Rating The 2024 Seasons of Your Favourite Golfers

The Scottie Scheffler benefit season has come to an end, so what better time to look back on what has been another seismic year for the world of professional golf?

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan promised us that a framework deal to end the split would be in place by December 2023. Yet here we are, 12 months later with still nothing signed. 

There have been reports that PIF, which controls LIV Golf, is ready to pour more than $1 billion into the PGA Tour, with at least three places available on the board. It has even been rumoured that one of them may replace Monahan. But still we wait for something concrete.

Scheffler won seven times on tour, including The Masters, and also took the gold medal at the Olympic Games and the Hero World Challenge, Xander Schauffele finally shed his tag as the best golfer not to have won a major. He decided to end the argument once and for all by winning not just one but two majors. In any other year he would have been a shoo-in for player of the year honours.

Bryson DeChambeau went toe to toe with Schauffele at the US PGA before coming off second best - and then showed some pure class by waiting for his rival to finish and congratulating him. 

The following month, DeChambeau played the bunker shot of his life at the 72nd hole to win the US Open. 

Of course, this was the tournament that should have seen Rory McIlroy end his 10-year major drought but his frailties on the greens caught up with him once again and he came up one short for the second year running. Unlike DeChambeau, he did not wait around to say "well done" to his opponent.

In the women’s game, Nelly Korda also won seven times and, like Scheffler, leads the world rankings by a mile. And we finally saw Charley Hull back in the winners’ circle after two years.

So how does everybody rank at the end of it all?

Here is my end-of-term report:

Scottie Scheffler 

The American was utterly dominant all year. Not since Tiger Woods was in his prime have we seen such dominance on the fairways of the world. Not only did he win nine times in total but it was the manner of it that was so impressive - he achieved most of his successes without breaking sweat. He began 2024 with questions being asked about his putting stroke - it is safe to say that he provided all the right answers. Ironically, he may well feel a touch of disappointment that such an incredible year ended with only one major. But it will be a surprise if he doesn’t add to that tally in 2025. 

Verdict - A*

Xander Schauffele 

Nobody wants to be known as the best golfer not to have won a major. Schauffele’s talent was never in doubt - he hasn’t missed a cut for more than two years. But many within the game were starting to ask if he had what it took to win golf’s biggest prizes. Well he certainly silenced all his critics. First of all he won an utterly thrilling duel with Bryson DeChambeau at the US PGA and then he destroyed the field in a dominant display at Royal Troon to win The Open. Like Scheffler, he has every shot in the book. Like Scheffler, he has a fabulous temperament. A year he will never forget.

Verdict - A+

Bryson DeChambeau 

Regular readers will know I am no fan of LIV Golf and there have been times when DeChambeau has left me cold. But boy can he play golf! With a style that is all his own he hits the ball into the middle of next week. But he is a hugely underrated iron player and a terrific clutch putter. He won a huge army of new fans in finishing second at the US PGA Championship. He may well have lost but his play was thrilling and he showed his class by warmly congratulating Schauffele. And then there was his play at the US Open, which culminated in a spectacular bunker shot that sealed his victory.

Verdict - A+

Rory McIlroy 

It is all too easy to criticise McIlroy for effectively throwing away a golden chance to end his major drought when he missed two short putts at the worst possible time during the US Open - and it was a loss that hurt him deeply. But he won the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry and also claimed the Wells Fargo, and on the DP World Tour he won the Dubai Desert Classic and the DP World Tour Championship and the Race to Dubai. He also finished second at the Irish Open after Rasmus Hojgaard produced a finish for the ages and lost a playoff to Billy Horschel at the BMW PGA Championship. Let’s give the man a break.

Verdict - A

Nick Dunlap

Have you any idea how difficult it is to win a PGA Tour event? To do so as an amateur is almost unthinkable, but that is precisely what Dunlap did at the American Express - aged just 20! He did not pick up a penny for his efforts but don’t feel too sorry for him as he had potential sponsors beating down his door. He immediately turned professional and began to struggle. Knowing sages said he should have waited. But Dunlap knew what he was doing - he won the Barracuda Championship and finished tied fifth at the FedEx St Jude. This is a special talent.

Verdict - B+

Nelly Korda 

The American claimed seven titles on the LPGA Tour. At one point the only question was: "Who is going to finish second?" Early in the year she was simply unstoppable. She also added another women’s major to her tally. Perhaps most impressive of all was that she returned from an lengthy injury absence to win The Annika on her return to competitive play. The only reason that Korda does not get an A+ is because of the hammering she took at the hands of Charley Hull in the Solheim Cup. Not that it mattered much - the USA won back the trophy.

