Think about some of the top players in the game of golf today. Then consider where they were only a few years ago. In 2022, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was without a win on the PGA Tour. In 2023, Wyndham Clark found himself in the same boat before he claimed two of the biggest titles on the playing calendar. This past year, Xander Schauffele went from a good, consistent player to a two-time major champion.
Breakouts happen every season on the PGA Tour, and while some like Scheffler and Schauffele are foreseeable, others such as Clark's surge come as more of a surprise. Entering 2023 as world No. 162 -- a spot currently occupied by incoming PGA Tour rookie Taylor Dickson -- Clark was an afterthought. He went on to out-duel Schauffele at the Wells Fargo Championship before doing the same to Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open. Suddenly, he became center of mind when prognosticating significant golf tournaments.
The American has since played for U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams and represented his country this past season at the 2024 Paris Olympics -- all while climbing as high as No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings. Clark's rise came during his late twenties as it took time for him to find his footing at the professional level. Others like Scheffler and Ludvig Åberg develop more suddenly.
With the 2025 PGA Tour season set to begin, let's take a look at a mix of breakout candidates for the 2025 season ranging from those who are young and bubbling at the surface to others that have been close to sustaining success previously but could be in store for a lot more success in the new year.
2025 breakout candidates
| No. 40 | |
| Golf fans on this side of the pond were introduced to his twin brother, Nicolai Højgaard, over the past two years. It is now time to get to know Rasmus. The 24-year-old secured his PGA Tour card through the DP World Tour, and he will play in the first two signature events of the season where he will have a chance to make his presence known. A winner over McIlroy at the Irish Open, Højgaard has tallied a total of five victories in Europe and appears primed to keep winning in the United States while contending for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team. He's long off the tee, a terrific iron player and deadly with his putter -- the perfect skillset for golf courses on the PGA Tour. | |
| No. 43 | |
| Thompson has been around for what seems like forever as he bursted onto the scene in the first round of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. A winner at the John Deere Classic this past season, the 25-year-old has all the tools to win multiple times this season and contend in major championships. He is extremely well rounded, has a great head on his shoulders and could be a surprise addition to the U.S. Ryder Cup team. | |
| No. 70 | |
| Consider this breakout candidate to be in the Clark category as Kitayama is already known to most golf fans. A winner at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2023, the big-hitting right hander fended off big names like McIlroy, Scheffler and Jordan Spieth en route to his first and only PGA Tour victory. Kitayama will need to gain consistency on the greens to be a consistent fixture on the PGA Tour, but we have seen players make that leap before, and we could see it again. | |
| No. 91 | |
| Well, he's technically not on the PGA Tour yet, but he will be soon enough. The amateur racked up four top-10 finishes in eight PGA Tour starts and outpaced the likes of Spieth, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland and Tom Kim in 2024. He's earned 17 points out of the 20 required to earn membership through the PGA Tour Accelerated program and once he does the floodgates will open. His path to the top of the game could look a lot like Åberg's if he plays his cards right. | |
| No. 116 | |
| It wasn't Scheffler who led the PGA Tour in greens in regulation in 2024 but rather Fishburn. The 32-year-old also ranked fifth in total driving and 15th in scoring average which makes his lack of profile all the more peculiar. Fishburn got off to a brutal start in his rookie year and missed seven of his first eight cuts. Something switched in the spring as he then collected five top-10 finishes in his last 19 starts of the year. If he keeps that up, he may find himself in the winner's circle in 2025. | |
