RANKED: The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2024
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Meet the tour stars, YouTubers, Instagrammers, equipment designers, company CEOs, course architects, rule-makers, deal-breakers and controversial disruptors who’ve had the biggest impact on the game and your game this year.
This is the third year in a row where we’ve ranked the 100 Most Influential People in Golf. Our aim, as in 2022 and 2023, is to entertain and make you wiser about the men and women who are making the biggest waves in the golfing world right now.
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When we started planning this Top 100 list back in August, we spent several hours over a number of days debating (and arguing over) who should make our shortlist.
First, we needed to agree on what constitutes ‘influence’. Is it having a million subscribers on YouTube? Is it building an indoor golf course or setting trends in club design? Is it winning five times in a row or captaining a team to victory in the Solheim Cup? Or does it simply come down to power and signing a $3 billion partnership with the owner of Liverpool Football Club and his associates?
In the end, we decided it was all of those things and more.
This is a global list – open to anyone, anywhere – of those whose decisions, money and content have affected the way you’ve enjoyed and consumed golf in 2024.
There are 25 new entrants, 15 tour stars, 10 social media behemoths, six Hall of Famers, plus a President whose position is likely to be far higher next year if he ever manages to make ‘golf great again’.
You may not agree with everyone’s position or inclusion on our list, but we hope it celebrates some of the unsung heroes in our sport who are genuinely growing the game. We’d be interested to know if you think we’ve missed anyone blatantly obvious off the list, and, more importantly, whether you agree with our No.1!
How we did it
Measuring individual influence in the golf industry isn’t easy. Sifting through hundreds of worthy candidates and ranking 100 people is even harder.
Like every other year, this global list is based on who influenced ‘your game’ and ‘the game’ over the last 12 months. You will recognise many of the names included. There will be some you have never heard of and others who may not be household names, but they play a crucial role in your enjoyment of the sport. There are leaders from the world of course design, coaching and equipment, as well as CEOs, players, YouTubers and even an NBA great. We measured their influence across eight categories, which were then marked by a panel of 10 industry experts.
Your game
- Equipment design (maximum of 10 marks)
- Course architecture (10)
- Instruction (10)
- Inspiration (10)
The game
- Financial influence (25)
- Innovation/Growing the game (15)
- Voice/Sway (10)
- Newsworthiness (10)
Why the lack of diversity in the list?
The uncomfortable truth isworrying for all of us who love and care about golf because our Top 100 ranking is reflective of the number of white men who hold positions of power in the game. Women remain vastly under-represented at boardroom level, plus we can still count on one hand how many black golfers are members of the PGA Tour.
We’ve been told that change is happening, but we’re yet to be convinced that it is.
The 100 Most Influential People in Golf 2024: 100-76
100 JUSTIN RAY
Golf’s go-to stats guy
A former ESPN stats columnist and researcher for the Golf Channel, today Ray heads up content at sports intelligence agency Twenty First Group. Recognized as the No.1 authority on stats, Ray was trusted by Stacy Lewis to provide Team USA’s intel at the 2023 and 2024 Solheim Cups. He’s a must-follow on social media.
99 BRANDEL CHAMBLEE
Outspoken analyst and mischief maker
New year, same old Chamblee. The former player turned pundit remains brutal in his critique of the game’s stars and never shies away from controversial topics, repeatedly butting horns with LIV and everything it stands for. Love him or loathe him, the 62-year-old remains one of the most knowledgeable and watchable analysts in the game.
98 ALEXANDRA ARMAS
CEO of the Ladies European Tour
This year feels like a case of what might have been for the LET. They were set to merge with the LPGA until Golf Saudi threatened to pull their $11 million backing for the Aramco Team Series. Armas has done well to bring in a number of new sponsors, but she’s had a harder time convincing Europe’s top stars to come back and play when the average purse is almost four times less than on the LPGA.
97 HIDEKI MATSUYAMA
Japan’s greatest golfing hero
It speaks volumes that Japan’s national alert system sent out a notice of congratulations the minute Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters. He remains a trailblazer for Asian golfers and still has an army of journalists following his every move.
This year he surpassed KJ Choi as Asia’s most prolific PGA Tour winner with victory at the Genesis, then topped it off by taking bronze at the Olympics.
96 KIM BRALY
The genius behind KBS shafts
The ‘KB’ in KBS, Braly invented the FCM chart, a frequency mapping system that is still used today to make the progression of grip-end stiffness more consistent from longest to shortest club. Using this method, Braly created the Project X shafts before going out on his own in 2008. His signature brand of KBS shafts have a big presence through the bag of tour and amateur players alike.
