2023 Year in Review ⛳️

With the Tour Championship behind us and a long weekend ahead, I thought now would be a good time for a season-end review.

So let’s dive into it. Here are some of the top storylines from the PGA Tour over the past year:

1. Rahm’s red hot start

Don’t let Jon Rahm’s sluggish finish in the FedEx Cup playoffs allow you to forget how he started the year.

• Rahm won four out of the first eleven tournaments he entered, hoisting trophies at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the American Express, the Genesis Invitational, and the Masters (where, I guess, it’s more about slipping on a jacket).

By the numbers: Rahm’s four PGA Tour wins were the most he’s ever had in a single season (previously, his season-high was two).

• They were also more than any other player on tour (Hovland had three).

What’s next: The PGA won’t decide on the Jack Nicklaus Award (Player of the Year) until the end of the FedEx Fall series in December.

• But tour players already seem pretty aligned with who they think should win. As Tony Finau recently said: “This year it’s got to be Rahmbo.”

2. Scottie’s ball striking clinic

If anyone else could make a case for Player of the Year it’s probably Scottie Scheffler, who had an insane statistical year.

By the numbers: Scheffler finished 1st in strokes gained off the tee (1.029) and 1st in strokes gained on approach shots to the green (1.197).

• He was also 1st in overall strokes gained (2.314) and finished the season with a 68.53 scoring average — the 7th lowest of all time (The six scoring averages ahead of Scheffler all belong to Tiger Woods.)

Yes, but: Despite a historic ball striking year, the 27-year-old Scheffler struggled with his putter, ranking 150th on tour (-.301 strokes gained).

• Scheffler finished in the top 12 in 21 of the 24 tournaments he played in this season (!!!), but still only walked away winning twice (the WM Phoenix Open and the Players).

Nick’s take: It’s hard to imagine feeling disappointed after a two win season in which you topped the money list. But Scottie has to be thinking about what his year could have been had his putter decided to show.

3. Rory’s major drought continues

After Rory McIlroy’s missed chance at the Open Championship at St. Andrew's last year, much anticipation surrounded his 2023 major season.

• But instead of completing the career grand slam at Augusta in April and winning his first major since 2014, Rory shot 72-77 and missed the cut by two.

Yes, but: The rest of Rory’s major finishes were much better — T7 at the PGA, 2nd at the US Open, and T6 at the Open Championship.

• Still, though… no wins.

What he’s saying: “No one wants me to win another major more than I do,” Rory said after finishing one shot behind Wyndham Clark at the US Open. “The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it’s going to happen for me.”

Chart to-go: Golf reporter Kyle Porter put together a chart (on his very good newsletter Normal Sporter) that I can’t get out of my head anytime we talk about Rory and close calls at the majors.

• Basically, over the last eight majors, Rory has the lowest aggregate score of any golfer and… no wins.

• Everyone below that’s highlighted in yellow has won a major within the last two years, including Brooks Koepka who Rory has beaten by more than 60 shots, according to Porter’s methodology.

*Not listed: Justin Thomas also has a major in the last two years, but was too far down on the list (+38) for me to include.

The takeaway: Golf is so cruel.

4. The emergence of Viktor Hovland

This year, Viktor Hovland found himself in the second-to-last group on Sunday at both the Masters and Open Championship. And at the PGA, he was in the final pairing.

• While the 25-year-old Norwegian is still searching for his first major, the high pressure experience appears to have paid off. Literally.

What happened: Hovland caught fire in the recent FedEx Cup playoffs, capturing both the BMW and Tour Championships. Those two wins amounted to a cool $21.6 million.

• He also won Jack’s tournament — the Memorial — in June.

What’s next: With success comes expectations, and there will be plenty placed on Viktor heading into next year — especially around the majors.

• But first – can the fourth ranked player in the world continue his dominance later this month in Rome? Anyone rooting for the Americans is hoping at least one part of his game will cool by then.

5. More major memories

After giving up the 54-hole lead to Jon Rahm at the Masters, Brooks Koepka rallied back a month later to win the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

• It marked Koepka’s fifth major (joining the likes of Byron Nelson and Seve Ballesteros, who also have five) and first ever for someone playing on LIV.

Michael Block, a 46 year-old Southern California club pro, captured the golf world’s attention with his T15 performance at the PGA, which included a hole-in-one dunk on the back nine on Sunday.

• “Rory, did it go in?” is perhaps the most memorable quote of the year.

• Also very memorable was Block’s appearance on Bob Menery’s podcast the following Wednesday when he said he’d be “one of the best players in the world” if drove the ball as far as Rory.

• That Friday, Block missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge, shooting the highest 36 hole total in the field.

Wyndham Clark club-twirled his way into the final group on Sunday at the US Open and then held off Rory McIlroy to win his first ever major.

• His mantra for the week at LACC: “Be an athlete.”

Brian Harmon dominated at Royal Liverpool to win the Open Championship by six shots.

• After the win, Harmon told reporters he was excited to get home to Georgia to mow his grass. (I get that.)

6. Comeback kids: Fowler and Glover

Rickie Fowler won his first tournament since 2019 when he beat Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa in a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in early July.

• For a stretch this summer, it seemed Fowler was in the mix every week — including at the US Open, where he and Clark were tied atop the leaderboard after 54 holes.

• In the end, Fowler had eight top 10 finishes and 16 top 20 finishes — an incredibly consistent year, especially after finishing outside the top 125 in FedEx Cup points the previous two seasons.

Lucas Glover had won just two times on tour since claiming the 2009 US Open.

• Then, in August, he rattled off back-to-back victories at the Wyndham and FedEx St. Jude’s Championships, making a legitimate case for a spot on this year’s US Ryder Cup team.

• Ultimately, Zach Johnson passed on Glover, which makes this interview after the FedEx St. Jude even tougher to watch.

7. The “framework agreement”

“Framework agreement” became the phrase of the month when, in June, we learned that the PGA Tour, Europe’s DP World Tour, and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (backers of LIV Golf) decided to end litigation between one another and kickstart discussions about forming a new, professional golf entity.

• Details surrounding the entity (literally named “NewCo.”) are unclear. Even big questions like — Will LIV even exist in a year from now? — remain unanswered.

• We do know, according to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monohan, that representatives are meeting at least once a week to reach a more definitive agreement by their December 31 deadline.

8. Unforgettable finishes

To me, the two most exciting tournaments of the year were the Canadian and Scottish Opens. Both had unforgettable endings, including…

The Adam Hadwin tackle after fellow Canadian Nick Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt for the win.

And, Rory’s 2-iron.

9. Photo to-go: Emiliano wins a Bronco

While doing some research for this edition, I came across a USA Today article with a list of winners from the 2022-23 PGA Tour season and photos of them holding their trophies.

I actually learned a lot. Like, I had no idea the Waste Management gave a jacket to the winner or that the winning team at the Zurich Classic took home matching title belts.

The best, though, came at the Charles Schwab Challenge where Emiliano Grillo won a fully restored, 1973 Bronco.

That’s all for today! Thanks so much for reading. I’ll be back next week to cover the European Ryder Cup selections. Until then, Nick B.