Golf is a popular sport in the world and is enjoyed by both the young and old. Thus, the players are always in cut-throat competition for the records and the huge money they earn. This year 2022, has been very busy for the players and the fans. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler started 2022 with a second major victory, Texan Jordan Spieth completed a career Grand Slam and then we had Rory McIlroy. Let us look at the top golf stars marking their success in 2022 to see how this season has fared.
Top 10 Golf Stars You Need To Know 2022
1. Rory McIlroy
Rory Daniel McIlroy MBE, the current world number golf star, was born in Northern Ireland on May 4, 1989. He won the US Open 2011, PGA Championship 2012, Open Championship 2014, and 2014 PGA Championship.
2022 has been a good year for Rory Mcllroy though he missed out on the Dubai Desert Classic by one stroke and finished up as a runner-up in the Masters Tournament. McIlroy was able to defend his RBC Canadian Open title in June, where he shot a final-round 62 to win by two shots, beating Tony Finau. But he finished The Open Championship in third place.
August was a great month for him when he won his third Tour Championship to earn an $18 million bonus. Then in October, he also defended his CJ Cup at Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina, finally moving him to world number one in the World Golf Ranking.
Major Awards at a Glance
- Ryder Cup (2018)
- Ryder Cup (2014)
- PGA Championship (2014)
- British Open (2014)
- Ryder Cup (2012)
- PGA Championship (2012)
- US Open (2011)
- Ryder Cup (2010)
- FedEx Cup (2019)
- FedEx Cup (2016)
Professional Wins
- World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions (2019)
- Tour Championship (2019)
- RBC Canadian Open (2019)
- Players Championship (2019)
- Arnold Palmer Invitational (2018)
- Tour Championship (2016)
- Deutsche Bank Championship (2016)
- Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open (2016)
- DP World Tour Championship (2015)
- Wells Fargo Championship (2015)
- World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play (2015)
- Omega Dubai Desert Classic (2015)
- PGA Championship (2014)
- World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (2014)
- British Open (2014)
- BMW PGA Championship (2014)
- Australian Open (2013)
- DP World Tour Championship (2012)
- BMW Championship (2012)
- Deutsche Bank Championship (2012)
- PGA Championship (2012)
- Honda Classic (2012)
- UBS Hong Kong Open (2011)
- Shanghai Masters (2011)
- US Open (2011)
- Quail Hollow Championship (2010)
- Dubai Desert Classic (2009)
2. Scottie Scheffler
Scott Alexander Scheffler was born on June 21, 1996, and belongs to the USA and plays as a professional golf star on the PGA Tour. This year 2022, was great for Scottie Cheffler as he remained the World’s Number 1 in the official world Golf ranking from March to October.
Major Awards at a Glance
- WM Phoenix Open(2022)
- Arnold Palmer Invitational(2022)
- WGC-Dell Technologies(2022)
- Masters Tournament(2022)
- WM Phoenix Open(2022)
- Evans Scholars Invitational(2019)
3. Sungjae Im
Im SungJae was born on March 30, 1998, and is a South Korean professional golf star. On the 2018 Web.com Tour, he was the Player of the Year and became Rookie of the Year for the 2018-2019 PGA Tour, and he secured his first PGA Tour victory at The Honda Classic in March 2020.
In the 2021-2022 season, Im had a great time as he won his second career PGA TOUR title at the Shriners Children’s Open for $5.75 million. He is also the first Asian Player to finish among the first two places in the FedExCup.
Major Wins
2021 Shriners Children’s Open
2020 The Honda Classic
2019 Sanderson Farms Championship
2018 The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic
2018 WinCo Foods Portland Open
4. Xander Schauffele
Alexander Victor Schauffele is an American professional golf star born on October 25, 1993. He marked his victory with his best major finish in the second position at the 2018 Open Championship and the 2019 Masters. An Olympic gold medal at the men’s golf event in the 2020 Summer Olympics is also present to his credit.
He also finished at number four in the FedExCup. He became one of five players with three or more victories and also finished FedExCup Regular Season No. 4 in the FedExCup standings to earn a bonus of $2.2 million.
