2024 preview: Twenty-four players under 24 to watch in 2024

Editor’s note:The PGA TOUR is celebrating the start of a new year with Opening Drive, a two-week kickoff to the 2024 season. Players are refreshed and ready to shine, and they’ll need to bring their best from the start because of the season’s condensed time frame. PGATOUR.COM’s preview content will prepare you for the start of the 2024 season by telling you the players and storylines you need to know before the first shot is hit.

Ludvig Åberg’s rapid rise was one of the biggest golf stories of 2023.

Åberg started the year in college but finished it as one of the top players in the world. He won on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR and was a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team. He couldn’t have closed 2023 on a stronger note, either, shooting 61-61 to tie the PGA TOUR’s 72-hole scoring record in his victory at The RSM Classic.

That performance left the golf world hankering for more, excited to see what he’ll do for an encore in 2024. We can’t help but get excited when a young player starts to realize his potential, raising the tantalizing question of where it might take him.

That’s why we’ve produced this list of two dozen up-and-comers, to help you identify the players who could follow in Åberg’s footsteps (or, in the case of Tom Kim and Nicolai Højgaard, are already among the game’s elite). Below are 24 players under the age of 24 who you need to know in 2024.

This isn’t a ranking. It’s impossible to properly categorize players who are at such varying stages of their careers. Below are not only the best young pros in the world but also collegiate players and even high schoolers who are accomplishing some amazing things. Behold the game’s next wave of stars.

Tom Kim

Age (as of 1/1/2024): 21
He’s still just 21 but already owns three PGA TOUR titles, nine worldwide wins and finished in the top 10 in 2023’s final two majors, including a runner-up finish at The Open Championship at Hoylake. He’s on the cusp of cracking the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, as well.

Kim won his first two PGA TOUR titles in the span of four starts in late 2022, sandwiching an electric appearance at the Presidents Cup in between the victories. Things, as they say, escalated quickly, so some growing pains weren’t a surprise, but Kim has emerged from them as an even better player.

After struggling in the middle of 2023 – he didn’t have a top-10 in an individual tournament from February to June -- Kim switched coaches to Chris Como. Back on track, Kim concluded 2023 with nine consecutive top-25s, including his successful title defense at the Shriners and runner-up at Royal Liverpool. He was the youngest player in over a century to successfully defend a PGA TOUR title.

“I feel like the first two wins came at me really quick,” Kim said. “It took a lot longer … to get my third one. But it's very sweet. This is really for the team. I've worked really hard personally, but without their help, I would not even be close to getting my third win.”

Nicolai Højgaard

Age: 22
While Ludvig Åberg’s rapid rise from college to the Ryder Cup grabbed most of the attention, Højgaard was the youngest player on either team at Marco Simone. He already owns three titles on the DP World Tour, and his most recent was his biggest. He closed 2023 by winning the DP World Tour’s season finale, beating a field full of the best players from that circuit.

“In this field, there’s a lot of guys I look up to,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words.”

He also finished second in the DP World Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai standings, behind only Rory McIlroy. Højgaard will be a PGA TOUR member for the first time in 2024, as well, after earning his card via nonmember FedExCup points. He displayed an intriguing skill set on TOUR in 2023, ranking fifth in Driving Distance and leading the TOUR in average approach-shot proximity from 100-125 yards. Long drivers with good wedge games usually fare pretty well.

Akshay Bhatia

Age: 21
The former teen phenom is now a TOUR winner after claiming the Barracuda Championship. He started the season without status but earned membership with his runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open, the first of five top-10s on the season. Bhatia has long been ahead of the curve. The former No. 1 junior was the youngest American to ever play the Walker Cup and then became the third-youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history, behind only Jason Day and Sungjae Im.

Bhatia is an above-average ball-striker, ranking 32nd in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 33rd in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. He’s also 11th in Greens in Regulation and third in average proximity from 200-225 yards. It allowed him to excel in 2023 despite ranking 183rd (out of 193 players) in Strokes Gained: Putting. Should he get the putting sorted out, watch out.

Adrien Dumont de Chassart

Age: 23
The No. 3 player in PGA TOUR U’S Class of 2023 didn’t need long to earn a PGA TOUR card. He won his debut on the Korn Ferry Tour, then finished second the next week, losing in a playoff. Dumont de Chassart started his pro career with six consecutive top-10s, a record on the Korn Ferry Tour, where the stats show a player whose game is built on accuracy. He ranked in the top 25 in Driving Accuracy, Greens in Regulation and Putts Per Green Hit, a metric that is helped by accurate approach shots.

“It just feels great that my game has been on at the right time,” Dumont de Chassart said. “Everyone is going to struggle. That’s golf. I’m kind of fortunate that I played good at the right time in the early part of the season for me. It made it easier.

“If it wasn’t for PGA TOUR U, (getting to the PGA TOUR) might have taken two or three years – maybe longer. You never know. PGA TOUR U for sure put this dream out there.”

