2024 Newsmakers of the Year

Two contradictory statements appear to hold true regarding the game of golf in the waning days of 2024. On the one hand, the sport has never been more popular at the recreational level; participation, particularly among women and juniors, shows no signs of fading after the COVID surge. On the other, interest in the professional game is as tenuous as at any time in recent memory with fans feeling angst and anger over the schism arising from the creation of the LIV Golf League and the protracted negotiations with the PGA Tour to try to calm the civil war. There are more questions than answers regarding what the future holds, all with the underlying message of “Why can’t everybody just get along?”

The return of Golf Digest’s annual Newsmakers package showcases a similar mix of highs, lows and in-betweens from the past 12 months. In counting down our top 25 list, we acknowledge the individuals, teams and events that helped define the year. Some are obvious (the dominance of Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda) some unexpected (did anyone see the rise of golf TV’s newest star coming?) and some unresolved (will there ever be a deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF?). Oh, and some just plain bizarre as with the events of Friday morning, May 17.

Our list hopes to serve as an entertaining way to recall the year that was and contextualize where the game is going—one way or another—in 2025. —Ryan Herrington

No. 1: Scottie Scheffler

The essence of Scottie Scheffler as golf’s most dominant player and fiercest competitor can only be partially defined by a 2024 season featuring seven PGA Tour wins, including his second Masters victory, and his first FedEx Cup title. Further to that, his excellence is only partially illustrated by his rank atop the 40-some odd statistical categories on tour, including scoring and strokes gained, and by his expanding lead as the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking.

The portrait of a man whose competitive juices run molten, who truly hates to lose, is only complete when contemplating three simple words he uttered in September with surprisingly sharp intensity. “What was that?!” Actually, it was more like, “WHAT WAS THAT?!?!” Scheffler nearly spat out the words as he turned in the direction of Dallas neighbor Tom Kim on the seventh green at Royal Montreal during the first day of the Presidents Cup. Kim had holed a 20-foot birdie putt and then shouted and fist-pumped his way to retrieving the ball from the hole. When Scheffler made from an almost identical length to halve the hole, he brayed at Kim. Then he emphatically slapped palms his four-ball partner Russell Henley.

Such fire fueled his two most impressive victories—comeback wins at The Players and the Summer Olympics. In the former, Scheffler overcame a five-stroke deficit with a closing 64 to become the first player to win the championship in consecutive years. In the latter, at Le Golf National near Paris, Scheffler fired a nine-under 62, including an inward 29, to rally for the gold medal. On the podium, Scheffler cried when the Star-Spangled Banner was played. That’s who Scottie Scheffler is, too, a soft side emerging only after the battle has been won. —Dave Shedloski

No. 2: PGA Tour-PIF negotiations

The PGA Tour’s surprise framework agreement on June 6, 2023 with LIV Golf’s financial arm, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, called for the two entities to reach a deal by the end of the year. Hours prior to the calendar turning to 2024, the tour announced that it was extending its self-imposed deadline on the proposed business venture. Yet, as the professional sport stares down a fourth season of civil war in the men’s game, the schism remains alive and well … publicly, at least.

The seeming lack of progress regarding a final deal has been a frustration for fans and players, with many in golf wanting reunification after several seasons of strife. Not helping matters have been moves by both sides that, ostensibly, appear counter to an agreement. After courting private equity beginning in the second half of 2023, the PGA Tour announced in January it had come to an agreement with the Strategic Sports Group for financial backing. This coincided with the launch of a new, for-profit venture, PGA Tour Enterprises, which PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will serve as CEO. SSG is a collective of several investors and firms, fronted by the Fenway Sports Group. (Many of those investors also have an ownership stake in TGL, the Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy golf-simulator circuit set to launch in 2025.) SSG will invest up to $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial input of $1.5 billion for a valuation of more than $12 billion. Players will receive equity into PGA Tour Enterprises; these grants, made over time, will be based on playing accomplishments, future participation and tour status.

Initially the tour sought supplemental investment to appease government antitrust regulations rather than serving as an alternative to PIF. However, stalled talks with PIF and PIF’s renewed recruiting of tour players—highlighted by the December 2023 defection of Jon Rahm to LIV—led to hurt feelings on the tour side, with several tour players asserting the tour could turn PIF away. "I don't think it's needed," Jordan Spieth said after the SSG announcement. "The idea is that we have a strategic partner that allows the PGA Tour to go forward the way that it's operating right now without anything else, with the option of other investors."

Monahan has said little publicly in rare speaking engagements at the Players Championship, Travelers Championship and Tour Championship, only repeating that he would not negotiate in public and that discussions remained productive. However, there were a number of drama-filled incidents that said otherwise. Rory McIlroy, who dropped off the tour’s policy board in November 2023, tried to return to help unification talks in May. His bid was ultimately blocked by several players. Days later, Jimmy Dunne, one of the authors of the framework agreement, resigned his position on the tour’s policy board, citing a lack of progress with a PIF deal. Said Dunne: “Since the players now outnumber the Independent Directors on the Board, and no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with the PIF, I feel like my vote and my role is utterly superfluous.”

Coupled with PIF’s reported interest in re-engaging with the DP World Tour on a deal, it seems the tour and PIF are going their separate ways, correct?

Well, about that.

Since around Thanksgiving there have been rumblings in tour circles that a deal is essentially in place between the tour and PIF. The reason it hasn’t been announced is both sides are waiting for the Trump administration to take office, with the understanding his Department of Justice would be more amendable to a deal rather than strike it down for antitrust purposes. That Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan were seen with Donald Trump in the days following his election victory—after very publicly playing together in the Dunhill Links Pro-Am in October (see above)—has only fueled those rumors.