Major Wins
- 2022 Genesis Scottish Open1
- 2022 Travelers Championship
- 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions
- 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions
- 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions
- 2017 Tour Championship
5. Justin Thomas
Justin Louis Thomas is an American golf star who remained at World Number One rank in 2018. He was born on April 29, 1993. 2017 was probably his best year when he won five PGA Tour events and the FedEx Cup championship. 2022 is also his great year, as he won the PGA Championship after his last win in 2017.
Major Wins
- PGA Championship (2022)
- PGA Championship (2017)
- WGC-Bridgestone Invitational(2020)
- Sentry Tournament of Champions(2020)
- Workday Charity Open(2020)
- WGC-Bridgestone Invitational(2018)
- The Honda Classic (2018)
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (2014)
6. Max Homa
John Maxwell Homa is an American golf star who plays on the PGA Tour and has won the PGA Tour five times. In 2021-2022, he played great and won two titles, i.e., the Fortinet Championship and the Wells Fargo Championship, with a bonus of $2.75 million. This year Homa has qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year and collected five top-10 records. He has successfully got his name in the captain’s picks for the United States at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
Major Wins
(2019) Wells Fargo Championship
(2021) The Genesis Invitational
(2022) Fortinet Championship
(2022) Wells Fargo Championship.
(2022) Fortinet Championship.
(2014) BMW Charity Pro-Am Presented by SYNNEX Corporation
(2016) Rust-Oleum Championship.
7. Patrick Cantlay
Patrick Cantlay is an American golf star born on March 17, 1992. Even in his amateur career, he was shining from the start, becoming the number one golf star in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Professionally, he won PGA Tour eight times and the FedEx Cup in 2021. Season 2021-2022 has been a great year for Cantlay as he won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the BMW Championship and earned a bonus of $1.75 million. However, there have been some playoff losses at the WM Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage.
Major Wins
(2018) Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
(2019) The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
(2021) ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
(2021) The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide
(2021) BMW Championship, TOUR Championship
(2022) Zurich Classic of New Orleans
(2022) BMW Championship.
8. Sepp Straka
Sepp Straka also had an amateur career and consecutively played college golf at the University of Georgia from 2011 to 2016. Straka is the first Austrian golfer to get a PGA Tour card on the Web.com Tour Finals money list in 2018. Straka’s first professional victory was winning the Web.com Tour’s KC Golf Classic.
2019 was Straka’s first season on the PGA Tour, and he finished in 3rd place at the Barbasol Championship. In the same year, he played the Open Championship. But with a finishing tied for the lowest score at the sectional qualifying in Milton, Ontario. Straka played on the PGA Tour and finished on the FedEx Cup rankings in 107th place. In 2020, Straka participated in the Men’s individual event at the Summer Olympics and finished tied-10th overall.
2022 was exciting for Straka as he won his first PGA Tour event at The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and thus became the first Austrian to win on the PGA Tour.
Major Wins
2022 The Honda Classic
2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship
2022 Sanderson Farms Championship
2018 KC Golf Classic
9. Tony Finau
Milton Pouha Finau was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in September 1989. He stood out in his Amateur career when he won the Amateur championship in 2006. He progressed as a professional golf star, and we can see that he is doing brilliantly in 2022. Finau won the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic just a week apart. Hence, Finau qualified as a US team member at the 2022 Presidents Cup, where he won three and lost one of his matches.
Major Wins
2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic
2022 3M Open
2021 The Northern Trust
2016 Puerto Rico Open
PGA Tour playoff record
2021 The Northern Trust
2021 Genesis Invitational
2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open
2018 WGC-HSBC Champions
2016 Puerto Rico Open
10. Tom Hoge
Tom Hoge started his journey to become a golf star in 2011 when he played on the Canadian Tour and won the Canadian Tour Players Cup. He also played on the Web.com Tour consecutively from 2012 to 2014. Hoge has also played on the PGA Tour since 2015. He finished second place at the 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship in 2015.
2022 has been a great year for Hoge as he won his first PGA Tour event at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year, where he shot a final round 68 to mark his win by two strokes.
Major Wins
2022 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
2017 Bobcat North Dakota Open
2011 Canadian Tour Players Cup
Conclusion
2022 has been a great year for golf stars and the sport itself. We have the most promising golf stars you can look forward to in the above list. You can see many experienced stars and some new bloomers, so that you can see the future of golf in these new players.