Pierceson Coody

Age: 23
Coody is another PGA TOUR U alum who made quick work on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished atop PGA TOUR U’s Class of 2022 after helping the University of Texas to an NCAA championship. Then he won on the Korn Ferry Tour in just his third start as a pro. Two more Korn Ferry Tour victories this season earned him his first PGA TOUR card for 2024 when he’ll play alongside his twin brother, Parker. They’re the grandsons of former Masters champion Charles Coody. Pierceson also is a former world No. 1 amateur and Western Amateur champion.

"I feel like I have so much to learn,” he said, “so much to improve on ... I was never the top junior; I didn't come into the game that I feel I have right now until my sophomore year of college. I was always like, 'Let's see how good we can get.’

"I love watching golf. I love golf in general, so I feel like I've seen every (TOUR) golf course 100 times ... It's immaculate; it's just perfect, almost. I'm really grateful to go play good golf and see where I stack up."

Gordon Sargent

Age: 20
Sargent, the top-ranked amateur in the world, has a luxury no other college junior has ever had: a PGA TOUR card awaiting him whenever he leaves school. He earned it through the PGA TOUR University Accelerated program that was introduced in 2022. It awards TOUR cards to high-achieving amateurs based on their accomplishments in collegiate and amateur golf. Since 2010, only three other players would have earned membership via PGA TOUR University Accelerated if it had existed: Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Patrick Rodgers. That’s good company.

Sargent is best known for winning the NCAA Championship as a Vanderbilt freshman and for his incredible driving distance. Rory McIlroy said he is the rare player who can reach 190 mph without losing control. It was that skill that had some of the world’s best raving when Sargent played the 2023 Masters. He’ll be displaying that distance on the PGA TOUR soon if he chooses to go pro after this year’s NCAA Championship, but he can also defer his TOUR card until after his senior year.

One of Sargent’s former coaches called him “one of the most organized (collegians) I’ve ever been around, on and off the course. He always has a plan when he’s practicing. There always is a purpose.”

That plan has led to the PGA TOUR.

Michael Thorbjornsen

Age: 22
The Stanford senior won a national championship at Baltusrol and made a cut at Pebble Beach before contending at a PGA TOUR event. Thorbjornsen has compiled quite a resume, one that includes impressive performances on notable courses and in big events. He won the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur at Baltusrol, a course that’s hosted multiple majors. He beat future TOUR winner Akshay Bhatia, who was the nation’s No. 1 junior at the time, in the final match. Thorbjornsen then made the cut in the following year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

He also won the Western Amateur in 2021 before finishing T4 at the 2022 Travelers Championship on the PGA TOUR. “Tough or stressful situations don’t seem to affect him as much as other players,” said Stanford men’s golf coach Conrad Ray, who was a collegiate teammate of Tiger Woods. Thorbjornsen also finished T20 in the 2023 Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour and T17 at the John Deere Classic. He is the No. 1 player in the current PGA TOUR University rankings.

Christo Lamprecht

Age: 22
Lamprecht’s height – he stands 6-foot-8 – is the first thing that stands out, but he’s shown this year that he has plenty of game, as well. He won this year’s British Amateur and shot a first-round 66 at The Open to share the first-round lead. He finished as the low amateur, becoming the first player since 2010 to win the British Amateur and be low amateur at The Open in the same year.

Lamprecht, a senior at Georgia Tech, reached No. 1 in both the World Amateur Golf Ranking and PGA TOUR U after winning his first collegiate start of the season and finishing second at the next one. He’s now No. 2 in both rankings. He’ll spend 2024 preparing for the Masters and challenging Thorbjornsen for the top spot in PGA TOUR U.

“I played some good golf my freshman year but there were a lot of mistakes made,” Lamprecht said. “I think what’s made me into a great golfer is the fact that I was learning from those experiences and focusing on what I did wrong every single day and improving, and getting a little bit better every day.”

Nick Dunlap

Age: 20
It’s always good when you’re mentioned in the same company as Tiger Woods. When Dunlap won this year’s U.S. Amateur, he became the only player other than Woods to win both the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur. He also could be next in line after Sargent – his fellow Alabama native – to earn his PGA TOUR card through PGA TOUR University Accelerated. Dunlap, an Alabama sophomore, already has 11 points and he’ll earn at least three more with his impending appearances in three majors in 2024. Dunlap beat Sargent in the first round of the U.S. Amateur en route to his victory at Cherry Hills. According to Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine, it prompted Sargent to text him, “You’re the best player in the world right now, and you proved it today.”

Dunlap had won both the Northeast Amateur and North & South Amateur earlier in the summer. He recently shot a final-round 63 to beat Sargent by one at the SEC Stroke Play hosted by Jerry Pate and lipped out an 8-foot birdie putt at the Hamptons Intercollegiate that would have given him the first 59 in college golf history. Dunlap also was runner-up at the World Amateur Team Championship to lead the U.S. to victory.

Keita Nakajima

Age: 23
The former No. 1 amateur in the world impressed in his first full year as a pro by winning the Japan Golf Tour’s Order of Merit. Nakajima had 10 top-three finishes in 23 starts on the Japan Tour, including three wins and five runners-up.

