The break in the 2020-21 PGA schedule is short as the 2021 Tournament of Champions tees up on January 7 th at Kapalua Plantation Course in Maui, Hawaii. It’s a short break which means there’s not too much time for predicting which players will do well in the new year. Pro golf just doesn’t have the long “Silly Season” that other professional sports have.
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If you’re not a PGA fanatic or lover of professional golf, you may not realize that the 2021 PGA season has already started. The new PGA calendar was implemented a few seasons ago.
Technically, this is the 2020/2021 season.
Three Young PGA Players to Watch
You’ve probably heard of these players before, they’ve been active on the Korn Ferry and PGA Tour. Now it’s time for them to make the move up the rankings and the odds list for any given tournament they enter. Here are three young names to follow!
Scottie Scheffler
If you’ve not heard of Scottie Scheffler by now then you may need to turn in your fan credentials! Scheffler is 24 years old and has made the jump from Korn Ferry tournaments to PGA events look easy. He’s now ranked 59 th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and has already secured full exemption status on the PGA Tour. He has nine top-25 finishes in nineteen starts and ten top-ten finishes where he was often a threat on Sunday.
Braden Thornberry
When Braden Thornberry was only 20 years old he won the NCAA Individual Championship while playing for Ole Miss. The youngster from Germantown (Memphis area) Tennessee followed that up with a T-4 at the FedEx St. Jude. His swing off the tee, sometimes described as “awkward-looking” is loaded with power. Last season, in three of his last six Korn Ferry events, he finished T12, T21, and T8 respectively. Thornberry should be making a splash on the PGA Tour in events he plays in this season.
Min Woo Lee
Min Woo Lee is the brother of LPGA five-time winner Mingjee Lee and he’s coming on strong just like his big sister. The two Australian players from Perth could end up being a pro-golf dynasty family like the Mannings in the NFL! Lee won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2016 went on to lead the European Tour in driving distance with +320 average off the tee to the fairway. He won the Vic Open earlier in 2020. Lee could easily put together a string of great finishes on the PGA side. And, it would be neat if the brother-sister duo continues to gain in popularity so much that they are selected as a special event like “The Match” or even the PNC Championship.
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Three Veteran PGA Players to Watch
Nothing beats watching a classic match-up like Tiger and Phil when they are both on top of their game. Sadly, these two players are aging like the rest of us. The good news is that the door at the top of the leaderboard has been open for others over the last few seasons. There are plenty of veteran players worth following on the PGA Tour but these three warrant extra viewing time.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka is now 30 years old with seven PGA, six European, two Japan Tour, and four Challenge Tour wins. That includes two PGA Championships in 2018 and 2019 and two U.S. Open wins in 2017 and 2018. It’s hard to believe he’s been a pro since 2012. That certainly qualifies him as a veteran player. And, after surgery and a rough past year – it will be interesting to see how much he can bounce back.
Kevin Na
Kevin Na is 37 years old heading to 40. He’s considered a late PGA Bloomer due to the fact he gained his Tour card in 2004 and went 211 tournaments before winning in 2011. Na has racked up four PGA wins and seven as a professional including the Asian and Korn Ferry Tour. Last year Na won the Shriners Open, had four top-ten, and eight top-25 finishes. He finished T2 at the QBE Shootout.
Adam Long
Adam Long, now 33 years old, could fit on either list. The former Duke player turned pro in 2010 but spent several years on smaller tours as well as the Canadian Tour. He earned the reputation as a strong journeyman player on the Korn Ferry Tour who consistently worked his way up the leaderboard. During his first year on the PGA Tour, 2019, he missed several cuts before winning the Desert Classic. Since then Long has started to develop his PGA resume with a T2 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, an 8th place card at the Phoenix Open, and a sole 2nd place finish at the 3M Open.
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Three PGA Tour Records Perfect for Trivia
The stats available for professional golfers is deep. Consider this, the British Open – aka “The Open” – was first held in 1860. The PGA was founded in 1929. There have been a whole bunch of golfers setting records since 1860. As for records on the PGA Tour – here are some of the lesser-known ones.
Holes-In-One
The Hole-in-one record seems like an easy topic. But, according to PGA Stats, there are fifteen categories from “Most of all time”, to “Last time Eight in a Tournament.” Most of all time in the PGA is held by Robert Allenby and Hal Sutton who are tied at ten each. The 2009 RBC Canadian Open has the honor of having a record eight Aces carded during the tournament.
Playoffs
Did you know that there are 27 ways a PGA golfer or Tournament can get their name into the record books under the umbrella category of Playoffs? That category is broken into two parts. The first being “Playoff Records” and “Playoff Records: The Last Time.” Here’s a simple “Playoff Record.” Arnold Palmer and Jack Burke Jr. hold the record for most playoff appearances in a season at four. Palmer did it in 1963 while Burke was in 1952. Here’s an example of one from the “Last Time” category. The “Last Time” there was a Playoff of 72 holes was in 1931 at the U.S. Open Championship when Billy Burke beat George Von Elm.
Youngest and Oldest
The record for youngest and oldest players to take part in a PGA Tournament will be hard to beat. Are you thinking the youngest player would be 18? How about 16 or 15 years old? Nope, Don Dunkelberger played in the 1937 PGA Chicago Open at the age of 11 years, 11 months, and 10 days. He was in the sixth grade! On the other end of the spectrum, Jerry Barber was 77 years, 10 months, and 9 days old when he teed it up at the 1994 Buick Invitational of California.
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