Golfers I'm Buying Stock In
Make-A-List-Monday
It’s the holidays, one of the BRIEF moments of the year where there isn’t really professional golf being played, so I thought I’d take a moment and make a few lists, to highlight who I think is poised for a true breakout in 2022 and beyond. For the golf nerds, this might be obvious … or maybe not? Let’s see where this goes.
Sam Burns - OK, Burnsie (as I’m SURE Tiger Woods calls him if they cross paths) is already, shockingly, ranked 13th worldwide in the OWGR. He won twice this year, at the Sanderson Farms and the Valspar. In addition to those, if we include the Hero Championship, Burns had five other top-5’s. That’s a HELL of a year. And we think he’s gonna breakout in 2022? Yes, I do. I would not be shocked at all if he contends in a major (Southern Hills?) and ends up on the Presidents Cup team. (I think one thing working against Burns is that his name is kind of generic, and with apologies, I can never remember exactly what he looks like, except he always has a “sort of” beard that looks like he either just hates shaving or is hoping to look old enough that he doesn’t get carded.)
Takumi Hanaya. Now we’re talking. Takumi is actually ranked 49th worldwide on the OWGR, but he’s not remotely a household name outside of his home country of Japan. He’s got a legit pedigree - he was the top amateur and won the Japan money list, and due to his ranking could get an invite to The Masters. It’s not clear where he’s going to play most of his golf in 2022, but if he does show up for some events, I think he could make some noise.
Erik van Rooyen. I have made fun of him for his joggers, and most Americans know him - if they know him at all - for committing assault on a tee box at the PGA at Kiawah in 2021. But that hardly tells the whole story about EVR. He’s a very talented golfer who had a pretty uneven 2021. He won the off-field event Barracuda, had some nice finishes in the FedEx Championship tournaments … and missed a TON of cuts. But me? I’m a glass half full guy. I see his potential and the fact that the last few years have clearly been his best (and I root for anyone who has actively tried to play faster) and I could see him winning a full field event and playing a role in the Presidents Cup.
Talor Gooch. Is it easy to choose someone who just won for the first time in the RSM Classic? Sure. It is awkward to choose someone whose last name is another word for taint, and also a name for a mythical bully from Diff’rent Strokes? Sure. But his late “silly season” run doesn’t tell the whole story - he had a T5 in The PLAYERS, one of the best fields in the game. He only had four missed cuts all year, and is just really consistent. I’m not saying he’s going to win a major, but it’s really possible the win gets him that confidence that has him in contention much more often. The Gooch is gonna get it.
Guido Migliozzi - You may remember him from his T4 at the US Open, or from a lot of T2’s and such on the European Tour (now named the DP World Tour, I believe). I’m not pretending Guido isn’t on this list at least partially because his name is Guido, but the form he showed in the little amount I saw him suggests he’s going to be a Ryder Cup team member in short order. I’d love to see him play a few more events in the US, and if he does, I expect him to play well. If we’re talking about golfers as stock, Guido is a stock to get in on the ground floor, cause it’s all upside.