So, yes, technically golf’s civil war is still going, and with the PGA Tour scheduled to start its new year in the first week of 2025—with LIV Golf following shortly after—there will be at least one more season of divided attention, to say nothing of the arguments about the new moral entanglements a potential agreement would mean, or what the pro golf landscape might look like moving forward. But there is reason to believe there will be peace, finally, in men’s golf in 2025. —Joel Beall

No. 3: The arrest

The ominous thing about Scottie Scheffler's arrest at the PGA Championship was that until all charges were dropped two weeks later, it was never exactly clear how much trouble he was in. The whole thing would become a joke in time—see the memes, the Halloween costumes, the $80 pants discourse—but the fog of war was thickest before dawn that Friday in May, when details were few and far between and the only available video showed Scheffler in handcuffs.

Had he actually harmed a police officer? Was he the victim of overzealous policing? Was it the unfortunate byproduct of darkness and poor organization and a fatal accident earlier in the morning outside Valhalla?

All of these suppositions ended up being at least partially true, but the larger question that morning was whether the greatest golfer of his generation had just ruined his life. ESPN's Jeff Darlington happened to be a few cars behind Scheffler when it went down, and he did provide some clarity on a complex situation. From him, we learned that Scheffler was attempting to work through traffic backed up after a retired security guard named John Mills, working the championship as a vendor, was killed while walking on the street outside the club. We also learned that multiple cops had yelled at Scheffler, and Scheffler appealed to Darlington himself for help.

Video of Scheffler speaking to police emerged, but by the time most had seen it, he had already been booked in the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections—resulting in the now infamous mugshot with the orange suit—and charged with a felony.

Scheffler quickly lawyered up, securing the services of Steve Romines, a war of words ensued, and gradually—in a process that lasted until the end of the month—the drama gave way to farce. Scheffler was fully acquitted on May 29, and now, at year's end, we're left with questions.

The most pressing, of course, is also the simplest: What did it cost him? Scheffler, the golfer, had appeared invincible to that point in the year, and while he played a shockingly good round Friday after getting out of jail—then delivered the most honest and forthright post-round interview in the 28-year-old’s career—it was obvious that the full effects hit on Saturday. Combined with the absence of his caddie, Ted Scott, Scheffler was unmoored, and had one of his worst rounds of the season, ultimately washing out with a tie for eighth. It's not like he stopped playing well—he won twice in June, secured an Olympic gold medal and captured the Tour Championship/FedEx Cup title—but the arrest certainly cost him a chance to win the PGA Championship.

Despite that stroke of ridiculous bad luck, Scheffler's reaction to the entire debacle earned him a lot of respect, and not just in the golf world. In many ways, including politically, it was a delicate situation, and while he and his lawyer fought his corner hard, he managed to show a shocking degree of resilience and even humor. It's hard to know how traumatic this was for him, but being arrested is never a picnic, and he came through a fairly undignified situation with his dignity intact. If anything, it gave a glimpse into his humanity, and the sports world seemed to appreciate him even more in the aftermath. Even the orange jumpsuits at Halloween, and yes, all those memes, seemed to have a lot of affection baked in.

There's a counter-narrative here too: Did the arrest launch Xander Schauffele into new realms of professional brilliance? That's purely hypothetical, and perhaps unfair—he certainly could have (would have?) won the PGA even without Scheffler's arrest. But there's no doubt that getting the major monkey off his back propelled him to newer and greater heights, and earning that first win was undoubtedly easier without Scheffler to contend with.

There are no simple answers here, only topics for further debate. What's left, in a concrete sense, is nothing more or less than the most bizarre off-course incident in golf since Tiger Woods crashed his car the morning after Thanksgiving in 2009. —Shane Ryan

No. 4: Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele needed a change. Everything for the 31-year-old Californian was seemingly in place to win a major championship: the talent, the confidence, the deepening pedigree that included seven PGA Tour wins and regular appearances for the U.S. in the two biggest team competitions. Still, the most valued titles in golf are decided by the smallest of margins, and there was something missing in either Schauffele’s swing or his head that kept him from seizing on the biggest opportunities, as his mark of a dozen top-10 finishes in 26 major starts heading into 2024 would attest.

Searching for a new approach at the season’s outset, Schauffele’s switch ended up being a huge one; he and the coach for his entire life, dad Stefan Schauffele, agreed that he should seek other teaching, and Xander made a big commitment by moving to Florida to work with Golf Digest Top 50 instructor Chris Como. Something clicked, and though the swing changes were said to be minor—steeper shoulders to get the club more on plane at the top—they delivered a greater feel for Schauffele when he needed it most. “I really trust him,” Schauffele said of Como early in the season. “I wouldn’t call myself a head case, but I can be a little too technical at times. So he’s put me on a bit of a trickle in terms of information.”

We know the results.

At Valhalla Golf Club in late May, Schauffele opened the PGA Championship with a 62, closed with a 65 for a 21-under total and staved off a late challenge by Bryson DeChambeau to capture his first major title. Fitting for Stefan Schauffele’s hands-off approach, the dad watched the proceedings from friends’ condo on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. “This is probably the most comfortable I’ve felt with some of the changes that Chris was able to implement,” Xander said, standing next to the enormous Wanamaker Trophy. “… It's been amazing working with Chris. He's been awesome, and definitely a contributing factor to me holding this thing today.”

As some predicted, Schauffele put the silly title of “Best Player Never to Win a Major” in the rearview mirror and validated the PGA triumph two months later by winning a second major—the Open Championship at Royal Troon. Trailing by two shots heading into a blustery Sunday, Schauffele broke free from a pack by making three birdies in a four-hole stretch early on the back nine to shoot 65 and lift the claret jug with a nine-under total. His dad was there this time, sobbing behind the 18th green.

Calling the win “one of the coolest feelings in my life,” Schauffele reflected on his past near-misses at majors and said, “Sometimes things go your way, and sometimes they don't. But for the most part, all those tough losses in the past or those moments where I let myself slip up and dream too early on that back nine, I was able to reel myself in today and make sure that didn't happen.”

The majors—Schauffele finished in the top 10 in all four—punctuated a tremendous season that was only overshadowed by the dominance of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and his nine worldwide wins. With three runner-up finishes in addition to the two wins, Schauffele rose to his highest standing of No. 2 in the world and was remarkably consistent, notching 15 top-10s in 22 starts.

