Despite the loss of some key characters in golf, one constant we can always rely on is the PGA Tour’s ability to attract and develop new, exceptionally talented young players. 

Just when the PGA Tour seems to need some new potential stars, help is on the way. 

Here are five new players to the PGA Tour that should have an immediate impact in 2025. 

1. Luke Clanton

Luke Clanton
Luke Clanton finished in the top 10 at last year's Wyndham Championship. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Age: 21

How he qualified: PGA Tour U Accelerated

Why We're Watching: Clanton has yet to officially obtain his PGA Tour card but is all but certain to have it in hand by May. The PGA Tour U Accelerated program requires players to earn 20 “points” to become eligible for a Tour card. Through his play on the PGA Tour in 2024, the Florida State University product has earned 11 points. Clanton also gets five points for being the No. 1-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and one point for his participation in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Clanton is currently up to 17 points. However, if he wins the Hogan Award, which at this point is considered a lock, that’s an additional three points, giving him 20 overall. 

Clanton made an immediate impact on the PGA Tour despite his inexperience. He had two runner-ups last season (John Deere Classic and RSM Classic) as well as two additional top-10 finishes (Rocket Mortgage Classic and Wyndham Championship). 

While the finishes are certainly noteworthy, it’s his exceptional ball striking that makes him one of the most tantalizing prospects in golf. In his past 30 rounds on Tour, Clanton ranks second in strokes-gained ball striking (a combination of approach and off the tee), which is behind only Scottie Scheffler. 

Clanton’s experience in professional events as an amateur should equip him with the necessary resilience for the 2025 season. The ceiling is enormous for Clanton, who has the talent to compete with most of the top players in the world as a rookie. 

2. Matteo Manassero

Matteo Manassero looks on the eleventh green during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament.
Matteo Manassero earned a spot on Tour via the DP World Tour. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Age: 31

How he qualified: DP World Tour Top 10 Eligibility

Why we’re watching him: Matteo Manassero is the only veteran on this list, but I felt compelled to include him. The Italian was once considered a surefire star but hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since 2014. When Matteo was just 16 years old, he finished T13 at the 2009 British Open at Turnberry. He played alongside Tom Watson, who was 59 years old at the time, in his first two rounds. The teenager quickly rose to the top 30 in the world rankings after winning four times on the DP World Tour between 2010 and 2013, culminating with his victory at the iconic Wentworth club at the 2013 BMW PGA Championship. 

His rise in golf was meteoric but his fall from the public eye was equally abrupt. In 2015, the player who was once considered a “can’t miss” prospect missed 18 cuts in his 23 starts. He then lost his status on the DP World Tour and walked away from the game.

This story, however, has a happy ending. Manassero found himself in the winners circle twice on the Challenge Tour in 2023. In March 2024, he won on the DP World Tour for the fifth time, breaking an 11-year drought. He outlasted the field at the Jonsson Workwear Open in South Africa and regained the confidence that once made him so promising. 

After his win, the now 31-year-old cashed an additional six top-10 finishes in his next 16 starts, securing his place as one of the 10 players on the DP World Tour who earned dual membership on the PGA Tour in 2025. 

I'm eagerly looking forward to witnessing Matteo Manassero’s second chance with a fresh start on the PGA Tour.

3. Karl Vilips

Karl Vilips plays during the Golf Men's Individual Stroke Play in the Youth Olympic Games at the Hurlingham Club.
Karl Vilips is another Australian to watch this season on Tour. | OIS/IOC Handout Photo-Imagn Images

Age: 23

How he qualified: Korn Ferry Tour Graduate

Why we’re watching him: Over the past few years many of the PGA Tour’s Australian contingent has migrated to LIV, led by former Open champion Cameron Smith. While veteran players like Jason Day and Adam Scott remain, the arrival of Karl Vilips should reinvigorate this representation immensely.

Vilips has been destined for stardom since his junior days. The prodigious talent won the US Kids World Junior Championships at ages 7 and 9 and the Callaway Junior World Championships at ages 10 and 12. He also joined the legend Bobby Jones as the youngest winner of the Men's Southern Amateur at just 15 years old. In 2024, Vilips made the transition to the professional ranks and accumulated 10 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour after finishing his career at Stanford University. Despite the abbreviated season, “Koala Karl” did enough to earn the honor of being the Korn Ferry Tour’s rookie of the year in 2024. He won the Utah Championship in August and had four additional top 20 finishes on the KFT. 

