over the past two years. With just one title in the same time period, 2019 is shaping up to be a massive year.

#10yearchallenge ?
We’re honoured to be turning 30 in the same year as two time champion and close friend of the tournament @McIlroyRory.#omegadubaidesertclassic#oddc2019 #madeforgreatness pic.twitter.com/dUQkyAjqFz

— OMEGA Golf Dubai (@OMEGAGolfDubai) January 15, 2019

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