95 CHRIS CONSIDINE
CEO and President of True Temper
With a 65% market share worldwide, True Temper are the largest shaft company in the game, with a history of gobbling up rival brands. Project X, Accra and Aerotech all fall under Considine’s roof, which is propped up substantially by the success of its Dynamic Gold brand, the most-played iron shaft on the PGA Tour. This year they also ventured into the grip business with the launch of True Temper Icon, which may yet define Considine’s legacy.
94 DONALD TRUMP
President of the USA and owner of many A-list golf resorts
You might think Trump’s golf obsession would have to take a backseat now he’s back in politics’ biggest one, but you’d probably be wrong. It’s believed he visited his golf properties 428 times during his previous 1,461-day presidency and played a round every 5.6 days.
He called Bryson on stage during his celebratory speech and recently said it “would take me the better part of 15 minutes” to secure a long-awaited deal between LIV and golf’s established tours.
Watch this space.
93 KEEGAN BRADLEY
The new Captain America
How quickly fortunes can change. Bradley faced public heartbreak after being snubbed for the 2023 Ryder Cup, a moment which was played out for millions to see in the second season of Full Swing. Redemption came late this year when, just weeks after being named US Ryder Cup captain, he holed the winning putt for Team USA as a playing assistant in the Presidents Cup. A man very much on the rise.
92 JUSTIN ROSE
The nicest guy in golf
Rosey’s impact on the game goes far beyond his on-course ability and that second-place finish at The Open this year. The Justin Rose Academy, Junior Program, and Telegraph Junior Golf Championship continue to offer opportunities for young golfers, while together with his wife Kate he runs the LET Access Series Rose Ladies, which has the largest prize fund on the second-tier circuit’s schedule.
91 ANTHONY KIM
Golf’s forgotten star
Even at the turn of the year, it would have been ridiculous to think Kim would be in the conversation for this ranking. But LIV’s Saudi powers achieved something journalists and fans had been trying but failing to do for years: tracking down the American 12 years after injury forced his retirement, before delving into their deep pockets to sign the 39-year-old as a ‘wildcard’.
Though he has looked a shadow of his former self, there can be little doubt that his return garnered more eyeballs, headlines and social media chat than anything else LIV have done in 2024.
90 SAL SYED
Arccos founder
Syed credits his five career hole-in-ones to his innovative grip tag tool that combines shot tracking with AI and strokes gained analytics to help every golfer shoot lower scores – by 5.71 shot, to be precise! Boasting golf’s richest data set of over one billion shots, Arccos is backed by the biggest brands and has been the ‘Official Game Tracker of the PGA Tour’ since 2023, meaning you can now compare your game to the pros’.
89 MIKE KEISER
The godfather of golf resorts
The founder of Bandon Dunes has a simple mantra: build it and they will come. Bandon may be a nine-hour drive from San Francisco, but it draws so many golfers each year that it keeps needing to grow (hence the recent addition of a new 19-hole par-3 course to go with six existing layouts). Bandon does 257,000 rounds a year (there’s an 18-month waiting list for a tee time), and an eight-figure merchandise business.
88 BOB PHILION
President and CEO of Cobra-Puma
From Baffler rails to one-length irons and 3D printed putters, Cobra have never been afraid to do things differently. And with Puma’s revenues predicted to hit $6 billion by 2030 (a small chunk of that coming from golf shoes and apparel), Cobra have the financial clout from their parent company to carry on innovating… even if they live on the edge of the ‘big four’ equipment brands.
87 CHRIS LINDNER
President of FootJoy
FootJoy have been the No.1 shoe at every PGA Tour event since 1945 – and for that, Lindner deserves a portion of credit. Since joining in 2016, he’s increased FJ’s offering for women and maintained their position as market leaders in both gloves and footwear. This year, they’ve taken their fitting experience to new heights thanks to a partnership with Volumental, an industry-leading foot scanning tool.
86 PETER FINCH
Prolific content creator
An engaging mix of tips, reviews and fun has made Finch’s YouTube channel one of the most successful in golf, with 150 million views and 680,000 subscribers. He spent the first half of this year getting ready for Open Qualifying, then became the only Brit to play in the PGA Tour’s Creator Classic.
85 STEPH CURRY
NBA icon and golf ambassador
One of basketball’s all-time greats added an Olympic Gold medal to his bulging trophy cabinet in 2024, but still found plenty of time for golf on and off the course. He was presented with the Charlie Sifford Award at the 2024 World Golf Hall of Fame ceremony in recognition of his efforts to advance diversity in golf, including funding men’s and women’s programs at Howard University. His ‘Underrated Golf Tour’ continues to boost opportunities for young golfers from diverse communities and now has a presence in Europe, as well as the US.
84 FRANK PONT
The renovation man
The Dutchman established a fine reputation, particularly in continental Europe, as a restorer of classic courses, before becoming part of the Clayton, De Vries & Pont design firm. In our GB&I Top 100 Courses ranking, two courses he worked on for CDP – Wallasey and Southerness – joined the list, while a third, The Addington, was the joint highest climber. His work at Hoge Kleij in the Netherlands also helped it climb into the 2023 continental ranking.
