9 Golfers Who Need a Better Season in 2024

It is said that form is temporary but class is permanent. There are a number of well-known golfers who may subscribe to that theory.

As we all know, golf can be an incredibly frustrating game. One minute you are on top of the world, the next you are standing over a golf ball wondering why you have even bothered to turn up.

And some top players know exactly how the rest of us feel. Here are just a few who will want to forget 2023 and hope for better fortunes in the year that lies ahead

Justin Thomas

The two-time major champion had a thoroughly miserable 2023, missing out on the Tour Championship for the first time in his career. He was a controversial captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup and would be the first to admit that he failed to deliver in Italy. Thomas is a fighter and has been working tirelessly to put things right but he needs to arrest his rankings slump soon.

Will Zalatoris

Zalatoris began 2023 being tipped as a possible major winner but he spent most of the year recovering from back fusion surgery similar to that which saved the career of Tiger Woods. The worrying thing is that Zalatoris is 20 years younger than Woods. He has now recovered but showed at the Hero World Challenge that he still has a long, long way to go. He has also changed his putter in an effort to solve his woes on the greens.

Hideki Matsuyama

In 2021, Matsuyama became the first Japanese golfer to win a major when he triumphed at The Masters. He is an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour but 2023 was largely a year to forget and he has tumbled down the world rankings. He managed just two top-10 finishes and failed to make it to the Tour Championship. It may be time for him to reconsider his punishing worldwide schedule.

Billy Horschel

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Horschel’s tearful interview after shooting an 84 at The Memorial was a painful watch. He was in utter despair and admitted that when he stood over the ball he had no idea what was going to happen. He is one of the most popular golfers among his peers and he found a huge amount of support. He gradually got his game back together but will be hoping to find his best in 2024.

Danny Willett

When you watch Willett in action it is easy to believe that this is a man who does not get much enjoyment from playing golf for a living. The 2016 Masters champion has struggled with injuries and his most recent victory came at the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He made 22 starts on the PGA Tour in 2023, missing eight cuts and withdrawing twice. His season started brightly when he finished second at the Fortinet Championship - a tournament he should have won. It all went downhill from there.

Guido Migliozzi

The Italian is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour, claiming the Kenya Open in 2019, the Belgian Knockout in 2019 and the French Open in 2022. There have also been several near-misses, including a tied fourth at the US Open in 2021. But 2023 was a huge disappointment, with a solitary top-10 finish. He is a hugely gifted but inconsistent golfer who needs a big year in 2024.

Kevin Kisner

Kisner ended 2022 ranked 31st in the world. He finished 2023 as the world’s 171st-ranked golfer. How did that happen? The 39-year-old American had a dreadful season. He made 18 starts, missed eight cuts and withdrew from two further events. There wasn’t a single top-10 finish. His game has fallen off a cliff and he needs to find it again in a hurry.

Aaron Wise

When Wise won the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2018 at the age of just 21, he was tipped by many to be the next big thing. He ended that year being named rookie of the year and seemed to have a golden future ahead of him. But 2023 was a disaster. He had a solitary top-10 finish and missed seven cuts. Wise was once ranked 33rd in the world but is now 120th.

Joel Dahmen

If you watched the Netflix series Full Swing you will know that Dahmen is what most of us would describe as a “character”. He is a hugely gifted golfer but suffers from a cripplling lack of self-belief. Those around him tell him how good he could be but he struggles to believe it and in 2023 it showed. He made 31 starts, missed 12 cuts and although he made a promising start to the season he tailed away badly.