After a gap of two weeks, the 108th season of PGA Tour 2022-23 began on 15th of September with 47 event weeks scheduled till the next August 2023, hosting Tour Champion and FedEx Cup at the end. This might be the last season played with the current format. The Tour proposes to bring back the old traditional calendar-year format from next season. After the intense last season, it is hard to follow all the storylines and prosperous rookies and prevailing champions. However, here we tried to sum up a list of emerging candidates to watch for.

1. Cameron Young

Young won consecutive Korn Ferry Tour in May, 2021. Finishing at 19th in the 2020-21 regular season, he managed to secure a PGA Tour card for the last season. After a remarkable performance in PGA Championship and Open Championship 2022, he probably could be one of the best bets for the ongoing tour.

2. Collin Morikawa

The winner of the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship has short-hit style as Jim Furyk and Jason Dufner. They both secured the top two positions in the PGA Championship in 2013 in Oak Hill where the Championship will be held this season.

3. Adam Scott

After a couple of wins in the President Cup 2022, a senior player like Adam Scott can easily leave a mark in the opens. Last season, he finished in the top ten. We expect him to shine in the major tournament.

4. Sam Burns

The 26 years old American golfer has already bagged four PGA Tour victories. In May, 2021, Valparai Championship was his first ever Tour victory by three strokes over Bradley. In October, he secured first place in the Sanderson Farms Championship. Certainly his gradual improvements make him commendable to keep an eye on.

5. Bryson DeChambeau

The odds are pretty high with the 2020 U.S. Open champion. Bryson almost clinched the tournament the following year.

6. Justin Suh

He is a breakout participant for the PGA Tour. His finish in the Korn Ferry Tour season was an absolute menace. He debuted in 2019 in the Travelers Championship with Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff.

7. Taylor Pendrith

In July, Pendrith had his best performance finishing with T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Six times he has scratched in top 15s on the PGA Tour. Surely we can expect big scores from him.

Players’ Leapfrogging Early:

In Fortinet Championship 2022

In the first tournament of the Tour, Max Homa was successful in defending his Fortinet Championship title. The opening event commenced at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California. Homa bagged prize money of $1,440,000 from the purse money of $8 million. In spite of the defeat by one stroke, the first runner-up Danny Willett showed in good form. Homa completed in 4-under 68 at the north course and endorsed 72-hole total of 16-under with a score of 272. It is the fifth PGA Tour title and third in the Golden State of the 31 year old Cal-Berkeley graduate, Homa.

In Sanderson Farms Championship 2022

On the other hand, Mackenzie Hughes won the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship on the 2nd October schedule at The Country Club of Jackson in Jackson in Mississippi. It is the second PGA Tour title after the RSM Classic in 2016 for the Canadian, prevailing over Sepp Straka. He struck a birdie putt from eight feet to secure the victory. Hughes was dropped from the national team for the latest edition of the Presidents Cup. So, he was determined to eye for the next big tournament.

The pair went for a play off after leveling at 17-under. Straka putt 5-under 67 in the last round which includes birdie on four holes. Whereas Hughes shot 3-under 69. In the playoffs, Straka’s putt missed the cup marginally leaving Higher wide open to clinch the trophy. Newcomer Dean Burmester finished at fourth and defending champion Sam Burns settled for the 30th position.

In Shriners Children’s Open

As of now, Shriners Children’s Open, the third event of the PGA Tour is going on with Tom Kim and Patrick Cantlay leading the table. Cantlay’s exquisite third round catapulted his name on the top. On the final hole, he was unable to pull off a birdie which kept him just out of the prestigious sub-60 club of the PGA Tour.

In the End

It is tough to predict anything at this early stage with some of the rookies flourishing faster with the matches. And some of the seniors are still carrying on scoring with perfect strokes. Year-long Tour has just began to unfold its share of twist and turns.