83 NO LAYING UP
An online golf empire
NLU are everywhere in golf. Their website (and No.1 podcast in golf) anchors their entire operation, which covers news, YouTube and dozens of events and branded merchandise. For the second year running, they linked up with ESPN to produce an alternative telecast, featuring five ‘fanalysts’, for the PGA Championship. It could be the new normal in broadcasting.
82 DAVID LLEWELLYN
Director of R&D at Mizuno
Before him, Mizuno were mostly a Japanese-only brand. Now they are a global player in golf and have consistently produced some of the classiest, best-feeling irons under Llewellyn’s watch. This year they brought us the JPX925 Hot Metal family, which we rated the fastest and highest game-improver irons on the market.
81 DAVE SCHNIDER
CEO and President of Fujikura
If you don’t know Dave, you certainly know his Japanese company. Fujikura are the brains behind the Ventus shaft, the best-selling model at retail this year. One third of all tour pros are currently wedded to the Ventus, which was relaunched this year alongside a new Pro Shaft Series. We consider them the leaders in shaft technology.
80 BEN COWAN-DEWAR
The hottest golf developer on the planet
“Setting is the most important ingredient in course design,” says Cowan-Dewar, who runs golf course development company The Cabot Collection. “We talk so much about trying to create magical experiences and unforgettable destinations; you can’t create a magical experience in a parking lot.”
Instead, Cabot’s venues are perched high on Atlantic clifftops in Nova Scotia and St Lucia, alongside the Moray Firth in Scotland, and on a remote island in Arctic Norway. Cabot is setting new standards for unforgettable golf trips.
79 MARTY JERTSON
Ping product guru
“I think that’s all we do: fail and learn,” says Jertson, who spends his life using science and data-driven insights to develop the tools to help people play better (including the G430 10k Max driver, one of the most forgiving clubs we’ve tested this year). He’s listed over 125 patents and is also the co-founder of The Stack System, the weighted training aid used to increase clubhead speed.
78 BILL COORE & BEN CRENSHAW
Prolific design duo
Along with Doak, the duo are the most revered architects in the game. Having Coore-Crenshaw on the deeds to your course is close to a guarantee of success. Their most recent work, at Cabot St Lucia in the Caribbean and Te Arai in New Zealand, are contenders for our World Top 100 Courses list. The exciting Coul Links may be next on their agenda.
77 FORE PLAY
Alternative sports brand
An offshoot of Barstool Sports, Fore Play present one of the biggest and best podcasts in golf. The quartet of Riggs, Trent, Frankie and Lurch also run one of the fastest growing YouTube channels, thanks to their brash content, matches with the stars, and ‘Breaking Series’. Dan Rapaport, of Netflix fame, had been a big-name recruit in 2022, but he’s just left for a new life at Skratch.
76 JAMES LEDFORD
President of Golf Pride
A golf club isn’t much use without a grip, and Golf Pride are responsible for around 80% of models used in the pro and amateur game. Ledford signs off all the products made by Golf Pride, which include 14 club grips and another 12 just for the putter. They’ve turned heads this year with a few limited-edition releases, including a James Bond-themed grip.
75 BOB VOKEY
Legendary wedge craftsman
Aaron Dill does most of the legwork for Titleist wedges on tour these days, but Vokey’s name is still stamped on the back of every head produced. This year saw the creation of the SM10 wedges, a 10th-generation franchise which goes back 20 years. Seven of the world’s top 10 players have at least one club from the range in their bag.
74 SCOTTY CAMERON
Golf’s premier putter maker
The doyen of putter design has been making gorgeous, milled flatsticks since the 1960s. Trusted by many of the world’s best players (Tiger, Justin, Jordan), the 61-year-old continues to unveil new ideas; this year’s Phantom family put the focus on alignment, stability and MOI in a milled head, while his Triple Black Design range was inspired by convertible car culture.
73 DAVID PILLSBURY
CEO of Invited
Though their footprint is confined to the US, Invited are the largest owner and operator of private golf & country clubs. Keeping it that way is Pillsbury, who sold their BigShots brand – a Topgolf equivalent – to Callaway to “drive improvements” across their core business of 158 clubs. The first phase has started with a $15 million renovation of TPC-Craig Ranch, host of the CJ Cup.
72 DAVID HUNTER
Shot Scope founder
Hunter combined his passion for golf and a background in electrical engineering to create one of golf’s most innovative game improvement tools, sold in over 160 countries. The award-winning performance trackers have helped Shot Scope’s 200,000+ users better understand their game, with access to over 100 detailed statistics. The result? A 4.1 average shot improvement over just 30 rounds!
