By Alex Myers
Our definition of the word “sleeper” has changed through the years—this year, we’re going with any golfer younger than 30 who hasn’t won a PGA Tour event or qualified for the Tour Championship—but our penchant for picking guys before they truly breakout as stars hasn’t. OK, so there have been plenty of whiffs along the way, and some of our past picks (like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau) were no-brainers. But there also have been others like Jimmy Walker in 2013 and Aaron Wise last year who have made us look good (Thanks, guys). Anyway, here’s who we’re predicting (in no particular order) to have big seasons in 2018-’19.

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Beau Hossler

Tim Bradbury

It almost feels like cheating to include Beau on this list for a second consecutive year, but technically, he still meets our criteria. However, no one mentioned here came as close to a PGA Tour title as Hossler, who basically had a victory stolen from him at the Houston Open by Ian Poulter. But for a young man who putts this well (Hossler finished fourth on tour in strokes gained/putting as a rookie), there will be plenty more opportunities.

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Joaquin Niemann

Minas Panagiotakis

It took this 19-year-old Chilean just five starts this past summer to earn a special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. Then he needed only three more to lock up full playing privileges for this coming season. Niemann is both the youngest golfer on this list (he turns 20 in November) and the one who most screams future superstar.

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Sam Burns

David Cannon/Getty Images

Golf fans got their first good look at this former LSU star when he outplayed Tiger Woods in the final round of the 2018 Honda Classic. The resulting T-8 was one of several successful PGA Tour cameos, but he spent most of his time this past year finishing fourth on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list. With full PGA Tour playing privileges for the first time, expect to see the 22-year-old for college golfer of the year in more late-Sunday pairings this season.

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Cameron Champ

Matt Sullivan

What a name, what a talent. Able to produce ball speeds of more than 190 miles per hour, Champ arguably will be the longest hitter on the PGA Tour as a rookie. But he’s not just a bomber. While averaging 391 yards (Yes, 391 yards) off the tee during the Web.com Tour’s Utah Championship, Champ, 23, also hit two-thirds of the fairways on his way to picking up his first pro win. Previously, this Sean Foley student drew notoriety as an amateur when he was T-8 through two rounds at the 2017 U.S. Open. With his jaw-dropping power, Champ should be an instant fan favorite on the PGA Tour.

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Cameron Davis

Michael Cohen

Another long-hitting Cameron, this 23-year-old Aussie was eighth on the Web.com Tour in driving distance (320.5), third in putting average and second in birdie average. His rookie season on the developmental tour also included a Nashville Open win and finishing sixth on the Web.com Tour Finals money list. But his biggest win came in his home country at the 2017 Australian Open.

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Sungjae Im

Steve Dykes

The South Korean native won the opening event of the 2018 Web.com Tour season and never relinquished the top spot on the money list, capping his fantastic year with a second win at the regular-season finale. In addition to that pair of four-shot victories, Im also had three runner-ups to earn a whopping $534,326. Again, that’s on the Web.com Tour. Yeah, we’d be flashing a thumbs-up as well. Making Im’s accomplishment even more impressive is that he turned 20 in March and is the second-youngest player on this list to Joaquin Niemann.

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Abraham Ancer

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The surprise 54-hole leader at the Dell Technologies Championship in the FedEx Cup Playoffs should become a more familiar name on the leader board following a second PGA Tour season in which he finished strong. Even with a disappointing Monday in Boston, Ancer’s T-7 was one of three top-10s over his final eight starts thanks in large part to his improved driving. The 27-year-old Mexican is only listed at 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, but he has plenty of pop as evidenced by ranking 41st in strokes gained/off-the-tee.

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Julian Suri

Warren Little/Getty Images

A European Tour winner in 2017, Suri played a split schedule in 2018, but managed to make nine cuts in the 10 PGA Tour starts he made. A T-8 at the Houston Open was his best result in the U.S., but he also finished T-19 at the PGA Championship. Since Suri, 27, didn’t finish in the top 25 of Web.com Tour Finals (35th), he’ll play on multiple tours again, but that won’t keep him from capitalizing on PGA Tour opportunities. And it hasn’t kept him from earning one of the tour’s most unique partnerships, a sponsorship deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Like that franchise, Suri’s stock is on the rise.

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Denny McCarthy

Michael Cohen

A former Junior Ryder Cupper with Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. A former Walker Cupper with Bryson DeChambeau and Beau Hossler. McCarthy, 25, will get a second full season playing against his old teammates on the PGA Tour after winning the Web.com Tour Championship in dominant fashion. Considering how well he played with his job on the line, we’re guessing his second go-round in the big leagues produces more than four top-25s and one top-10.

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Kramer Hickok

Michael Cohen

Just when that whole Jordan Spieth-Justin Thomas best buddy narrative was dying down, golf fans will undoubtedly get sick of hearing about Hickok, 26, being a former roommate of Spieth’s after he graduated from the University of Texas. That’s where the two also played together on the golf team before Spieth put down the books and started picking up major trophies. Now this geography major might just find his way to a PGA Tour winner’s circle as well after finishing second on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list in 2018.

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C.T. Pan

Kevin C. Cox

Pan, 26, nearly made himself ineligible for this list with a win at the PGA Tour regular-season finale in Greensboro, but was undone by a disastrous double bogey on the 72nd hole that dropped him to T-2. He added a T-4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and finished 35th in the FedEx Cup standings, nearly qualifying for the Tour Championship. A former World No. 1 amateur during his time at the University of Washington, Pan certainly has the pedigree to be a star. He just might want to work on being more complimentary of his wife when she fills in as his caddie …

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The post 11 PGA Tour sleepers to watch for in the 2018-’19 season appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bjorn will tee it up at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club on Jan. 29 alongside Dubai-based Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick (both members of the beaten 2016 team at Hazeltine) and reigning British Masters champion Paul Dunne (Ireland). Cabera Bello, Fitzpatrick and Dunne helped Bjorn’s Europeans rally to a 14-10 win over Asia in the EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur earlier today in a positive precursor to the Ryder Cup.

