Top 10 PGA TOUR rookies to watch in 2018-19
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PORTLAND, OR - AUGUST 18: Sungjae Im of South Korea reacts to sinking his birdie putt on the second hole during the third round of the WinCo Foods Portland Open on August 18, 2018 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
It has been a quick turnaround, but ask any Web.com Tour graduate and they couldn’t be more excited for the 2018-19 PGA TOUR season to get started.
The new TOUR season gets underway this week in Napa, California at the Safeway Open, and Web.com Tour graduates and TOUR rookies don’t have to look far to see how quickly success can come.
Last year’s Web.com Tour Player of the Year, Chesson Hadley, rode three top-5 finishes in the fall to a 44th-place finish in the FedExCup standings.
Xander Schauffele, the 2017 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, was a Web.com Tour graduate, same with Austin Cook and Aaron Wise – Wise was the lone rookie to play in the TOUR Championship and is the favorite for 2018 Rookie of the Year honors – who both won this past season.
Here are 10 Web.com Tour graduates who are rookies this year on the PGA TOUR, and are ones to watch.
1. Sungjae Im. Im finished on top of the 2018 Web.com Tour Regular Season money list. He captured the first and last events of the Regular Season, never relinquishing his position on top, and he maintained The 25 lead through the Finals. Along with his two victories, he also had three second-place results and earned a PGA Championship invite via the Official World Golf Ranking. Im will be fully exempt on TOUR in 2018-19, exempt into THE PLAYERS Championship and had a steady season from start to finish, proving he’ll be a strong candidate for TOUR success.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz)
2. Kramer Hickok. Hickok famously woke his soon-to-be former roommate Jordan Spieth during the last two seasons banging a medicine ball against the gym wall in their home in Texas, as he committed himself to constantly getting better. He was the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year in 2017, and finished in The 25 on the Web.com Tour this year. He won the second Web.com Tour Finals event and is going into his inaugural PGA TOUR season with boatloads of confidence. It doesn’t hurt that he’s such close friends with Spieth, the 2014-15 FedExCup Champion, and can ask him anything he might be wondering about TOUR life. However, he proved he’s much more than just “Spieth’s roommate” this past year.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (DAP Championship presented by NewBrick)
3. Cameron Champ. One of the longest hitters in professional golf, Champ is hopeful his game translates to the big stage in his first crack at the PGA TOUR full-time. Champ has played a handful of TOUR events in the past, including the 2017 U.S. Open where he was in contention going into the weekend. His coach, Sean Foley, says Champ is dangerously skilled in both distance and accuracy. Indeed, Champ finished first in driving distance and 48th in driving accuracy on the Web.com Tour this year.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank)
4. Cameron Davis. Davis finished 34th on the Web.com Tour money list after playing just 15 events during the Regular Season, notching four top-10s and a win. He had two top-3 finishes in the Web.com Tour Finals and earned a PGA TOUR card by finishing sixth on The Finals 25. Davis will defend his title at the Australian Open in November, the first time he proved himself as a world-beater. The Aussie played four events on the PGA TOUR this year including The Open Championship, where he finished tied for 39th.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation)
5. Anders Albertson. The Georgia Tech alum can now join his fellow Yellow Jackets Ollie Schniederjans and Richy Werenski on TOUR after a spectacular Web.com Tour season that saw him finish eighth on the Regular Season money list. Albertson improved his status thanks to a solid run through the Web.com Tour Finals as well – very appropriately, he nearly won the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco – and although he has made only one previous TOUR start, he’ll have some good brains to pick in his rookie season.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS)
6. Wyndham Clark. Clark had four top-5 finishes this year en route to finishing 16th on the Web.com Tour Regular Season money list. Clark transferred to Oregon after a stint at Oklahoma State and was a leader on the team that won the Pac-12 Championship. He’s steady – his all-around ranking on the 2018 Web.com Tour was 23rd – and a solid putter. He’s had to grow up quickly, after losing his mother to cancer while in college. Maturity and confidence won’t be issues for this rookie.
BEST 2018 RESULT: FOUR TOP-5s (Second: United Leasing & Finance Championship, Third: Knoxville Open, T4: The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, T5: Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS)
7. Adam Svensson. The Canadian will join seven of his countrymen this year on TOUR, marking the largest Canadian contingent ever on the PGA TOUR. Svensson has won on every level, including nine times while at Barry University in Florida. He was the Phil Mickelson Award winner (most outstanding freshman, Division II) in 2013, and earned the Jack Nicklaus Award as Division II Player of the Year for 2013-14. Svensson nearly earned his PGA TOUR card last year via the Web.com Tour Finals, but fell just short. This year he captured the second event of the season and never relinquished his spot in The 25. He had five top-10s, including a tie for eighth at the Web.com Tour Championship.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club)
8. Jose de Jesus Rodriguez. Rodriguez won twice on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2017, en route to winning Player of the Year honors. Rodriguez had three top-10s including a victory in April and finished 12th on the Regular Season money list. He has played the OHL Classic at Mayakoba seven times, so don’t be surprised if he gets his 2018-19 TOUR season off to a quick start at a place he’s very familiar.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (United Leasing & Finance Championship)
9. Adam Long. The 31-year-old is set for his debut TOUR season after finishing 13th on the Regular Season money list. Long had 12 top-25 finishes this year including five top-10s and finally had a steady enough year to move him to the next level. His maturity and easygoing nature should be a benefit for him, as he’ll be a rookie only in status.
BEST 2018 RESULT: T2 (Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS)
10. Chase Wright. Wright won on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada in 2017 and continued his winning ways this year on the Web.com Tour. He finished ninth in The 25 to earn a PGA TOUR card on the strength of five top-10 finishes, including a win in June. He also finished tied for third at the Web.com Tour Championship to put a bow on a solid Web.com Tour season. He’s a solid putter and makes a ton of birdies, having finished 15th in putting average and 10th in total birdies in 2018.
BEST 2018 RESULT: WON (Rust-Oleum Championship)