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PGA Tour Rookies to Watch in the 2016-17 Season

By Mike Randleman

Oct 24, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Ollie Schniederjans tees off on hole number 1 during the third round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin at TPC Summerlin. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Ollie Schniederjans tees off on hole number 1 during the third round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin at TPC Summerlin. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports /
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4. Grayson Murray

The former top junior appears to be back on track after an up-and-down collegiate career

From a young age, the now 23-year-old Murray was pegged to be a future great. He was often the top-ranked golfer in his age group and won three straight Callaway Junior Championships — an achievement that only two others can claim, one being Tiger Woods.

As a 16-year-old, he became the second-youngest player in history to make the cut at a Web.com Tour event, and he competed in the 2013 U.S. Open at the age of 19. It seemed like only a matter of time before bigger things were on the way for the prodigy, but four different colleges and mixed results at each stop left his future uncertain.

He tied for 74th at last year’s Web.com Tour qualifying school to earn limited status, forcing himself to capitalize on the events he could get into. Playing on a sponsor’s exemption at the Rex Hospital Open in his native North Carolina, he tied for 10th place, and the dominos fell from there. That result got him into the BMW Charity Pro-Am, where he tied for eighth place. Full status was his from there on out.

He piled on three more top 10 finishes in the regular season before advancing out of the Hurricane Matthew-shortened Web.com Tour Finals with a pair of podium finishes, including a win at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

As one of the hotter players in golf over the past month, he should be thankful he hasn’t had to wait long to try to make a dent in the big leagues. He’ll make his first career PGA Tour start this week at the Safeway Open.

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