Five players poised for a breakout PGA TOUR season

The TOUR Championship field had an average age of 29.13, the youngest of any field at East Lake in the FedExCup era. All four major championships were won by players in their 20s, the first time that has happened since the first Masters was held in 1934. The 2021-22 season also saw the youngest international winner on TOUR in 99 years (Tom Kim, Wyndham Championship), one of two rookies to get in the winner’s circle (Chad Ramey).

The strongest, deepest professional golf circuit in the world will be primed again with several exciting players looking to take the next step in their careers. Let’s examine five players poised for a “breakout” season in 2022-23.

Justin Suh

A multi-year All-American at USC and former No. 1 amateur in the world, Justin Suh won this month’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance to claim the top spot in the season-long points race. Suh led the Korn Ferry Tour in the All-Around Ranking in 2022, a metric that pieces together a player’s season ranks in several traditional scoring and performance statistics. The previous two players to lead the Korn Ferry Tour in that statistic over the course of a completed season each went on to win the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year award: Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.

That balanced excellence in his bag promises big things on the horizon. Suh ranked in the top 10 on the Korn Ferry Tour last season in total driving, greens in regulation and putting average. The last player to do that was Chris Kirk, all the way back in 2010. Suh made 39 more birdies than anyone else on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour, and his run of five top-10 finishes in his last six starts of the season has vaulted him up 200 spots in the Official World Golf Ranking since mid-July alone. Now 25 years old, this Californian should be a very familiar name for golf fans soon, if he isn’t already.

Sahith Theegala

Can you name the PGA TOUR leader in rounds in the 60s last season? How about total birdies made? Both distinctions belong to Sahith Theegala, who showed several flashes of his enormous potential in a strong rookie campaign. High totals in both of those categories point to a player who was consistently making cuts, something not always promised for even the most glowing of golf prospects. Theegala has missed only one cut in a stroke-play event since mid-March, a 17-tournament stretch.

The Pepperdine product saved his strongest play for the summer months. Since June 1, Theegala has positive strokes gained averages in each measured category, adding up to 33rd in Strokes Gained: Total in that span. An improvement on Sundays in his second full PGA TOUR season (he ranked 188th in final-round scoring in ’21-22) would push Theegala to the next level in his burgeoning career.

Taylor Pendrith

An under-the-radar statistical darling of sorts in recent years, Taylor Pendrith fought through an injury-plagued summer. But after missing four months with a rib injury, the 31-year-old Canadian rattled off five top-15 finishes in his last six PGA TOUR starts of the 2021-22 season. Going deeper into the numbers only leaves you more impressed at how he’s played.

Since July 1, Pendrith is ranked 12th on the PGA TOUR in both Strokes Gained: Total and scoring average. Tee-to-green, he’s been even better – Pendrith is third-best in Strokes Gained: Approach in that stretch. Since the beginning of July, only three players have averaged at least 0.6 Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 0.6 Strokes Gained: Approach per round – Tony Finau, Corey Conners and Pendrith.

Now named to the International Presidents Cup team, the powerful Pendrith will have the biggest stage yet of his pro career later this month at Quail Hollow.

Davis Riley

Another standout member of the loaded 2021-22 PGA TOUR rookie class, Davis Riley repeatedly knocked on the door of his first win several times throughout the season. His closest call came at the Valspar Championship, when Sam Burns clipped him on the second playoff hole with a 33-foot birdie from the fringe. Riley finished his rookie season with more top-25s (10) than missed cuts (nine), and a trip to the second FedExCup Playoffs event, the BMW Championship.

Riley, who ranked top-10 in the Korn Ferry Tour’s All-Around Ranking in each of the two previous seasons, ranked in the top-15 on the PGA TOUR in that statistic in 2022. Only three players finished the 2021-22 PGA TOUR campaign with more birdies than Riley. The future is bright.

Sungjae Im

Okay, this player is admittedly in a different phase of his PGA TOUR career than the other four players on this list. Sungjae Im has already played in the TOUR Championship four times, is a two-time winner on TOUR and will play in his second Presidents Cup this month. But “breaking out” can mean different things for different players – and analytically speaking, Im is prepared to punch the accelerator on his road to superstardom.

Consider the all-around improvements Sungjae’s already strong statistical profile made in 2021-22:

*Improved in every strokes gained discipline tracked by the TOUR.
*Went from 31st to sixth in Strokes Gained: Total per round.
*Went from 39th to ninth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green per round.
*Climbed 20 spots in greens in regulation and 17 spots in scoring average.

The list goes on. Essentially, Im’s game as a touring pro is maturing into one that can not only compete every week with the world’s best, but begin to fill a trophy cabinet. Don’t be surprised if he doubles his career win total in the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season ahead.