A new season awaits, and there is every reason to believe that Schauffele will again be in the mix at majors while carrying a lot less unwanted baggage. —Tod Leonard

No. 5: Nelly Korda

When Nelly Korda is at her best on the golf course, she is mostly unbeatable. At least that’s how it shook out in 2024, when the 26-year-old went on a history-matching run from late January to April. Victories in five straight starts tied the LPGA record set by Nancy Lopez in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam in 2004-05, culminating at the Chevron Championship in April when Korda claimed a second career major title. And when the streak ended in May, she went on to win the very next event.

By year’s end, Korda’s victory total had hit seven—the most in a single LPGA season since Yani Tseng in 2011 and the most by an American since Beth Daniel in 1990. Korda wrapped up LPGA Player of the Year honors with three events to play, a week before she was paired with megawatt WNBA star Caitlin Clark in one of the most attended pro-ams in tour history.

The crazy thing about Korda’s year? It could have been better. There was a surprising stretch in late May and June where she missed three straight cuts, posting rounds in the 80s during the U.S. Women's Open and KPMG Women's PGA Championship that took her out of contention in both majors and the continued national spotlight. She returned to form later in the summer, contending at the AIG Women’s Open in August and serving as a driving force in the Americans’ Solheim Cup victory in September, but a neck injury kept her from playing in the LPGA’s fall Asia swing. (It took a three-times-a-day rehab effort, closer to a star squeezing out the remainder of her prime than a World No. 1 at the peak of her powers, to get into the final two tournaments of the season.) Staying healthy has become the biggest question mark for the tour's best talent, as Korda has dealt with injuries that have sidelined her from competing in four of the last five seasons.

But when she’s right with her body and her swing, she’s an undeniable force, raising the question of whether Korda can do for women’s golf what Clark has done for women’s basketball? Some asked if the LPGA made the most of Korda’s record run, the biggest off-the-course splash coming when Korda attended the Met Gala in NYC. The LPGA points to higher ratings and increased purses as signs that it had.

What isn’t in question is the fact that Korda’s talent is a foundational pillar for the tour to lean on as it heads into 2025, a season in which the LPGA will be searching for a new commissioner. Korda's pro-am appearance with Clark shows the potential impact she could have on the LPGA if she too were to truly become a household name. —Kent Paisley

No. 6: Bryson DeChambeau

The lines between Bryson DeChambeau, the YouTube influencer, and Bryson DeChambeau, the professional golfer, have never been more blurred. But Bryson has never been better for it—and the audience loves it. DeChambeau says he started his YouTube channel as a kind of creative outlet. In the years prior, a series of missteps and controversial comments to the mainstream media left the 31-year-old California native overexposed and transformed him into golf's favorite heel. His YouTube channel has been a form of media training, he says. A place for him to have fun and connect with golf fans on his own terms. It worked: It endeared him to followers young and old and sidelined the negative noise that was weighing on Bryson the golfer.

In turn, DeChambeau found a balance that worked for him. He had seven top-10s playing on the LIV Golf circuit but it was his performance at the majors that truly made a statement. A T-6 finish at the Masters was followed by a runner-up showing at the PGA Championship in May when Xander Schauffele ending Bryson's playoff hopes when he made a six-footer for birdie to win by one on the 72nd hole. Rather than be discouraged, DeChambeau used that as motivation at Pinehurst No. 2, going mano-a-mano with Rory McIlroy in the final round, shooting a one-over 71 to claim his second U.S. Open title. It was a crowning achievement for golf’s new content king. —Luke Kerr-Dineen

No. 7: Rory McIlroy

On the eve of last month’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, what would be his final competitive appearance of 2024, Rory McIlroy was asked to grade his year. After some thought, the four-time major champion came up with “B.” Which says a lot. For just about any other professional, a four-win season (including the Zurich Classic team victory alongside fellow Irishman Shane Lowry) that also featured an incredibly high level of performance—12 top-10 finishes against just one missed cut in 26 worldwide starts—such an assessment would seem harsh.

But, as does just about everyone else, McIlroy holds himself to a higher standard. In that same Dubai press conference, the 35-year-old couldn’t quite bring himself to mention by name the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. There was certainly no direct comment on the two short putts he missed on the 16th and 18th greens in the final round, or the resulting one-shot loss to Bryson DeChambeau. But what he did say—that he should now own five major victories rather than just four—spoke to his enduring regret.

In that, he is far from alone. McIlroy fans the world over share his frustration. By the time the Masters comes around in April, this hugely talented golfer will have gone more than a decade without winning any of the four most important events in the men's game.

That fact alone points to how even superior consistency—like winning a sixth Race to Dubai title on the DP World Tour—can be an overrated attribute at the highest level. Far better to hit even occasional home runs, a feat McIlroy will surely be aiming to finally achieve at Augusta National. Becoming only the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam would leave him with little else to accomplish and, more importantly, quiet any enduring demons still speaking to his admirably stubborn psyche. Stay tuned. —John Huggan

No. 8: Lydia Ko

Lydia Ko's gold-laced clinching of her spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame, courtesy of her triumph at the Olympics in August, was nothing if not dramatic. Her three-victory season got off to a quick start, the New Zealander winning the opening Tournament of Champions in January to sit one point away from HOF qualifying. But then came the near misses: a playoff loss to Nelly Korda at the Drive On Championship a week later and a final grouping with then-winless Bailey Tardy and future Solheim Cup member Sarah Schmelzel at the Blue Bay LPGA in March.

It took five months of waiting, but it all seemed worth it when Ko handled her nerves down the stretch in the final round at Le Golf National. Her victory earned her the Olympic medal trifecta, adding to the silver she won in 2016 and bronze in 2021.

If finally grabbing her HOF spot proved exhausting, you couldn’t tell from the way Ko moved forward. Three weeks later, she earned her third career major title but her first since 2016, at St. Andrews, besting Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu down the stretch for the AIG Women's Open. The Kiwi grabbed one more title capturing the Dana Open in September, to make it a fifth career three-win season.

