8 Amateur Golfers Who Will Be Stars in 5 Years

The Open has historically been something of a coming-out party for many of the top amateur golfers in the world.

Justin Rose tied for fourth at the 1998 Open Championship shortly before turning pro and has gone on to win more than 20 tournaments around the world including the 2013 U.S. Open.

Rory McIlroy first arrived on the radar screen of most golf fans when he posted a score of 68 during the opening round of the 2007 Open Championship as an amateur. McIlroy went on to tie for 42nd, which jump-started a career that already includes four major championship titles.

Matthew Fitzpatrick won the low amateur medal at the 2014 Open Championship, which made him the first player since Bobby Jones to hold the U.S. Open and Open Championship low amateur medals at the same time. Since then, Fitzpatrick has gone on to win two big-time European Tour events over the past two years. 

Here is a list of eight amateurs who could make a name for themselves in the professional game within the next five years.

While not all of these players have qualified for the 2016 Open Championship, it is highly likely that we will see most, if not all, of these young amateur stars competing in The Open in the near future.

Sam Horsfield

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Sam Horsfield, who just finished his freshman year at the University of Florida, was recently awarded the Phil Mickelson award for the top freshman golfer in the nation.

In one of the most impressive freshman seasons seen from any golfer in quite some time, Horsfield won three tournaments and recorded 12 top-25 finishes in 13 starts.

In addition to winning the Phil Mickelson award, Horsfield was a semi-finalist for the Hogan Award, which is a prize given by Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America to the top college golfer in the United States.

The Davenport, Florida, native has qualified for each of the last two U.S. Opens, although he failed to make the cut at either major championship event.

Horsfield’s seamless transition from junior golf into the college game bodes well for his chances of one day carrying that success into the professional game.

Jin Cheng

Harry How/Getty Images

Jin Cheng made headlines back in 2014 when he won the Nine Dragons Open (a PGA Tour China event) at the young age of 16. Cheng was the first amateur to win a PGA Tour China event.   

As the reigning Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, Cheng qualified to compete in the 2016 Masters, although he missed the cut at his first appearance at Augusta National.

Cheng is currently ranked 14th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and many are predicting that he could be the first player from China to really make waves in the professional game.

The 18-year-old has signed on to attend USC in the fall, although it would be somewhat surprising if he spent more than a year or two in Trojan red before making his way onto the professional circuit.

Scott Gregory

Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

Scott Gregory will be attending next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon as the reigning British Amateur Champion.

Gregory’s British Amateur win will also gain him entry into the 2017 Masters and 2017 U.S. Open.

This wealth of major championship experienced gained by a golfer who is already ranked seventh in the World Amateur Golf Rankings could pay dividends once Gregory makes the plunge into the professional game.

While Gregory may not be a child golf prodigy like so many other top amateurs these days, his game appears to be blossoming at just the right time.

Noah Goodwin

Kevin Jairaj-USA Today Sports

Noah Goodwin is currently ranked No. 1 in the Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings.

This year alone Goodwin has four top-five finishes and a win in just eight junior events.

The 15-year-old Texan had been recruited by college golf powerhouses such as Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State and Auburn but has verbally committed to attend SMU in September 2018.

Goodman, who became a Black Belt in taekwondo at the age of seven, has recently begun working with Cameron McCormick. If that name sounds familiar to you, well, it should. McCormick is the longtime swing instructor for Jordan Spieth, another Texas golf prodigy that has done pretty well for himself.

Goodwin still has a ways to go in terms of his transition from junior golf to college golf and ultimately on to the professional circuit.

But he appears to be taking all the right steps, and he is certainly surrounding himself with the type people who can knowledgeably guide him through the transition he will need to make in the coming years.

Cameron Davis

Vincent Yu/Associated Press

While Cameron Davis may have initially made headlines when videos surfaced of him displaying a near-flawless golf swing from both the left and right side, this 21-year-old Australian is no circus sideshow.

