With the end of 2024 a new year is beckoning. Hope springs eternal in golf. How one fared previously does not assure continued success is a foregone conclusion.
Ask any golfer after hitting a brilliant shot if the one that follows will be equally brilliant.
Success in golf, at all levels, is akin to closing one door and then opening another.
Professional golf in 2024 saw surges of certain players and decline in others.
The global golf industry also saw gains with numerous classic courses engaging architects to return to their original roots.
Recreationally, golf is advancing on a number of fronts. Will those positive winds remain constant?
A new year undoubtedly means an assessment of the recent past. Questions needing answers may not always provide the most positive of outcomes.
Read on for Part 2 or click here for Part 1.
Can Rory McIlroy end the 10 plus year drought at the majors?
The 35-year-old had a quality 2024 campaign but the focus remains on his inability to win his 5th major stretching back to the 2014 PGA Championship.
Losing the US Open at Pinehurst in the manner he did was gut wrenching. Two short putts missed – the final one coming at the 18th.
McIlroy can quickly end the drought with a win at the Masters. That would make him just the 6th player to have won a career Grand Slam. There’s also the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow where he has won several times and the Open Championship returning to Northern Ireland.
Can Rory’s story end in lasting glory? McIlroy certainly hopes so.
Can Jordan Spieth return to form?
The 31-year-old had a season ending wrist surgery and is planning to return in 2025. Questions abound. When the 2024 season started the 13-time PGA Tour winner was 15th in the world golf rankings. He’s now dropped to 64th.
Since 2017 when he won his 3rd major title at the Open Championship he’s won only twice on the PGA Tour. The pressure on Spieth will be palpable.
Given his rocket-like trajectory when he first turned pro one has to wonder is a second-act upcoming for the gifted Texan?
Has anyone seen Dustin Johnson?
When pure golf talent is assessed the name Dustin Johnson is rightly mentioned. However, since his bolting from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf on June 7, 2022 sightings of the winner of 24 PGA Tour titles have been a rarity.
Given his participation in LIV Golf events provides no world ranking points it comes as no surprise that Johnson started 2024 at 170th. He’s now 501st.
His last notable victory came at the 2020 Masters. Going into 2025 he may benefit from the US Open returning to Oakmont where he won his first major in 2016.
Johnson’s best outing in the 2024 majors was at the Open where he placed T31. He also had two missed cuts. In 16 majors since 2021 he has had only 3 top ten placements.
He ranked number one for a total period of 135 weeks – trailing only Tiger Woods and Greg Norman. The question going forward is does Johnson still remain relevant at the highest competitive level?
Will Lydia Ko remain true to her promise to retire before age 30?
The 2024 season will have lasting significance for Ko. She became the 35th inductee and the youngest ever to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
The 22-time LPGA Tour winner capped off a sensational year in winning her 3rd major at the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews and in also claiming the gold medal at the Paris Summer Games. She is the only golfer to have won each of the different medals over the last three Olympiads.
The 27-year-old has a desire to end her career while still playing at the highest of levels. One can only wonder whether that promise will hold if additional successes take place.
Is a merger possible between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf?
A framework agreement was announced June 2023 with a deadline of December 31, 2023. That time frame was extended but nothing has been finalized to date.
The earliest anything can actually be put into motion is 2026 as schedules for 2025 have already been announced by each organization.
A number of related questions also remain to be answered. Will players who left the PGA Tour be able to return? Will there be any penalties assessed? Is team golf likely to remain? How much of an equity stake will LIV Golf receive?
And, more importantly, even with a proposed agreement – will the US Justice Department sign-off on it?
How many LIV Golf players will be selected for the 2025 Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage?
The captains for both the USA and Europe teams, Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald, have stated they intend to select the top 12 players for their respective squads.
For the 2023 matches in Rome the USA team had only one LIV player – Brooks Koepka. The Europeans had none although since those matches Tyrell Hatton has jumped to LIV and has been invited to a Ryder Cup warm-up event in January overseen by Donald and held in Abu Dhabi.
In all likelihood — both squads will have a combination of players.
Who will be the next CEO for the PGA of America?
Seth Waugh left June 30 after he opted not to renew his contract after six years in the position. The 30,000+ member organization has not replaced him.
The organizational needs in having someone who is a member and possesses the requisite business skills to do the job to the highest level possible would be an ideal combination. The organization has stated the search will be open to those inside and outside the PGA of America.
How will TGL fare in widening interest in golf?
The plan is for 3-man teams of PGA Tour players to play via advanced technology at Sofi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. TGL will start in January, 2025 and was founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Mike McCarley.
Given the promotion of team golf by LIV – it will be interesting to see if TGL is able to stoke interest among those already enamored with the sport and engage others interested in doing so via simulated settings. The jury remains out on that specific point.
How will Topgolf fare as a separate stand alone company?
Callaway, the leader in club sales and number two in ball sales, was an early investor in Topgolf with a 14% stake in 2006. In January, 2021, the two merged. But the combination of the two companies together was not a marriage made in heaven.
In September of 2024, the joint company announced a plan to separate. Since that merger, Topgolf Callaway Brands’ share price has gone from $28.60 to $7.52 as of this week.
Topgolf has aggressively expanded with over 80 USA locations and 100 globally. Can the early momentum continue and how will the company evolve in going forward – keeping existing customers and attracting new ones? Key questions — tough answers.
Will unabated success continue with the latest iteration of the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1X golf balls?
No golf ball has had more impact in the sport than the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1X models. The latest version came onto the PGA Tour October 14 of this year.
The public will get its first look soon after the PGA Show in late January in Orlando. Titleist commands nearly 38% of the golf ball category and the Pro V1 and Pro V1X golf balls have been a mainstay at the elite tour levels globally since October 2000.
