9 bold golf predictions for 2024: Tiger flashes, Bryson’s back, Masters surprise

Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay lead two of the nine bold predictions for 2024.

Finally, the first week of 2024. First day at the office. The first PGA Tour event has begun. Gotta get away from sunny Hawaii all weekend. I succeeded. The first real season of professional golf is over. This means that we are now moving forward with a list of predictions about what will happen. It will not happen! “It will happen again this year.” But this is not just a prediction. I’m the bold type. Not just who gets it, but who wins each major and what decisions pave the way for a brave new world of golf with billions of dollars in investment. This is why you are here and we are here to serve you.

First, here are nine bold (accurate) predictions from 12 months ago. Then, over the next 12 months, 9 new copies will be created.

One. Four cuts from Tiger Woods (C – T-Dub was 2 for 2 with cuts before needing another ankle surgery).

2. Masters champion Justin Thomas (F – JT) missed the cut in the easiest major to make. He wasn’t happy about that.)

3. Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship. (B- — Rory’s 71-69-69-69 left him a few shots behind, but eventually put him out of contention.)

4. Your favorite event is the US Open. (B: He was the only male major to reach the 72nd hole.)

5. A LIV golfer wins a major championship. (A – Brooks Koepka saved my life.)

6. Ireland has another big winner (D: Leona Maguire’s tie for 11th in the Women’s PGA wasn’t close enough to merit a higher rating).

7. The United States was a clear winner of the Solheim Cup. (C – Maybe it should have been? However, in the end, they won the European Championship, retaining the trophy with a score of 14-14.)

8. Europe won a close Ryder Cup. (A – The European Championships had not been held all year until the Rome games began. Then they played like garbage dogs)

9. LIV Regrets (D — I thought some players would regret joining LIV Golf. Maybe it’s for someone like Hudson Swafford, who has nowhere to play right now. However, the June 6 agreement between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian PIF alleviated any lingering concerns about joining the LIV.)

And if you still haven’t lost faith in me, let me tell you my bold prediction for 2024…

One. PGA Tour-Saudi PIF deal looks forward to 2025.

It’s not very interesting to start a post about predictions for 2024 looking directly at 2025, but if the two sides finally come to an agreement, that will be the initial conclusion. Working on a schedule that starts in January makes the business of golf easier, and PGA Tour-PIF Facts is no different. Jon Rahm will defend his AmEx title as a LIV golfer when he returns to PGA Tour events in January 2025. Until then, consider 2024 a gap year. It’s a little unnerving for golf fans, especially without the Ryder Cup in the fall. How patient are we? 2. Patrick Cantlay, Masters Champion

At one point in recent history, Cantlay became a PGA Tour fan favorite known as “Patty Ice” when he defeated Bryson DeChambeau in the 2021 BMW Championship. It feels like decades ago in tournament politics, with Cantlay becoming a lightning rod for issues related to game speed, pay-per-play and tournament management. In 2024, he will win back many fans with a four-shot victory at Augusta National. Why? He is slowly creeping into Masters contention, five shots back before the final round in 2023. It will be his first backmaster alongside Joe LaCava. That can only help ANGC, where LaCava has chased multiple Green Jacket winners. 3. Discovery in Sweden

And it’s not just golfers you might think. Ludwig Aberg seems destined to win a major championship, but 2024 is Lynn Grant’s year. Like his compatriot Victor Hovland, he excelled at methodology. The only level of golf he has yet to dominate is the majors. But it’s all thanks to a grant from Lancaster Country Club, where the U.S. will be held. Women’s Open in June. He joins Henrik Stenson, Annika Sørenstam and Anna Nordqvist to knock out the current Swedish major.

4. The return of B.A.D.

Something is brewing in Bryson DeChambeau’s world. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s something. Sure, the 30-year-old may seem more interested in racking up YouTube subscribers than winning golf tournaments, but with an above-average drive and all-world ball control, he’s back in elite form in 2023. DataGolf has him currently ranked 25th in the world on the back of a very good second half of the year. This is his weakness now. But on four warm spring days in Louisville, DeChambeau bombs his way through Valhalla and then climbs back to the top of Mt. 5. Xander Schauffele wins Burnt Pinehurst

These predictions can tend to say, “It’s time.” Outside of Rory McIlroy, there is probably no player in the world who has had a big win that has fans chanting these two words: Now is the time. Schauffele won Pinehurst, the second seed, thanks to a perfect short game and three no-hitters. He shot a fourth-round 69, putting him at 4 under and good enough for his first major.

6. Your favorite event is the Women’s Open

Forget all the big championship winners discussed above. The event we are most interested in is the traditional Women’s Open held in August. In a year where the men’s major championship courses have lacked excitement, the women’s major championship course has a chance to reclaim the St. Andrews. One thing we can learn is that in its current form, the Old Course may be a better tournament venue for women than for men. With the Open taking place the same week as the BMW Men’s Championship, it’s the perfect start to a day of relaxing on the golf couch.
7. The tiger blinks at the Throne.

Given Tiger Woods’ position on the PGA Tour’s policy committee and his general lack of form in November/December events, I think he’ll need a few months to peak in 2024. He’ll probably only return to the majors this year, though he will attend the Genesis Invitational in February to continue shaking the rust off his game. As his off-course work tapers off and his fitness returns, we’ll probably see him start to hit the 60s. The Masters seems to have suffered from bad weather in recent years, so it looks like he’ll have need a bit of luck on the rainy west coast of Scotland to get to Royal Troon at the weekend. He then shot an incredible 68 to move into a tie for 8th place and four shots back before the final day. Close enough to scare anyone. 8. Sir Colin Neville

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy could have left none other than Colin Neville, the player advisor chosen to help lead the players’ efforts to negotiate future investments on the PGA Tour. These negotiations have been prolonged, but will likely (hopefully) be completed before a major league season, after which there will be a much clearer future for the professional game. Where is Neville going? It’s nowhere. If he’s a pure sportsman or a businessman interested only in football (he helped Rain Capital oversee the sale of Chelsea FC and Manchester United), he might move on to other fields after golf consulting. However, Neville was one of the founders and directors of the Premier Golf League, a now defunct organization that created confusion around the professional game. He’s been wanting to meet another pro golf prospect for at least a decade. When that future comes, it looks like we might give him a bigger role than we (or he) ever imagined. It’s nice to be with a tiger. 9. The British team became Olympic champions.

Tommy Fleetwood, often and rarely a priest, feels right at home at the 2024 Olympics. He had a great time at the Tokyo Olympic Village and will bring great vibes to Paris in August. Paris will give you a better atmosphere. He was last seen riding on the shoulders of passionate European fans at Le Golf Nacional. As soon as Fleetwood won gold at the 2018 Ryder Cup, George Hall rallied his fellow Great Britain team to do the same.