Having answered the question of will she or won’t she qualify for the Hall, Ko faces a new query: What’s next? There was a thought among some that Ko, having noted at age 18 that she planned to retire by 30, would make the Hall of Fame her sendoff moment. Now 27, the thoughtful, reflective tour pro has slightly changed course, aiming to win all five of the LPGA's majors, the career super grand slam, before her final send off. The only close-to-definitive statement the Kiwi has made on when she might retire was during the CME Group Tour Championship in November, when she shared she does not anticipate playing in the Olympics again. The next edition is four years away in 2028. —K.P.

No. 9: Presidents Cup

The Presidents Cup continues to be exactly like Rodney Dangerfield in two crucial ways:

1. It gets no respect.

2. It's consistently very funny.

We could add a third quality, too, though this one is more Rick Astley than Rodney Dangerfield:

3. It's never going to let you down.

The 2024 edition in Montreal between the U.S. and the Internationals began the way the biennial competition always begins—with the entire golf media complex suggesting it should be canceled outright (the trendy idea de jure has been to replace it with a mixed team event). The calls got louder after the disastrous first day, when the Americans took a 5-0 lead and reaffirmed the narrative that they're simply too good for the Internationals. The crowd was tame, the "home" team looked lifeless and captain Mike Weir seemed to be out of ideas.

Then, like it always does, the Presidents Cup got weird. And fun. Somehow, the Internationals managed a full reversal on Day 2, winning five matches to even the score and set up a compelling weekend. And here we reached a point that also arrives at each and every Presidents Cup—whether it comes sooner or later—when the outside bickering quiets down and everyone enjoys some eye-popping golf.

It all peaked on Saturday night, when Si Woo Kim (partnered with the perpetually entertaining Tom Kim) holed out from off the green on 16 at Royal Montreal, then ran across the green doing the Steph Curry "night-night" celebration, even though that celebration is meant to be performed when you close out a game/match and he had merely tied it. It was exciting, yes, but also one of the funniest moments of the last decade in golf. That match, and the competitive drama, culminated two holes later with his opponent Patrick Cantlay doing what he does, which is to bury a match-winning putt in the Saturday dusk under ridiculously dramatic circumstances.

Speaking of the Kim/Kim team, we can't leave any Presidents Cup recap without a further nod to Tom Kim, a moth to the flame of the spotlight and a player who, at least in the early stages of the 22-year-old’s career, seems to be defined by this event. His performance at Quail Hollow in 2022 was almost entirely of the feel-good variety—the goofy kid who split his pants twice, then made a massive putt on Saturday—but it was a little more controversial in Montreal. After the tense match with Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Kim seemed to call out the American players for "cursing" at him as they left the 18th green. He didn't name names, but later discussion seemed to implicate Wyndham Clark. However, after the demonstrative behavior of the Koreans during the match, Kim's complaint was seen by some as hypocritical or hyper-sensitive, and added an interesting dimension to his reputation. (Kim later cleared the air with Schauffele and Furyk in a private discussion.)

Yes, the Americans won on Sunday, and no, the final margin—18½-11½—wasn't particularly close (though Weir should take a lot of blame for that). Even so, the Presidents Cup proved yet again that despite the legions of haters, it is reliably the most entertaining fall golf product in the universe not named the Ryder Cup. May it live for 1,000 years. —S.R.

No. 10: Solheim Cup

The U.S. defeating Europe, 15½-12½, in September at the Solheim Cup was a big deal. Huge, really. Several times since its inception in 1990, the headline heading into the biennial matches regarded Europe and the need for it to end a lengthy losing streak to keep the competition relevant. Now the roles had been reversed, the pressure squarely on the red, white and blue at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia, given the Americans hadn’t won since 2017.

U.S. captain Stacy Lewis, back for a second time, leaned hard into analytics to help make most of her decisions. But her biggest influence was to make sure any egos on her team were checked at the door. If the data said it was time for a particular person to sit, well, she sat. If a player was to be paired with someone she never considered, again, trust the numbers. This allowed Lewis to work on building her team’s culture and creating an atmosphere for them to perform their best, which they did.

The Americans won both Friday sessions 3-1 to take a commanding lead and split everything Saturday to gain a 10-6 advantage heading into Sunday singles. Europe put up a gallant effort, but the deficit was too deep. Rose Zhang (4-0-0) and Megan Khang (3-0-0) were both perfect. Rookie Lauren Coughlin went 3-0-1. Allisen Corpuz and Nelly Korda both recorded 3-1-0 records. After 19 Solheim Cups the record reads: U.S. 11, Europe 7 with one tie. And it’s never been more competitive … or relevant. —Jay Coffin

No. 11: Jon Rahm

In the immediate aftermath of Europe’s victory over the United States at the 2023 Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm were seen in what can only be described as an emotional embrace. “You make me want to be better, Jon,” said the Northern Irishman. “You do.” Such a heartfelt sentiment was understandable. At that moment Rahm was the Masters champion, a past U.S. Open winner, a man who had tied second at the most recent Open Championship and, in the face of stiff competition from McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, was perhaps the star performer within the side that had just given the Americans a right good seeing-to.

Fast forward 14 months and a sentence containing the words “mighty” and “fallen” springs to mind.

Largely hamstrung by his decision to join the LIV Golf League in December last year, Rahm has dropped from third to 20th on the Official World Golf Ranking. His play in the three major championships in which he competed (he missed the U.S. Open through injury) was largely desultory, the “highlight” a T-7 in the Open at Royal Troon. And the Olympics? That event is memorable only for Rahm’s extraordinary collapse over the closing nine holes at Le Golf National, one that saw him plummet from the gold medal position to mere also-ran status.

