As Min Woo Lee Soars to New Heights, Who Are the 5 Rising Stars That Witnessed Breakthrough OWGR Success in 2023?

Last week, The Fortinet Australian PGA Championship was won by Australia’s favorite and home child, Min Woo Lee. In all the four rounds, Lee was always in contention and at the top of the leaderboard. This was his first win on the DP World Tour after 2021. Lee had successfully turned his game around, but he was not the only player who did that in 2023. 

Across the globe, whether in the PGA Tour or the European Tour, there were many golfers who changed their game in 2023. Some won after years, while some attained their maiden victories. At last, they improved their ranks and tasted the fruit of their success.

Europe’s prodigy and star in the making marks 2023 as his year

These five players did everything to prove their worth and turned their careers from the bottom to the best they could. The first one on our list is the Ryder Cup famed Ludvig Aberg.

1. Ludvig Aberg: The Swedish golfer got his big break after becoming number one on the 2023 PGA Tour University Top 20 rankings. Once he got his PGA Tour card, Aberg participated in many events. However, his maiden victory came at the DP World Tour 2023 Omega European Masters.

Additionally, after consistently playing on the PGA Tour for six months, he finally won his first PGA Tour title and second career win at the RSM Classic. At the end of 2022, Aberg had a rank of over 3,000. Now, he is the 32nd golfer on the Official Golf World Rankings, and that too in his rookie year.

2. Eric Cole: The mini league veteran, Cole is another rookie who joined the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour Top 50 standing. After making his entry into the league, the golfer has been consistent but has yet to card a win. After getting his PGA Tour ticket, Cole has been trying to get his first title.

Yet, he has been without a triumph till now, however; he performed great and finished runner ups twice at the Honda Classic and another at the ZOZO Championship. Moreover, through his various appearances, he gathered seven top 10s. From 384th rank in 2022 to 41st on the OWGR, Cole has far from his early and struggling days. 

3. Nicolai Hojgaard: He is another European gem. Hojgaard participated in the Ryder Cup and won for his country. The Danish golfer made his debut in 2019 when he was only 18. Yet, he has shown immense talent and skills. In over four years, he has added three titles to his name at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

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His latest victory came at the sensational ending of the European Tour’s season-ending championship, the DPWT Championship in Dubai. Hojgaard won by defeating Matt Wallace with 5 strokes. After his victory, Hojgaard has catapulted his 2022 rank of 134 to the 50th on OWGR.

Journey from 100 down to the Top 10

4. Wyndham Clark: Certainly the most impactful season Clark has ever had. After his entry into the PGA Tour in 2019, in 2023, Clark won the first and second titles of his PGA Tour career. After the first, he became the 2023 U.S. Open Champion, and he secured the second victory at the Wells Fargo Championship a month later. 

It took Clark four years to add a title to his name, but when he did it, it was truly remarkable. The newly added triumph changed his career trajectory. He jumped from 163rd rank in 2022 to the 10th in OWGR 2023 in just a few days.

5. Alex Fitzpatrick: Out of all the top four golfers. Fitzpatrick is the only one who did not win any events this year on either Tour. However, despite it, he somehow managed to take the biggest leap of all. At the end of 2022, the Englishman was at the 738th rank on the OWGR, but now he sits on the 134th. 

Although Fitzpatrick did not secure a title on DPWT, he was actively playing on the European Challenge Tour. He won the British Challenge and then went on to finish in the second place at the ISPS HANDA Invitational. These two together impacted his rank and moved him 600 positions up to 134, but which is still four points lower than his career best of 130 this year.

Now, as the 2023 season has come to an end, will these golfers continue their positive streak in the next season? Only time will tell who will top the leaderboard and who will get stuck at the bottom.

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