Also confirmed for the 18-hole Gary Player Invitational are the Black Knight himself, D+D Real Czech Masters champion Haydn Porteous, Made in Denmark winner Julian Suri, 2016 South African Open winner Brandon Stone, Portugal Masters champion Lucas Bjerregaard and Jordan Smith, winner of the Porsche European Open.

Cabrera Bello’s sister Emma will also play alongside fellow Ladies European Tour players Olivia Cowan, Carly Booth and Henni Goya. Joining the pros will also be the UAE’s top amateur, Rayhan Thomas, and entertainers Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy (pictured above).

The Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs as the charity set to benefit from the day of “#golfandgiving”

“We are thrilled to be coming back to Abu Dhabi and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to kick off 2018 with what will be a field of some of the super new golfing talent in the world,” said Player.

“As illustrated by our field of champions, including the UAE’s very own Rayhan Thomas, the game continues to evolve and strengthen in the UAE which is truly fantastic to see. This, combined with raising money for those in need will make for a fantastic event for all.”

Held in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, under the Patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the 2018 Gary Player Invitational at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is the only Middle Eastern stop in the global series. The series has helped The Player Foundation raise more than $64 million for charities worldwide and plays a key role in helping the foundation work towards its goal of raising $100 million by 2025.

“While the event itself is both engaging and entertaining, it is made all the more worthwhile knowing that funds raised will stay in Abu Dhabi and support the Zayed Higher Organization in all the great work that they do for the community,” said Player.

Supporters include Etihad Airways, TDIC, the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi (host of the post tournament gala dinner), SAP and Rolex. New sponsors confirmed for 2018 include Abu Dhabi Ports and Al Masaood Automobiles.

 Visit garyplayerinvitational.com and follow @GPInvitational on Twitter and Instagram  – #GOLFandGIVING.

The post Ryder Cup stars headline Saadiyat Beach field for 3rd Gary Player Invitational appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan

He’s a bit different, is Julian Suri. The 26-year-old New Yorker knows his history—and is, despite Edmund Burke’s long ago admonition, well on his way to repeating it. Following in the footsteps of former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein and current U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, Suri became the third American to win on both the Challenge Tour and the European Tour with his victory Sunday in the Made in Denmark tournament.

Starting the final round at the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort two shots behind the overnight leader, Englishman David Horsey, Suri wiped out the deficit early, three birdies in succession from the second sending him into a lead he never fully relinquished. Horsey made a fight of it though. By the 12th the pair were tied, a state of affairs Suri changed at the 15th when his seventh birdie of the day took him to 19-under par for the week.

Still one ahead on the 18th tee, Suri made a safe par as Horsey—by then the only serious challenger—stumbled to a closing triple bogey that made the final margin of victory four shots. Three more Englishmen, Steve Webster, Chris Paisley and Ben Evans, tied for third on 13 under.

Former Open and PGA champion John Daly’s bid to become the oldest-ever winner on the European Tour ended in failure. The 51-year-old closed with an even-par 71, two birdies and two bogeys after a thrilling Saturday 65, that left him a tie for 10th place.

Flawless. Suri’s final round 64 in under 3 minutes ? #MiDGolf pic.twitter.com/3pZUWDnjBx

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 27, 2017

“To have seven birdies and be bogey-free in the final round was really solid,” said Suri, who played his college golf at Duke and was competing in only his seventh European Tour event. “I’m pretty proud of that. It was a blast out there. Especially in that atmosphere with the fans. It was really cool. Everybody is so enthusiastic out there, with such genuine appreciation for the game and spectacle. I just wanted to soak it up as much as I could.

“I feel like my game belongs at the top of the game. This is definitely something I’ve worked for and kind of expected for a long time. But to finally come out and do it, especially after the string of good finishes this summer, is really special.”

It was a memorable week, too, for Thomas Bjorn, even if Denmark’s most famous golfer finished no better than T-44. In what was his 500th European Tour event, Europe’s Ryder Cup skipper was greeted on Day 1 by a sea of spectators wearing “Thomas Bjorn” masks as he approached the green at the short 16th. The avid Liverpool fan was then treated to a rendition of the football club’s anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (from the musical Carousel). Hey, you had to be there.

Julian Suri is now 60th in the Race to Dubai rankings and will be eager to stay in the top 60 to feature in the DP World Tour Championship at JGE in November.

It was Suri’s week though, a fact that will come as no surprise to the man himself. Not lacking in confidence, the former All-American has lofty ambitions that extend beyond victory in what is hardly the biggest event on the European Tour. Speaking before the Scottish Hydro Challenge in June (where he would miss the cut), Suri was bold in his claims.

“My ultimate goal is to be top of the world rankings,” he said. “People say I might have locked up my card for next year on the European Tour. And that’s fine. But there are still a few months to go this year. And what gets me going is putting pressure on myself.

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I have big expectations. My aim is to be in the top-100 on the rankings by the end of the year.    “To do that, I have to prepare well and give myself the best chance of winning tournaments every week. Two years from now, I’d like to be in the top-10 and giving myself the chance to win majors. I feel like the ceiling of my game is at that level. I don’t see why I can’t.”   Quite. And on the evidence of this week, he’s well on his way.

The post John Daly can’t make a charge, but another American does in Denmark appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.