Verdict - A

Charley Hull 

The English golfer often flatters to deceive. I find it hard to believe that she still hasn’t won a major. She knows only one way to play the game - and that is to attack every flag. She is good for the game. And she thrashed Korda in the singles during a losing Solheim Cup. She finally ended a two-year winless drought in style when she won the Aramco Team final and then went toe to toe with Korda at the Annika on the LPGA Tour. But she really needs to win a major in 2025 to end all the arguments.

Verdict - B

Viktor Hovland

Won the FedEx Cup at the end of 2023 playing the best golf of his life - and looking like somebody who could challenge Scheffler at the top of the rankings and win his first major. So what did he decide to do? Change a golf swing that had worked sensationally well for him since the day he turned professional. Obviously! And what happened? He lost his game. It was an extraordinary decision. Hovland justified it by saying he was a "curious" golfer. Thankfully, common sense prevailed, he went back to what he knows best and started to show some semblance of form again.

Verdict - C 

Jon Rahm 

Putting aside the ill-will he caused by signing for LIV, Rahm has left me utterly baffled. He has consistently said that he wants to represent Europe at next year’s Ryder Cup. To have any chance of doing so, he had to retain his DP World Tour membership so he appealed against his fines and suspensions, which meant he was free to play. And he nearly won on home soil. But, having qualified for the Abu Dhabi Championship, he chose not to play. And that meant he also missed the DP World Tour Championship. It seems he only wants to play in the Ryder Cup on his own terms.

Verdict - C

Tyrrell Hatton

Where to start? Like Rahm, he wants to be a member of Luke Donald’s team in 2025. Like Rahm, he appealed against his DP World Tour fines and suspension in order to retain his membership. He won the Dunhill Links Championship and showed some proper commitment to the cause by playing in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. He played well in both tournaments and is riding high in the Ryder Cup points table. But his behaviour? Quite frankly, it is unacceptable. He curses, he swears and he breaks clubs for fun. It is like watching a spoilt child throwing his toys from the pram.

Verdict - B-

Jordan Spieth

This has been a year that Spieth will want to forget as quickly as possible. He has tumbled down the world rankings in a season of struggle with all parts of his game. It emerged that he had been playing with a debilitating wrist injury for much of the campaign. The wisdom of that decision must be questioned. He has now had surgery and will hopefully return without pain. But it does mean that 2025 is a hugely significant one for the American.

Verdict - C-

Justin Thomas 

At times the American has looked like he would rather be anywhere other than on a golf course. He has struggled with all parts of his game and the harder he has tried the more frustrated he has become. Golf is a brutally unforgiving mistress. Not so very long ago Thomas was the name on most people’s lips when looking for major winners. Right now, you get the impression that he would be happy enough to land his club championship. What will hurt him most is that his putting, which was world-class, seems to have deserted him.

Verdict - C

Ludvig Aberg

It is hard to believe that the Swede has only been a professional for around 18 months. Perhaps the most impressive of all his achievements was finishing runner-up at The Masters on his debut. Ask any leading pro about Augusta National and they will tell you that it takes several trips to get to know the course. This was not only Aberg’s first Masters - it was his first major! An incredible talent! But there should have been some victories.

Verdict - B

Rasmus Hojgaard 

His twin brother, Nicolai, won the 2023 DP World Tour Championship and claimed a PGA Tour card, which he comfortably retained. Rasmus narrowly missed out in 2023 but ensured he would be joining his brother in 2025 when he produced a finish for the ages to break McIlroy’s heart at the Irish Open. And he continued that terrific form at the DP World Tour Championship, narrowly missing out to McIlroy. He is somebody to keep an eye on.

Verdict - B+

Robert MacIntyre 

The Scot was one of those whose play on the DP World Tour earned him a PGA Tour card for 2024. And the left-hander struggled early on. He openly admitted that he missed his friends and family and was not enjoying all the travel, staying in hotels, etc. But everything changed for him when he won the Canadian Open. He came home for a massive party, a decision that attracted a fair amount of criticism. Nobody need have worried - in emotional circumstances and with barely a dry eye in the house, he won the Scottish Open. He made it to the Tour Championship and found himself in the top 20 in the world rankings.

Verdict - A

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