Who Will The World's Top 10 Golfers Be In 10 Years

Of all the sports played around the world, golf is arguably the most unpredictable. With so many variables, ranging from equipment and course evolution to geography and economics, attempting to predict the future is a futile and superfluous practice. Naturally, I’m going to attempt to do just that.

Recent successes and developments have led me to ponder the future golfing landscape, and while I can’t legislate for certain factors – the strength of the golf boom in Asia, for example – I can make logical and informed guesses. It was a tough decision process, but my possible world’s top 10 in 10 years is listed below. Feel free to castigate me for my choices and offer your own prediction in the comments section.

In no particular order...

Justin Rose

Granted, recent events and my long-standing admiration for Justin Rose may have influence my decision slightly, but there’s absolutely no reason why the Englishman doesn’t deserve a place on this list. His start-of-career turmoil undoubtedly gave him a good grounding, a sense of perspective and the realisation you can’t take anything for granted. Since then, he’s developed into one of the world’s most consistent players and arguably the best ball striker in the game. His career has really taken off in the past five years, culminating in his victory at the 2013 US Open – his first major title. Rose has also won some other huge tournaments - including the WGC-Cadillac Championship, the Memorial and the Volvo Masters en route to the European Tour Order of Merit title in 2007 – and he keeps getting better every season. I see no reason for that trend to slow down.

Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson is a phenomenally talented athlete and a class act on the golf course. He’s one of a select few players to have captured a victory every year since turning professional, demonstrating his golfing aptitude. His immense hitting power will stand him in good stead as courses become longer and longer and other areas of his game, namely chipping, have improved markedly in recent times. If he can find a way to hit his wedges closer, the 28-year-old will be in and around the world’s top ten for many years to come.

Guan Tianlang

Guan Tianlang made headlines around the world when, as a 14-year-old, he captured the Asia-Pacific Amateur to become the youngest ever qualifier for the Masters Tournament. Remarkably, he made the cut on his first Augusta outing, despite being comfortably the shortest hitter in the field. You simply don’t make the cut at the Masters on debut without a huge amount of natural talent and mental strength. The fact he did so with the world’s media watching his every move made the achievement even more astounding. If he’s allowed to develop at his own pace, there’s simply no telling how good he could turn out to be.

Rory McIlroy

When Rory McIlroy finished third at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship shortly after turning professional, the world sat up and took notice. Avid followers of golf, though, weren’t at all surprised. The Northern Irishman enjoyed an illustrious amateur career, and was able to make a seamless transition into the professional ranks. He won his first European Tour event in 2009, his first PGA Tour event in 2010 and his first major the following year at the US Open. Since then, he’s added the PGA Championship, a number of other prestigious events and enjoyed a long spell atop the world ranking. McIlroy is the most naturally talented golfer in the world game, and if he stays focussed and manages to hold off a resurgent Tiger Woods, there’s no telling how many weeks the Ulsterman could spend as world number one.

Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth won the 2009 and 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur, the only player apart from Tiger Woods to have achieved that feat. In 2010, aged 16, he accepted a sponsor’s exemption to the HP Byron Nelson Championship, made the cut and finished in a tie for 16th. After finishing 21st at the 2012 US Open he rose to the top of the World Amateur Rankings, and he left college in December 2012, aged 19, to attempt to make it as a professional. Make it, he did. This season, he’s finished inside the top 10 four times and already earned enough money to gain a full card next season. Spieth – who used to drive overnight to attend Monday qualifying events – has already demonstrated amazing ability, tenacity, fearlessness and sheer determination to succeed. If he maintains those traits going forward, he could be a genuine rival to Rory McIlroy.

Charl Schwartzel

Charl Schwartzel was proclaimed as a future superstar as soon as he entered the professional ranks. It took a while for his latent natural talent to translate into success at the highest level, but the South African is now considered to be one of the very best golfers in the world game. He is rightly lauded for his near-perfect golf swing, an attribute that’s helped his win nine regular professional tournaments and one major championship. Schwartzel is a genuine multiple-major winner in the making, and I’ll be shocked if he isn’t still going strong in ten years’ time.

Matteo Manassero

Matteo Manassero has enjoyed an absolutely stunning start to his professional career. He won his Costello Masters Costa Azhar as a 17-year-old to become the youngest ever winner of a European Tour event, and followed that with two more victories as a teenager. Last month, he won the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, as a 20-year-old, and demonstrated a golfing skill set surpassed by very few of his peers. His mental strength is stupendous, and complemented by a golf game that’s devoid of any discernible flaw. 

Adam Scott

The careers of Adam Scott and Justin Rose have shared many parallels. They both burst on to the scene as youngsters with brilliant golf swings, both won some big tournaments in their 20s and both became major winners in their early 30s. Now they’ve both overcome the same hurdle, I can see their careers continuing to progress in the same direction. It will be interesting to see how Scott fares without the long putter, but he’s got all the attributes needed to win many more major championships. I think he’ll win at least another three in the next 10 years.

Rickie Fowler

You never really know what you’re going to get with Rickie Fowler, but he’s demonstrated immense talent in his formative years as a professional. He rose to the occasion and dealt adeptly with the pressure at the Ryder Cup, and his performance at the 2011 Open in the worst of the conditions made everyone sit up and take notice. He’s already won on the PGA Tour and he seems to be in contention more and more as time passes by. If he can find a way to cut costly double bogeys out of his game, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll enjoy a long and fruitful career.

Thorbjorn Olesen

Thorbjorn Olesen is one of the most exciting players to have come out of Europe in recent history. He broke onto the European Tour with two second-place finishes in his debut season before a maiden victory at the Sicilian Open in 2011. He contended at the 2012 Open and finished inside the top 10 at the Masters, despite an opening 78. In recent months he’s really started to find his feet in America, and with an excellent golf swing and calm, mild-mannered demeanour, he looks set to become one of the game’s very best players.

Unlucky runners-up:

Jason Day
Nicolas Colsaerts
Seung-yul Noh
Tom Lewis
Louis Oosthuizen