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via Imago

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Jon Rahm won the most events in the 2023 season on the PGA Tour, including the 2023 Masters. On the other hand, the Norwegian golfer, Viktor Hovland, was no less. He won three times on the PGA Tour and was crowned the 2023 FedExCup Champion. Apart from these golfers’ sensational years, there were a few other pros who had a good year and in a way, outdid the Spaniard and the Norwegian golfer.

These three golfers’ indeed changed their Official World Golf Rankings, with their impactful game. Read ahead to find out who were these pros, who successfully outshined the renowned pros this year!

Two golfers won their first major tournaments 

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These three golfers were the most consistent in their performances in the 2022–23 season. Two ended their winless drought, while one acquired his maiden victory on the DP World Tour. Regardless, the impact of their wins was seen in their rankings on the OWGR. The first from the top 3 is the 2023 U.S. Open Champion.

1. Wyndham Clark: Clark debuted on the PGA Tour in 2019, the same year as Viktor Hovland. Although he didn’t have his first win much later than his Norwegian counterpart, However, the winless drought in Clark ended in 2023. He won his first title by winning the Wells Fargo Championship in May.

Then one month later, in June, Clark beat Rory McIlroy and clinched his first major, the U.S. Open, acquiring two victories in 2023. As a result, he got himself into the Top 10 golfers on the OWGR with a jump from 163rd rank to 10th on the rankings. Undoubtedly, his finishes served the best result for him!

USA Today via Reuters

2. Brian Harman: At the end of 2022, Brian Harman was 24th on the OWGR. He had not won a single event since his last victory at the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. The 36-year-old was having a similar 2022-23 as he made a few top-10 finishes and missed around 7 cuts.

However, things started to change somewhere in June. He finished T9 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and T12 at the Genesis Scottish Open before having a breakthrough event. Harman won his career’s first major, The Open, and ended his winless drought of 5 years. This one win put Harman in the winning circle again and improved his rank from 24th to 9th in 2023.

Californian golfer amazes with his first European victory

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3. Max Homa: Since 2018, Max Homa has not had a single season without a victory. In the last six years, the 33-year-old has clinched six PGA Tour wins, where two of them were in 2022-23. The Cal native won the 2022 Fortinet Championship at the start of the season and the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open with two strokes over Keegan Bradley.

Read More: Best of PGA Tour 2023: Player, Rookie, Event, Sponsor, and More

Moreover, he also secured his maiden victory at the DP World Tour by winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge in November. The three victories in 2023 pushed Homa further ahead in the OWGR. Starting the 2023 season at 17th and out of the Top 10, he is now ten steps ahead and known as the World No.7.

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As the year ends, these stars are way ahead of where they started in the 2022-23 season. Even though they had fewer victories than Rahm and Hovland, their jump in the OWGR was more impactful. Other than that, many golfers who had a huge leap in the 2022-23 season, however, could not make it in the Top 10 list of OWGR. Nonetheless, this year saw many successes, and those three have carved their name into that list.

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