Five Players Who Could Win Their First Major in 2018
16 February 2018
Seven of the last eight major winners have been first-timers and that has sparked hope for those golfers that are still bidding to join the elite club. Victories for Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Jimmy Walker, Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson and Danny Willett will give the chasing pack belief that they too can claim the ultimate glory in the coming months. Several stars stand on the brink of greatness, hovering near the top of the world rankings and ready to make the jump to superstardom, and here are the leading contenders:
Rickie Fowler
Fowler is one of golf’s nicest guys and he would receive a fantastic ovation from his peers if he finally won a major this year. He has secured five top-five major finishes and been runner-up twice throughout his career, but he is yet to land one. Fowler’s all-round game is superb and he is not lacking in technical ability, but he has to overcome an inability to close the deal on the final day. He has developed a worrying reputation as a three-round star, who cannot seem to get the job done on the Sunday in the clutch. If he can land a first major this year, it could spark a great deal of self-belief and open the floodgates for a raft of big wins.
Jon Rahm
The 23-year-old Spaniard has risen to second in the world rankings on the back of a magnificent spell of form at the back end of 2017 and the start of 2018. He is fast establishing himself as Europe’s great hope of breaking the dominance of American superstars like Jordan Spieth, Thomas and Dustin Johnson in the years ahead, and a major seems very much within his grasp. He has secured four wins in 38 professional starts and that record is bettered by only Tiger Woods in the last 30 years. T10 finishes in all four FedEx Cup playoff events at the tail end of 2017 point to fantastic levels of consistency for this exciting youngster. If you check the odds at Oddschecker, you will see that he is among the top 10 contenders to win all four majors this year. Of those players that are yet to win a major, only Fowler is ahead of Rahm in the betting, and the Spaniard looks great each-way value at around the 20/1 mark in each case.
Hideki Matsuyama
The Japanese has spent the last few years comfortably nestled in the world’s top 10 and seems destined to win a major in the not too distant future. Perhaps the trend for first-time winners has arisen due to the drive and hunger displayed by those without a major to their name, compared to the comfortable resting on their laurels ethos of those that already have one under their belts. Matsuyama is certainly not lacking in drive and motivation. He would be the first ever Japanese major winner – Isao Aoki’s best finish was second – so he is carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations on his shoulders. He came agonisingly close last year, but lost out to a record equalling performance from Koepka on the last day. However, Matsuyama shrugged off the defeat and continues to display character and determination, so he looks a great option to win a first major in 2018.
Tommy Fleetwood
Another rising star with bags of talent is Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who is up to 13th in the world after winning the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship last month. It was the second year running that Fleetwood won the title, fending off the challenge of Rory McIlroy in 2018 and world number one Dustin Johnson the previous year.
That shows he can display coolness under pressure and usurp the modern greats of the game. He won last year’s Race to Dubai ahead of Justin Rose, and is set to make a splash at the majors this year. He secured a T4 finish in last year’s US Open and has since been on an upward curve, so he will be a force to be reckoned with heading into the big tournaments this year.
Lee Westwood
Garcia held the title of the world’s best golfer without a major for many years, and a massive roar reverberated around Augusta when he won The Masters last year. That dubious title is now up for grabs, and Westwood has an extremely strong claim to it. The former world number one has been a runner-up three times and secured 13 top-five finishes at majors, more than any other current player without a major to his name, over the course of a long and glittering career. He is now 44 and a veteran of 10 Ryder Cups, and it would be a sensational story if he could join Garcia in the elite club of major champions. The bookmakers think he is past his best and have him out at around the 100/1 mark for 2018’s big tournaments, but Julius Boros, Tom Morris Jack Nicklaus and Jerry Barber were all older than him when they won majors, so he could surprise the young guns this year.
Author bio
Martin Green is an experienced sports writer and he has been covering the PGA Tour for many years. He would be delighted if Westwood finally earned that elusive major, but fears it might be beyond his grasp now.