Some consolation came Rahm’s way, however, in his performance on his new home circuit. Two victories in 12 starts helped the 30-year-old Spaniard finish as the “individual champion” on the Saudi-funded circuit, earning him an additional $18 million bonus. And there remains a path for another Ryder Cup start in 2025 at Bethpage after Rahm appealed sanctions levied against him by the DP World Tour, an action that temporarily maintains his tour membership and thus his eligibility for the next match against the U.S.

But these are minor-league plusses in the life of a two-time major champion and former World No. 1. It is safe to say no one more than Rahm hopes for a conciliatory conclusion to the current talks that will decide the future of professional golf. At least for the moment, Rahm’s position is tenuous at best—and one that McIlroy surely has no ambitions to replicate. —J.H.

No. 12: Tiger Woods

The 15-time major champ entered 2024 confident he could play a schedule consisting of one event per month. He wound up playing 11 rounds total instead, finishing his season with disappointing scores of 79 and 77 at the Open Championship. Woods announced in September he had undergone a successful micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine, his sixth back operation dating to 2004. Unable to tee it up as host of the Hero World Challenge in December, Woods has no timetable for his return to the PGA Tour (he is going to play in the two-day PNC Championship with son Charlie next week) following what essentially turned into another lost year for the golf legend. Five starts, three missed cuts, one WD, one appearance on a Sunday.

Off the course, there wasn’t much to report, either. Woods is involved in the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF, but there remains no deal. And he surprised many by turning down the role of U.S. captain for next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. There was one silver lining in that the one full tournament he played—a T-60 at Augusta National—allowed him to break the Masters record with a 24th consecutive cut made in the event. Whether Woods, who turns 49 at the end of the year, will attempt to extend that streak to 25 in 2025 is unknown. —Alex Myers

No. 13: Olympic Golf

The tears that ran down the cheeks of gold medalists Scottie Scheffler and Lydia Ko might be all you need to know regarding the changing attitude toward golf’s inclusion in the Olympics. Already a six-time winner to that point in 2024, Scheffler appeared as emotional as at any moment of the season in August as the 28-year-old stood at attention while listening to the national anthem. Six days later, Ko was doing the crying after a triumph that fatefully allowed the 27-year-old New Zealand native to also earn a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

It would take time, golf cognoscenti insisted, for players and fans to come to appreciate the sport’s return to the Summer Games. After all, for major championships to matter required them to accumulate some history. Yet it appears eight years has been plenty long. With Paris playing host to the 2024 Olympics, sold-out crowds at Le Golf National created a super-charged atmosphere outside the ropes.

“I’ll never hit this tee shot again, opening games in Paris and being French and having all the home support,” said Victor Perez, the local being serenaded for four days with chants of “Vic-TOR, Vic-TOR.”

As if to live up to the crowd’s expectations, the competitions themselves were also entertaining and dramatic. For Scheffler to win the men’s title, he had to shoot a back-nine 29 for a closing 62, charging past Tommy Fleetwood, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm and Perez. Similarly, Ko stomached the final-round pressure as others wilted, winning by two shots to round out her medal collection after winning silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021.

No longer are the game’s best players finding excuses for why they won’t be playing any more. Instead, they are heaping praise at what the event has become. Rory McIlroy put it on a par with the Ryder Cup in terms of golf in its “purest” form.

"The Olympics, it's different,” said South Korea’s Tom Kim. “You don't really get a chance to represent your country … this is every four years. I'm going to be a lot older the next time we play, so you don't want to miss these opportunities." —R.H.

No. 14: Johnson Wagner

As a player, Johnson Wagner never quite elevated to Newsmaker status. The closest he might have come was 2012, when he won his second PGA Tour title in Hawaii, then added two more top-five finishes ahead of the Masters. Before injuries derailed his momentum, Wagner was a very good PGA Tour player. But he needed a camera on him at dusk to become a star.

Wagner’s rapid ascendance in golf media in 2024 can be traced in part to a handful of viral moments, not all of them reflective of his golf pedigree. At the PGA Championship, in particular, Wagner’s on-course spots as part of Golf Channel’s “Live From …” coverage featured him shanking and yipping enough wedges that players started approaching him on the range offering advice.

“I get it. I know people enjoy the failure,” Wagner said. “I think it resonates with the average golfer that you know, ‘Hey everybody makes mistakes.’”

At least at the U.S. Open, Wagner enjoyed some redemption. Shortly after Bryson DeChambeau had clinched his second major with a long bunker shot that might well have been the shot of 2024, Wagner returned to the same spot to try it himself. Consistent with other performances, Wagner’s first attempt wasn’t great. But when DeChambeau showed up with trophy in hand, and Wagner got a second crack, he sent his next shot to a mere 18 inches.

If the moment was a reminder that Wagner, 44, still had some pro golfer chops, it was also reinforcement of his on-camera appeal, the rare talent who is open to appearing vulnerable if it furthered his and the audience’s understanding of the game.

“Never have I seen someone become a folk hero so quickly,” Wagner’s Golf Channel co-host Rich Lerner said. “A lot of guys would ask for these segments to be taped. That would be their right, and if they flubbed a chip, they’d wait until they got a good one to use. But in TV, live is better, and Johnson has been willing to take it on and be vulnerable.” —Sam Weinman

No. 15: Nick Dunlap

Search for a professional golfer whose life changed more in 2024 than Nick Dunlap, and well, you’ll be looking for a while. Hell, Dunlap didn’t even begin the year as a professional, but instead a college sophomore at the University of Alabama, gearing up for a spring season and a late semester trip to Augusta National and the Masters by virtue of his 2023 U.S. Amateur win.

Yet that all changed Jan. 21 at The American Express in Palm Springs, when Dunlap made a nervy up-and-down on the 72nd hole at Stadium Course at PGA West to beat Christiaan Bezuidenhout by one shot and become the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Then, decision time. Having secured tour status—not to mention spots in the year’s remaining big money signature events—Dunlap opted to turn pro. Instead of driving down Magnolia Lane in April as a relatively unknown face just happy to be there, Dunlap arrived at the Masters as the current cover star of Golf Digest and a legitimate contender.