As an amateur, Nakajima reached the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking after winning on the Japan Tour and winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Winning the Japan Tour’s Order of Merit in 2023 earned Nakajima an exemption into the final stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, where he finished T45 to earn status on the Korn Ferry Tour.

More to keep an eye on

Rasmus Højgaard (22): He was the first of the Højgaard twins to win on the DP World Tour. He’s the third-youngest winner in that circuit’s history and the second-youngest to win multiple titles. He now has four DP World Tour titles and finished 18th in the 2023 Race to Dubai, narrowly missing the opportunity to join his brother as a PGA TOUR member in 2024.

Ryo Hisatsune (21): Hisatsune won the French Open in 2023 and became the first Japanese player to be named the DP World Tour’s Rookie of the Year. He’ll have a chance to earn the PGA TOUR’s version of the award in 2024 after earning PGA TOUR membership via his success on the DP World Tour. He finished in the top 10 in two of his three PGA TOUR starts in 2023, as well.

Miles Russell (15): Russell won both the Junior PGA Championship and Junior PLAYERS to become the youngest player ever to win the AJGA’s Rolex Junior Player of the Year Award. He and Tiger Woods are the only players to win that prestigious award before turning 16. Russell closed 2023 in spectacular fashion, shooting a second-round 60 in the South Beach International Amateur and finishing runner-up to U.S. Walker Cupper Ben James (who's also on this list).

David Ford (21): There may not be an amateur event that is a better predictor of pro success than the Jones Cup, which is often played in brutal winter weather at the penal Ocean Forest Golf Club on Georgia’s Atlantic coast. Ford won that event in 2023 to join such previous Jones Cup champions as Justin Thomas, Ludvig Åberg, Corey Conners, Akshay Bhatia, Beau Hossler and Kyle Stanley. Ford also teamed with Sargent and Dunlap to lead the U.S. to victory in the World Amateur Team Championship.

Tom McKibbin (21): McKibbin grew up at the same Holywood Golf Club that produced Rory McIlroy, and won the Porsche European Open in 2023 to become the youngest winner on the DP World Tour from the island of Ireland since McIlroy.

Ratchanon Chantananuwat (16): He was 15 when he beat Tom Kim by two strokes to win the Asian Tour’s Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup in 2022, becoming the youngest player ever to win an event recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking. Chantananuwat made it to the semifinals of the 2023 British Amateur, as well. He has signed a National Letter of Intent with Stanford and is scheduled to start his college career in the fall of 2024. Romine ranks him as the top collegiate signee in his class.

Kazuma Kobori (22): The New Zealander turned pro in late 2023 after winning three of amateur golf’s most prestigious titles: the Western Amateur, World Amateur Team Championship and Australian Amateur. The Western is considered the second-biggest amateur prize in the U.S. He beat the best players from around the globe – including Sargent, Dunlap and Ford – to earn medalist honors at the World Amateur Team Championship. Kobori already has won in a pro event, claiming the 2019 New Zealand PGA Championship.

Josh Berry (18): Berry was ranked outside the top 500 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking when he took on DP World Tour Q-School in the fall of 2023, but he advanced through all three stages to earn his card for the 2024 season.

Preston Summerhays (21): U.S. Junior Amateur champion. First-team All-American. Walker Cupper. Summerhays, the son of former PGA TOUR player and noted instructor Boyd Summerhays, has compiled quite a resume. The Arizona State junior made the cut in the 2023 Fortinet Championship and led the field in Driving Distance (326.8 yards). He was seven yards ahead of the second-longest driver for the week.

Ben James (20): In a stacked freshman class that included Dunlap and SEC champion Caleb Surratt, it was the University of Virginia’s Ben James who was named the 2023 NCAA Freshman of the Year. James finished in the top 6 in 11 of his 13 starts, including five wins.

Blades Brown (16): He was a co-medalist in the 2023 U.S. Amateur, breaking Bobby Jones’ 103-year-old record to become the youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history. He’s used to being ahead of the curve. The Tennessee native won a state high school title before actually reaching high school, shooting 64-69 as an eighth-grader.

Caleb Surratt (19): He won the 2023 SEC Championship, becoming the first freshman to win the conference championship since Justin Thomas. He was a first-team All-American and a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team, as well. He also Monday qualified for events on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour in 2023.

Fred Biondi (23): The 2023 NCAA champion out of Florida finished second behind Åberg in their class of PGA TOUR University grads. Biondi struggled at the start of his pro career but closed the year with two consecutive top-25s on the PGA TOUR and then finished T10 at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, missing his TOUR card by just three shots. The Brazilian will be one to watch on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024.

Nicholas Gross (17): He impressed at the 2022 U.S. Amateur when he was just 15 years old, becoming the youngest quarterfinalist since 2007. PGA TOUR winner C.T. Pan held the previous record, and before him, it was Bobby Jones. “To have something that puts my name next to those two is really special and something I'll remember forever,” said Gross, who’s headed to the University of Alabama. Romine listed him as the second-ranked signing in the Class of 2024, behind only Chantananuwat.