Cameron Young, Sahith Theegala, Rasmus Hojgaard, Linn Grant & Cameron Smith - Golfers to watch in 2023

As we welcome in the New Year and the restart of the golf season after the festive break, players on every tour will be looking to kick on during the course of the next twelve months and hopefully achieve all that they've set out to do.

With the best in the world set to tee it up once again, we take a look at some of the players to watch.

The PGA Tour’s 2021-22 Rookie of the Year, Cameron Young, will have his sights firmly set on breaking into the winners circle this year after a string of near misses last time out. Those experiences will surely only add fuel to his fire.

You could argue that he has already had his ‘breakout’ season, such was the success of his campaign last year. A debut solo second at The Open and a third place finish at his maiden PGA Championship were standout performances on the Korn Ferry Tour graduate’s report card. Add a further four runner-up spots and the 25-year-old certainly had a debut season for the history books, one that amassed over $6.5 million in earnings.

Fresh from his first taste of team golf at last year's Presidents Cup, held at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, Young will also have the small matter of the US Ryder Cup team qualification on his radar. The free-flowing, long hitter, would certainly be a welcome addition to Zach Johnson’s team if he can conjure the same kind of form as 2022. As it stands, Young will make the team automatically due to currently placing fourth on the points list, with the top six set to make the team in addition to the captain’s picks.

Young has the potential to follow the lead of Scottie Scheffler this year and rise to join the very best. It may not be a carbon copy of what Scheffler managed to achieve, but a run of wins and climbing the world rankings is certainly realistic. Statistically he is one of the best ball strikers and is currently one of the best active players without a PGA Tour win.

Expect that to change in 2023.

Much like Young, Sahith Theegala had a superb rookie campaign during the 2021-22 PGA Tour season but the 25-year-old has one over his fellow American having recently been crowned QBE Shootout champion - with the help of playing partner Tom Hoge.

One of the hottest prospects on Tour is now off and running after some near misses last year, notably at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Travelers Championship where a double bogey cost him a chance at glory. Theegala will be looking to use those past experiences to fuel consistent results and add to his victory tally.

Fans warmed to Theegala during the course of last year, in part to his play but also due to his heart-on-sleeve mentality. His growing legion of fans will be excited to follow him as he tees it up at The Masters for the first time, aiming to become the first rookie since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 to slip into the Green Jacket.

Also, like Young, though more of a longshot at this stage, Theegala will be keeping an eye on the Ryder Cup standings to see if he can try and push his way up the points table and put himself at the forefront of captain Johnson’s mind.

There’s huge potential for the youngster to capitalise on his opportunities this year, just don’t be shocked when he does.

Twin brothers Rasmus and Nicolai have been touted as hot prospects since arriving on the scene four years ago - but 2023 could be the year of the slightly younger Rasmus.

Still only 21 years old, Hojgaard has been one of the names on everyone's lips within Europe with the young Dane having won three times already since joining the DP World Tour for the 2019-20 season.

It’d be fair to say that the priority for a lot of Europe’s best players is the Ryder Cup and to wrestle it back from the U.S. after being on the receiving end of a 19-9 drubbing at Whistling Straits in 2021. Hojgaard is one of the favourites to be part of Luke Donald’s Team Europe this year. Currently seventh on the points list, a successful debut outing with Team Europe could shoot him into a new level of stardom.

As a member of Denmark's World Amateur Team Championship-winning side in 2018, Hojgaard is no stranger to success at a team level. Despite having to sit out of the inaugural Hero Cup with an injury this month, where he would’ve played for Francesco Molinari’s Continental Europe side, he’ll be keeping a close eye on what his European counterparts will do, with twin Nicolai taking his spot.

Swedish history maker Linn Grant could be set to have another stellar season in 2023 having won multiple times during her debut season on the Ladies European Tour and captured the Race to the Costa del Sol title, Players' Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards in the process.

The 21-year-old most notably became the first female winner on the DP World Tour during the Scandinavian Mixed, a joint-sanctioned event with the LET, that truly put her name on the map. Such was Grant’s success, she now has the chance to ply her trade on the LPGA Tour and compete with the heavyweights of the game, although her Covid vaccination status may prove a sticking point. If her consistency and win rate continues, Grant will be a force to be reckoned with on the other side of the pond.

With 2023 also being a Solheim Cup year, Grant is likely a shoo-in for her first taste of that competition. With the team seemingly going to have very much a Scandinavian feel due to the success of the likes of Maja Stark and Madelene Sagstrom, and with Norwegian captain Suzann Pettersen at the helm, the Swede will feel right at home. The American team should definitely fear Grant because once she gets hot, she won’t stop.

After putting together a season for the ages, that included The Players Championship title and a major win at the 150th staging of The Open in St. Andrews, PGA Tour star Cameron Smith made a controversial switch to LIV Golf.

Whilst there are still many unknowns within the golf sphere around LIV and its longevity, Smith will be trying to keep his head down amongst all the noise and continue the impressive golf that arguably made him the hottest player in the world in 2022.

What will be intriguing to see is how the governing bodies in charge of the majors approach LIV. We already know Smith will be teeing it up at Augusta after Chairman Fred Ridley confirmed any golfer who has qualified for the Masters based on its previous criteria will be invited to play in April. Whether Smith gets the chance to defend his Claret Jug, however, is another matter altogether.

Make no mistake about it, the Aussie will be a factor in any major he gets to take part in. We can concentrate on the Masters for now and the runner-up from 2020 will be hoping to channel that kind of form when arriving in Georgia this spring.