But as is understandable with such a significant life shift, Dunlap struggled in his first months as a professional. High scores and missed cuts abound until the summer, when the 20-year-old won the Barracuda Championship, the opposite-field event played the same week as The Open using the Modified Stableford scoring system. Except this time, the kid could keep the $720,000 winner’s check. He became the first player ever to win on tour as an amateur and a professional in the same year.

Dunlap nearly made it a three-win rookie campaign the FedEx St. Jude Championship, recording a top-five finish in the first playoff event. All put together, the incredible season was enough to earn Dunlap an invite to Tiger’s Hero World Challenge in December. Not bad for a guy who started the year trying to figure out which credits he needed to secure his finance degree. Someone look it up, can a 20-year-old drink in the Bahamas? If anyone deserves a toast in 2024, it’s Dunlap. —Drew Powell

No. 16: Grayson Murray

On May 25, the golf world tuned into CBS Sports’ third-round coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge, only to be greeted with a somber Jim Nantz, who delivered the news that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray had died. Murray had withdrawn from the event at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth the previous day, and a statement later from Murray’s family confirmed he had taken in own life at age 30.

Murray was a top-ranked junior and had quick success on the PGA Tour, winning in his rookie season at the 2017 Barbasol Championship. But Murray battled anxiety, depression and alcohol issues, battles that plagued his life has well as his career. He lost his tour card within five years of his win and was back on the Korn Ferry circuit. Yet Murray turned around his life and career. After a 2022 rehab stint and 2023 anxiety attack, Murray sidelined alcohol and proceeded to win twice on the KFT in 2023 to recapture his PGA Tour card. In his first event in 2024, Murray beat Keegan Bradley and Ben An in a playoff at the Sony Open, securing his tour status for years to come and punctuating his comeback. Unfortunately, the depression never left his side.

In the fall, Golf Digest visited Murray’s hometown of Raleigh, N.C., to talk to those who knew him best. While much of the sport was aware of Murray from his missteps, family and friends told the story of someone who gave all of himself behind the scenes, especially to those in need, all while fighting severe anxiety. “He was my superhero,” his dad says. “Those weren’t character flaws. Those demons, that affliction, they were trying to destroy him. He would often say, ‘Why me, dad? Why did this have to happen to me?’ And yet he kept going, and he was open about it all, willing to take the hits to his reputation and image, knowing it was OK as long as it helped someone in his same position.”

The Murrays have started a foundation in Grayson’s honor, hoping to help those that are in the position Grayson was in. The motto of the foundation mirrors Grayson’s outlook on life: “Be Kind to One Another.” —J.B.

No. 17: Keegan Bradley

There aren’t a lot of true surprise announcements any more in golf, speculation and rumors generally bubbling to the surface before there’s time for an official notice. Yet when July 8 rolled around and the PGA of America revealed its long-awaited pick for captain of the 2025 Ryder Cup team, the man picked to lead the Americans at Bethpage Black was a true shocker: Keegan Bradley.

It's not that Bradley’s love of the event was ever in question—the heartbreak of him missing out on making the 2023 U.S. team, captured in full view by the Netflix cameras, demonstrated that. It’s just that Bradley didn’t fit the mold anyone expected for a captain. At 38, he is still in his prime playing days. While he did win the PGA Championship in 2011, his résumé isn’t of a caliber you typically see captain’s plucked from. Plus, he had no “team room” experience as an assistant in previous Ryder or Presidents Cups to lean on. It was no secret that Tiger Woods was the first choice, but was Bradley really No. 2?

Yet in the days after the announcement, amazement was replaced with a different sentiment: Why not? Bradley knows the current candidates looking to play for Team USA as well as anyone. And if you believed Bradley himself that he was the victim of a snub from the Old Boys Club in missing out on playing in 2023, what better way to turn the process on its head then to be the one running the process. In talking to the media about his selection, Bradley acknowledged his own surprise at being picked but never appeared overwhelmed by it.

Whether coincidental or ironic, Bradley followed up the announcement by continuing to play some of the best golf of his career. He won for the third time in the last two years and his seventh career PGA Tour title in August at the BMW Championship and secured the winning point for the U.S. at the Presidents Cup in September. There’s an outside chance Bradley actually qualifies for his own team in 2025, a wrinkle he said he will address when and if it happens. Bottom line: Perhaps no golfer on the planet has seen their stock rise more over the past two years than Bradley. —L.K.D.

No. 18: Lexi Thompson

Tuesday morning of U.S. Women’s Open week was dominated by an unexpected announcement: Lexi Thompson said she was retiring from playing a full LPGA schedule at the end of the 2024 season. The shock that, at only age 29, she was set to slow things down was real yet dulled by the reminder that she first became a professional golfer at 15.

In an understandably emotional press conference, Thompson talked about the desire to see what else there is to life having spent most of hers focused on golf. She also spoke about the challenge of living in the public eye. "I don't think there's somebody out here that hasn't [struggled]," she said. "It's just a matter of how well you hide it, which is very sad."

Thompson missed the cut at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, but had two top-10 finishes in her next two starts. Her performance over the rest of the season was solid, justifying the captain’s pick Stacy Lewis spent on her to play for on her seventh career U.S. Solheim Cup team, helping the Americans win for the first time since 2017. She qualified for the CME Group Tour Championship, something she failed in 2023 for the first time in nearly a decade.

No doubt, the LPGA Tour will miss Thompson's steady presence not only as a competitor—she’s won 11 times on tour and earned $14.7 million on the golf course—but also as an ambassador for the game. She brought a powerful game and fun style to the course, which made her popular. And she solidified that popularity with fans by being steadfast in taking extra time for photos and autographs. The hordes of young girls surrounding her after tournament rounds are proof of the significant effect she has had in making golf something girls want to do.

“It means more to me than anything,” Thompson said. “Of course, the wins got me to what I am, the accomplishments and everything. But I wanted to leave a bigger impact as a role model, somebody who gave back to the game, somebody who made an impact on little girls and boys out here getting started in the game at a young age.”

