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The Future is Now: Here Come the PGA Tour’s Next Superstars

By Eric Sedransk

RENO, NEVADA - JULY 28: Collin Morikawa of the United States poses with the trophy after winning during the final round of the Barracuda Championship at Montreux Country Club on July 28, 2019 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)
RENO, NEVADA - JULY 28: Collin Morikawa of the United States poses with the trophy after winning during the final round of the Barracuda Championship at Montreux Country Club on July 28, 2019 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images) /
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While most of the golf world is (rightfully so) focused on Brooks Koepka after winning the WGC Fed-Ex St. Jude Invitational, another star was born this weekend on the PGA Tour at the Barracuda Championship, in the biggest little city in the world.

With his win over the weekend, 22-year-old Colin Morikawa became the latest young gun to win on tour. This was just Morikawa’s 6th start on the PGA Tour since wrapping up a stellar amateur career at the University of California Berkeley.

Not since the class of 2011 (Spieth, Thomas, Schaufelle, etc) have we seen a batch of young talent storm on to the scene with such immediate results. In fact, we might not have ever seen a group of youngsters this good before.

While Morikawa’s victory in just his sixth start was an incredible feat, it pales in comparison to his fellow classmate Matthew Wolff who won the 3M Championship in just his THIRD start on the PGA Tour.

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Add in Viktor Hovland who has four top 20 finishes in his last five events (including a T-12 at the US Open) and you have the making for a class this will shape the future of the PGA Tour.

Lest we forget about former world number one amateur Justin Suh who has been off to a slow start in his PGA Tour career but will certainly make noise in years to come.

It was only a few years ago that we heard announcers talking about how golfers peaked in their 40’s. We are certainly entering a new era of golf, with a focus on working out, leading to prodigious length off the tee, and with it comes greater success for players in their early 20’s.

The four aforementioned players are all (not surprisingly) long off of the tee, in addition to having the mental fortitude of ten-year veterans thanks to years of expert coaching.

After his most recent win, Morikawa sounded like a ten-year veteran…

"“I just wasn’t trusting myself. I wasn’t taking my usual tempo, just got a little out of rhythm,” he said. “When I got to 14 tee, I … told myself, okay, we’ve got a lot of left, a lot of birdies, I’ve made a lot of birdies on these holes, just keep it going.”"

Wolff and Morikawa have already locked up their PGA Tour cards with their respective wins and Hovland shouldn’t be far behind (he’s my pick to win this week at the Wyndham Championship).

Next. Rory McIlroy Rebounding and Learning from British Open Missed Cut. dark

So while Brooks has certainly earned his time in the limelight, it’s the next batch of stars that we should be keeping our eyes on.

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