Golfing fans are already highly anticipating another sublime year of action-packed encounters featuring the very best talents that the sport has to offer on a regular basis, with this year’s selection of male golfers being one of the best collection in recent memory which has only further increased the amount of palpable hype ahead of all major tours and tournaments.
2023 has already provided fans with a plethora of excellent moments within the golfing circuit which has often culminated in several marquee matchups between the top ranked and highly touted star names that are now heavily featured in all outlasting contests.
There are several new and familiar names to golfing fans who have remained as standout players throughout the course of the calendar year which is only expected to improve across the closing few months of the season.
Some of these performers have not only claimed numerous impressive accolades and accomplishments all throughout the active campaign, but have also often ranked within the top perennial outright favourites for multiple events according to the latest sports betting odds.
As we continue to draw closer towards the conclusion of 2023, here are the current top performers from this season so far who are sure to bring about even more outstanding plays and moments in the future upcoming events.
- Scottie Scheffler – United States:
When it comes to the hotly debated topic amongst golfing fans as to who has enjoyed the most prosperous 2023 calendar year, there are many cases to be had for the various other top names within the sport, yet many may often lean towards the New Jersey born superstar Scottie Scheffler who has been next-to-near unstoppable throughout the entirety of the season.
Coming off his winning showing at the 2022 Masters tournament, Scheffler has only continued to improve his case as arguably the best male golfer in the world today as he has enjoyed several outlandish showings for numerous events in 2023.
After retaining his WM Phoenix Open title in February, the US star would claim success in The Players Championship following a record five stroke victory which placed Scheffler in esteemed company alongside Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only three players to win both the Masters and The Players Championship across a 12-month period.
Scheffler would finish as tied runner-up in the PGA Championship which would still ensure that he would rank atop of the World Golf Rankings as well as posing a preposterous top-12 win streak of 18 victories which is a record that is only toppled by the legendary Tiger Woods, as well as Scheffler also winning the prestigious ESPYs award for the best golfer of 2023.
- Rory McIlroy – Northern Ireland:
McIlroy has remained one of the top stars within the professional golfing scene for the better part of the last decade, as he is one of the most successful athletes that the sport has produced across its recent history.
After narrowly falling short of claiming the Masters tournament to the aforementioned Scottie Scheffler in 2022, which of course is the one major title that has currently eluded him, McIlroy has continued to perform at an acceptable level with the four-time major winner claiming his first victory of the year in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.
The Northern Irish star would also compete in various other events throughout the year which included the PGA Championship and US Open but would infamously miss out on a chance to compete in this year’s Masters back in April.
While McIlroy has enjoyed many more prosperous years of success during the prior seasons of his historic career, he is still able to maintain a respectable level of play that currently has him penned in as the second highest rated golfer in the world rankings, only trailing his latest adversary, Scottie Scheffler.
- Jon Rahm – Spain:
Although Scheffler and McIlroy are both ranked ahead of the Spaniard in the world rankings, neither have been able to claim as much major silverware as Rahm who has had a 2023 for the ages.
After finding success in a selection of minor competitions, Rahm would make a true name for himself at the 2023 Masters as he won his second major title following his four strokes victory over Brookes Koepka and Phil Mickelson who would both tie for second place.
Rahm’s -12 to par victory netted him a hefty $3.2 million prize money for the event, with the Spaniard also finishing as runner-up in The Open Championship a few months later.
The 28-year-old is now looking to showcase his talents on the biggest stage during the closing months of the season, with this being a year that will surely live long in the memory of one of the sports’ most talented athletes today.