The one good piece of news is that her retirement is from playing a full LPGA schedule, so while this is an end of an era, it isn’t the end of seeing Thompson on the golf course. —Keely Levins

No. 19: Rowdy fans at Phoenix

On one hand, the Waste Management Phoenix Open becoming a bucket-list event not just for golf fans but for sports fans in general was a great thing for golf. On the other hand, it was only a matter of time before it got completely, well, out of hand. Some (players) might argue that time happened long ago. Others (fans) would argue the event wasn’t rowdy enough.

In 2024, the rowdiness meter got dialed up to 11 during Saturday’s third round at TPC Scottsdale, first with a woman falling from the stands and needing to be hospitalized. Then there were pictures of fans fighting among themselves, which led to alcohol sales being cut off and then limited for Sunday’s final round. That hardly helped. Two videos spread like wildfire on social media, one featuring former Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson telling an unruly spectator in the gallery to “just shut up” and, much more hilariously to everyone except ZJ, “don’t sir me.” In another clip, Billy Horschel had to tell a fan “buddy, when he’s over a shot, shut the hell up,” backing up one of his playing partners who was addressing his ball as fans were shouting from outside the ropes.

The chaos of more than 200,000 spectators on Saturday alone has led to some much-needed changes for the 2025 edition of the event, including the addition of a new tournament entrance to improve crowd flow, the expansion of several walkways around the course to provide fans with more space to move about, full-digital ticketing and two additional fan spectating venues. How that will stop people from having a little too much to drink and a little too much fun remains to be seen. —Christopher Powers

No. 20: Ryder Cup tickets

Have the people been priced out of “The people’s country club?” That was the general worry on social media after ticket prices for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, revealed earlier this year, went viral during the fall. Entry for one of the event’s three days of competition starts at $750 per person, with practice days tagged at $255. That was the pitch, at least; in early November fans discovered there were $200-plus fees attached, with resale prices well north of four figures. The tickets do come with unlimited food and non-alcoholic-drink vouchers, although that was little solace. And for those who need context, yes, this is on the expensive end of the spectrum for golf events. Masters badges—inarguably the gold standard for golf tournament experiences in the United States—cost $140 per tournament day and $100 for practice rounds. The USGA is charging $60 to $85 for practice-round tickets at next year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, with general admission on tournament days ranging from $150 to $200.

For its part, the PGA of America did not offer a mea culpa. "We view ourselves as a Tier 1 event that's on par with a World Series, or with an NBA Finals Game 7," said Bryan Karns, PGA of America championship director. "That was a part of it. So when we look at pricing, we're able to tap into data from all these different venues. We're able to see, 'What do people pay?' So that really drove this, too.

“Again, our position in this landscape [is] where do we see ourselves? I think that's the reality. There are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list in the same way that someone would have a Yankees opening game World Series on their bucket list. Ultimately, we felt like that's where we are. The demand is at an all-time high for this event, so we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately."

In the PGA of America’s defense, the tickets have sold out. Nevertheless, as greed and self-interest has seemingly become the backdrop of professional golf as of late, the Ryder Cup ticket prices felt like another instance where the common fan was pushed to the sport’s periphery. —J.B.

No. 21: Golf course renovation boom

To understand where the action is in golf course architecture, follow the money. You’ll find it leads to a bonanza of multi-million-dollar renovations at clubs coast to coast.

Course renovation has been in a Renaissance period for the last 20 years as most of the country’s finest old courses have been remodeled or restored to their historic origins, some more than once. But the standards of cost and comprehensiveness have hit new heights the last few years, exemplified by a deep pool of elite and highly ranked courses that completed projects in 2024.

Why now? The cause is directly related to the soaring demand of golf during and immediately after COVID. Upper-end clubs found they suddenly had nearly unlimited resources for project, and mandates to spend it. Even modest clubs and courses found they at last had budgets to execute deferred maintenance and long-range master plans. Much of that work is now coming out of the pipeline.

The National Golf Foundation estimates that East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta spent $30 million on the remodel of its Donald Ross design, home of the Tour Championship, exceeding the sum of what it often costs to build a new course. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., spent $20 million to renovate its North Course, now the host of the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s championships. Some upper-end clubs like Atlanta Country Club, once ranked among America’s 100 Greatest Courses and hoping to get back in, are investing in hydronics greens systems, an expensive and expensive network of sub-surface tubing that allows superintendents to pump cool or warm water through the roots of the grass to regulate temperature.

Other 100 Greatest and Second 100 Greatest Courses members like Interlachen Country Club near Minneapolis, Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Medinah No. 3 outside Chicago (shown above), Hudson National in New York, Ocean Forest in Georgia, Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco and Sahalee Golf Club in Washington have all recently completed elaborate, no-cost-spared, tip-to-tail reconstructions of their famed courses. Architects have been saying there’s no limit to what you can spend money on during a renovation, or how much, and the trend has been for the country’s top clubs to test that theory. —Derek Duncan

No. 22: Golf leaders step away

Historically, there isn’t much turnover in leadership at golf’s top-level organizations. Newcomers settle into their posts, find their voices and spend some time attempting to make a mark on the sport. To have, then, a change in not one but four high-profile roles within 12 months is downright wild. It started Jan. 10 when Martin Slumbers announced he would step down as R&A chief executive by year’s end. A day later, word leaked that Keith Pelley was leaving the DP World Tour as its chief executive for a CEO position with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in his native Canada. Come June 26, the PGA of America revealed its CEO, Seth Waugh, would not renew his contract and would shift to an advisory role. Just last week the LPGA found itself in similar territory as its commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, announced she was stepping down in come January.

Two of the four openings have been filled: Mark Darbon, a former rugby club CEO, takes charge of the R&A this month and Guy Kinnings, who was the European Tour’s deputy CEO, was elevated to the top position in April. The PGA of America is continuing its search, but it’s been reported that Kiawah Island Golf Resort president Roger Warren, a past PGA president, is the leading candidate to replace Waugh. Liz Moore, the LPGA’s chief legal and technology officer, will be the tour’s interim commissioner while a search firm is used to find Marcoux Samaan’s successor.