Davis, who is currently ranked ninth in the World Golf Amateur Rankings, won the China Amateur back in 2012 at the age of 17, is the reigning Australian Amateur Champion and finished second in the 2015 Asia Pacific Amateur where a win would have gained him entry into the 2016 Masters.

Davis’ career-low round is nine-under par at Royal Melbourne’s West Course, which is one of the most difficult golf courses in all of Australia.

We have seen more than a few great golfers come from the Land Down Under through the years. Perhaps Davis will be the next Australian to follow in the massive footsteps left by the likes of Greg Norman, Adam Scott and Jason Day.

Gavin Hall

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

Gavin Hall made his PGA Tour debut as a 15-year-old back at the 2010 Turning Stone Championship.

Although Hall ultimately missed the cut at Turning Stone, he followed up a scratchy opening-round 78 with an impressive score of 71 in Round 2.

Hall initially attended UCLA but decided to leave the Bruins after just one month on campus. He was released from his scholarship at UCLA and signed on to play at the University of Texas a short while later, where he has been one of the program’s top players over the past three years.

Following the 2016 season, the native of Pittsford, New York, was named to the All-Big 12 team and was also a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award.

According to Mike Catalana of News12 WHAM in Rochester, New York, Hall’s swing coach believes that the left-hander will not only make it to the PGA Tour, but will one day win a major championship.

Although these may be quite lofty expectations, this level of success may well be achievable for a player who has managed to excel at every level of the game so far.

Adrian Meronk

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Adrian Meronk is a recent graduate of East Tennessee State University and is attempting to become the first Polish player to really make waves in the professional game.

The towering 6'6" Meronk has been making history in the amateur game over the past couple of years.

Last year he became the first Polish golfer to represent Europe in the Palmer Cup, where he earned three-and-a-half points of out of a possible four.

And just last month he became the first Polish player to reach the semifinals of the British Amateur. Meronk lost his semifinals match to Scott Gregory, who then went on to claim the title with a 2 and 1 win over Robert MacIntyre in the finals.

As a 23-year-old recent graduate, one can only assume that Meronk is waiting to try his luck at the U.S. Amateur Championship later this summer before turning pro.

If Meronk were the claim the U.S. Amateur title, he’d have the opportunity to become the first Polish golfer ever to compete in The Open, Masters, and U.S. Open.

Maverick McNealy

Clint Hughes/Getty Images

Maverick McNealy is currently the No. 1 ranked amateur golfer in the world and recent recipient of the Haskins Award for the top college golfer in the nation.

The Stanford University junior has racked up 10 collegiate wins, which puts him just one shy of the school record held by Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, since 1971 every single player to win the Haskins Award has turned pro, and they have collectively earned more than $600 million in prize money.

As such, most would quickly assume that McNealy is headed directly to a life of fame and fortune out on the PGA Tour.

The only issue with that assumption is that McNealy already has the fortune, and in some ways, the fame through his high-profile amateur career.

McNealy’s father, Scott, co-founded Sun Microsystems which was acquired by Oracle for $7.4 billion back in 2010.

Scott McNealy’s net worth is reported to be somewhere in the vicinity of $1 billion.

For someone who doesn’t need the money, the gypsy life of a professional golfer may not be overly appealing, and McNealy has not yet decided whether he will follow the sun out on the PGA Tour or head into the world of business like his father.

“I still don’t really know what I’m going to do with my life,” McNealy told the Wall Street Journal.

If McNealy were to keep his game sharp while remaining an amateur, we could perhaps be looking at the making of a modern-day Bobby Jones.

The 2016 Haskins Award winner certainly has the talent to win big-time amateur events such as the U.S. and British Amateur Championships and even possibly contend at professional majors he is able to qualify for.

“I do see golf being a huge part of my life going forward regardless,” McNealy said.

In less than a year, McNealy will graduate from Stanford and be faced with one of the biggest decisions of his life.

But one thing is for sure: Whichever career path McNealy decides to take, his golf game will more than likely continue to make headlines for years to come.