Karl is another newcomer to the PGA Tour who will flash an incredible amount of clubhead speed right out of the gates. Sitting at around 120 mph, he’s right on par with other young up-and-comers Nick Dunlap and Michael Thorbjornsen, who was Vilips’s former college roommate at Stanford. 

Vilips is coached by Colin Swatton, who over the course of 20 years helped fellow Aussie Jason Day rise to No. 1 in the world and win a major championship. From his days as a junior prodigy, Karl shows every sign of a golfer destined for stardom, with his sights set on potentially becoming the fourth Australian to reach the pinnacle of the sport as world No. 1.

4. Aldrich Potgieter

Aldrich Potgieter hits on the 8th hole during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi M
Last year Aldrich Potgieter became the youngest player ever to win on the Korn Ferry Tour. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Age: 20

How he qualified: Korn Ferry Tour Graduate

Why we’re watching him: Last year, Aldrich Potgieter became the youngest player ever to win on the Korn Ferry Tour just two years after becoming the second youngest winner of the Amateur Championship.

Born in Mossel Bay on the Southern Cape of South Africa, Potgieter sports the South African flag next to his name. However, he lived in Australia from age 8 to 17 and in 2020 won the South Australian Junior Masters by a whopping nine strokes. 

Potgieter’s story is pretty fascinating, but what golf fans will love most about him is his prowess off the tee. His club head speed average is 126 mph, more than 10 mph faster than the PGA Tour average of 115.9. At the 2023 U.S. Open, a then 18-year-old Potgieter led the field in driving distance, which is an astounding fact considering he was stacked up against proven long-ball hitters such as Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy. 

This fall, Potgieter proved his amateur and early professional success can translate to competing against some of the best players in the world. He finished T8 at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in Brisbane. Back-to-back 67s left him just two shots behind Australian stars Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman heading into the final round. Just two weeks later, Aldrich was back into contention as the 54-hole leader at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa. Despite a poor finish and inability to convert the performance into a win, Potgieter will walk away from the disappointment with some valuable experience.

Potgieter’s potential as a professional golfer is not just measured in yardage off the tee (which he has in abundance), but in his potential star power. His skills were sharpened as a kid at the Louis Oosthuizen Junior Golf Academy in Mossel Bay, South Africa, and further refined in Western Australia.

Despite being one of the youngest Tour players in 2025, there’s plenty of reason to believe Potgieter can make an immediate impact at the highest level. 

5. Frankie Capan III

Frankie Capan III tees off on hole 9 at the Ohio State Golf Course during the third round of the Korn Ferry golf tournament
Frankie Capan III finished T41 at last year's U.S. Open. | Clare Grant/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Age: 25

How he qualified: Korn Ferry Tour Graduate

Why we're watching him: Frankie Capan III is the type of player that is ready to have an immediate impact on the PGA Tour.

The 25-year-old finished his Korn Ferry Tour season scorching hot, winning the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in September before finishing T5 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship.

Capan III is already seasoned and showed last season that he's ready for the big stage, finishing T41 at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

Frankie has had a well-traveled journey in golf, having honed his skills across different regions. After beginning his collegiate career at the University of Alabama, he transferred to Florida Gulf Coast University for his final two seasons. Growing up, Capan also developed his game in both Minnesota and Arizona, adding a diverse backdrop to his golfing background.

He’s also broken a record held by none other than Scottie Scheffler. In April 2024, Capan III shot an absurd 58 in his first round of the Veritex Bank Championship in Texas, beating Scheffler’s previous course record of 59. Scheffler, however, did it in a casual round with friends in 2020 while Capan III did it in a professional event.

Capan III is very much the modern golfer who can take it extremely deep and shoot a low round on any given day. He made his debut on the PGA Tour at just 16-year-old at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. Nine years later, I believe Capan III is perhaps the readiest of the Korn Ferry Tour graduates to make some early noise on the PGA Tour in 2025.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Five New PGA Tour Players Ready to Break Out in 2025.

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