The coincidence of the four organizations putting up “help wanted” signs speaks to the idea that a new era is potentially coming, one where leaders rotate more quickly than in the past. Slumbers and Pelley were in their respective jobs for nine years. Waugh was in charge for six years, Marcoux Samaan a little more than three. Augusta National’s Fred Ridley and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan are the most senior of golf’s leaders these days, both starting in the summer of 2017, with Mike Whan taking over at the USGA in 2021. If nothing else, as the complicated landscape of professional golf tries to co-exist with the exploding world of recreational golf, a new set of voices will be place to guide the game’s future. —J.C.

No. 23: NCAA Championship's new home

The “Road to Omni La Costa” seemed like something of a pipe dream just a few years ago. University of Texas men’s golf coach John Fields began floating the idea of a permanent home for the NCAA Division I golf championships, and when he got Omni on board for what turned out to be a $25 million Gil Hanse renovation of the La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., the facility took its first competitive bow in May for the men’s and women’s title events. The stakes were high, with plenty of legitimate questions: How would the new course play? Would it be too easy or too hard? Would it fairly test both genders? Would it identify the best teams and players?

Ultimately, the answers seemed to be overwhelmingly positive. Amid favorable weather and hotel rooms that are a five-minute walk from the course, top-ranked Stanford captured its second women’s championship in three years, while the Auburn men won their first title, capping an impressively dominant season by beating Florida in the match-play final. In individual stroke play, 14 players on both the men’s and women’s side finished even par or better—signaling the equal examination officials has hoped for. Texas A&M’s Adela Cernousek won the women’s title at 12 under, and Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai shot three under to prevail in the men’s individual event by a shot over a six-player tie for second.

“I think we found a winner here,” said longtime Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler, whose team reached the semifinals. “And I hope to high heaven that we can turn it into a permanent site.”

The breeze seems to be blowing in that direction. Already set to host the national championship through 2026, the NCAA awarded La Costa a two-year extension in October that takes the commitment through ’28. Tellingly, no site in the history of the championships has hosted that many times. While no announcements have been made about a permanent deal, the “Road to Omni La Costa” is looking like more than just a fantasy. —T.L.

No. 24: The golf ball rollback

Since the USGA and R&A announced last December their intention to roll back the distance a golf ball can travel, starting in 2028 for elite competitions and then for everybody come 2030, nothing has changed in their minds regarding the matter. USGA CEO Mike Whan and departing R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers have both firmly insisted in interviews late this year that the decision has been made and the rule will be law. Golf’s ruling bodies have been studying the issue of distance for a decade (or a century, depending on your perspective). The work was specific and collaborative with multiple levels of the golf constituency, including not only manufacturers but the major professional tours, who actually had a seat at the table when final options were being discussed. The USGA and R&A even switched course and made the rule that takes as much as 15 yards away from the longest hitters universal, rather than one that only affected the elite professional game, after the industry insisted that it preferred one rule for all of golf.

And yet, despite their singular message, much of the golf world still seems perched in a place of uncertainty regarding the topic. The reason? Neither PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, the PGA of America or even the LPGA Tour, have publicly indicated they intend to follow the rule when it goes into effect.

The ball rollback repeatedly has been called the most important equipment rule-making decision in the history of the game, and while some have decried it as not going far enough, it draws a line in the sand that distance that continues to increase at the pace of the last quarter century will not be tolerated by the ruling bodies.

Unless, of course, nobody decides to follow it.

And that lies squarely with the leaders of the professional game. PGA of America president John Lindert said at the PGA Championship in May, “From my perspective, I have said this kind of half-heartedly and half-jokingly, but from my perspective, as somebody that owns a golf shop, I'm probably going to sell a boatload of golf balls in 2028, and my members are going to store them until 2036, and they're going to continue to play them. I know my membership. I know what they will do.”

That sentiment defined both the present and future problem of a ball rollback, a problem only those outside of St. Andrews and Far Hills can really solve. —Mike Stachura

No. 25: Anthony Kim's return

His ascent to stardom in the early 2000s followed by a quicker departure from the spotlight—coupled with the notion that he may just one day return to the competitive game—had turned Anthony Kim into one of the golf’s most mythical figures over the past decade. His legend only grew in his absence, spurred by stories of fans seeing him at wild party (some likely apocryphal) and memories of Kim playing with an aggressive, childlike joy. Yet with each passing year, his return seemed less and less likely.

So it was that Kim shocked the sport by emerging from his hibernation last winter, signing on the friendly competitive confines of LIV Golf. Yet his return quickly revealed an uncomfortable truth: Many legends, while rooted in truth, aren’t real.

Kim came in tied for last (T-55) in LIV’s season-long rankings, finishing better than 40th just once in 10 events on the limited-field circuit while playing as a “wildcard,” unaffiliated with any LIV team. In a sense this is not a surprise; Kim had not played competitive golf in almost 12 years. Conversely, it was also a reminder to those that didn’t watch him in his prime that Kim, while very good and entertaining, was never great. More significantly, perhaps, the things that helped him standout—distance and an aggressive mindset—were now the currencies of the game.

But it wasn’t just golf where Kim made news. Kim told LIV analyst David Feherty in an interview about the “dark demons” he battled over that 12-year interstitial. He alluded to addiction issues. Kim mentioned he had great times over the past decade but “literally doesn’t remember” any of those times. He didn’t play golf for years, only getting back into the game when his wife wanted to learn. Kim acknowledged the reported insurance policy that allegedly allowed him to collect $10 million for not playing but said he wasn’t at liberty to disclose the matter, while also saying he was the victim of “snakes” and “scam artists.”

The year did end on a somewhat positive, as Kim got his first OWGR points in 12 years by finishing T-37 in an Asian Tour event. But for something that was so hyped, the most astonishing part of Kim’s comeback was how quiet it turned out to be. —J.B.