71 LYDIA KO
The most decorated golfer in Olympic history
After a catalogue of close calls, Ko became the youngest inductee into the LPGA Hall of Fame, one of the hardest-to-enter clubs in sport, by completing her Olympic trifecta in Paris, adding a gold medal to her Rio silver and Tokyo bronze. Two weeks later, the 27-year-old created more history by becoming the first Kiwi golfer to win the Women’s Open, her first Major triumph since 2016. The New Zealand Golf Association now plan to capitalise on her achievements and have set out to revive the New Zealand Women’s Open, as well as a bunch of other initiatives, to help double female participation numbers over the next five years.
70 MARTIN EBERT
The R&A’s go-to designer
Ebert is the most prominent half of the Mackenzie & Ebert firm – along with Tom Mackenzie, a feted designer in his own right. It is Ebert, though, who works on eight of the 10 Open Championship venues: Lytham & St Annes, St George’s, Troon, Hoylake, Birkdale, Carnoustie, Turnberry and Portrush. His eye for detail can also be seen on other stellar tracks in the UK, including Ganton, Porthcawl and Prince’s.
69 GREG ROSE
Co-Founder of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI)
There aren’t many people who have power over the biggest names in golf, but Dr Rose is certainly among them. He is regarded as the forefather of strength and conditioning in golf and helped pioneer the use of 3D motion capture to better understand the biomechanics of the golf swing. You know you’re doing something right when you tell Jon Rahm to jump and he asks, “How high?”
68 BOB DOES SPORTS
Social media golfing royalty
We don’t know what was more impressive: the three aces they’ve made this year or the 250,000 subscribers that Robert Berger, Fat Perez and Joey Cold Cuts have added to the BDS YouTube channel. They’ve grown so big that they’ve racked up over 177 million views in three years. They also have a podcast and invitational series, in addition to a ‘Breezy’ apparel brand which has made seven figures in sales.
67 Xander Schauffele
A Player of the Year candidate
How we’ve waited for Schauffele to shake his ‘nearly’ man tag. He did it in style at the PGA Championship, holding off Bryson in a thrilling final round, before cementing his new-found reputation as a clinical closer to see off Justin Rose at The Open.
Only the brilliance of Scottie Scheffler has denied him a place at the top of the World Ranking, otherwise more would be made of the fact he has 15 top 10s in his last 22 starts. Those are Tiger levels of consistency right there!
66 TOM DOAK
The king of course design
The top-ranked architect in our list remains active in the dirt, but it is his impact throughout the industry that makes him so influential. Many of the sphere’s big names – not least Gil Hanse, a contender for this list – worked with Doak as they made their mark, while rising stars Clyde Johnson (Old Petty, to open in 2025) and Angela Moser (Pinehurst No.10, just opened) continue to do so. He is also working on the final edition of his Confidential Guide books, covering Europe and Africa. Whether with spade in hand, fingers on a keyboard or advising his protégés, Doak has a powerful presence.
65 DANNY MAUDE
The world’s most-watched golf coach
Leeds-born Maude doesn’t get the attention some other YouTubers enjoy, but his ability to simplify the game through understandable concepts has seen him amass almost 1.4 million subscribers… and strike a blow for a coaching platform often criticised for overpromising and technical indulgence. Alongside his YouTube channel, he has a brand-new online golf school (dannymaude.com) with 17,400 pupils on his books.
64 ME AND MY GOLF
Online golf coaching duo
Piers Ward and Andy Proudman have come a long way since building the largest junior academy in England at 3 Hammers Golf Complex. They left that behind in 2012 to set-up Me and My Golf, which has become a go-to resource for simple, uncomplicated instruction for the everyday golfer. They do that via their own YouTube channel and training aids, plus an online coaching program (meandmygolf.com). Their greatest success story has seen them coach Aaron Rai all the way from junior golf to the PGA Tour, where he won for the first time at the Wyndham Championship in August.
63 HIDEAKI KAWAMATSU
SRI Sports SEO
SRI own Srixon, Dunlop, XXIO and Cleveland Golf, who have endorsements with Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowry. Kawamatsu heads up operations and is leading a plan to make carbon neutral golf balls a reality. The aim is to raise the sustainable raw material content of Srixon practice balls to 20% by 2030, upping that to 100% in all balls sold by 2050.
62 RAJ SUBRAMANIAM
CEO and President of FedEx
The man who signed off the $100 million FedEx Cup bonus pool dipped his toes into the DP World Tour this year, agreeing a six-year deal to sponsor the French Open thanks to the ‘strategic alliance’ with the US circuit. FedEx is the longest-running sponsor of the PGA Tour (since 1986), and it’s likely to stay that way with Subramaniam’s marketing background.
61 HOYT MCGARITY
8AM CEO and President
8AM Golf is an integrated collection of brands spanning markets which range from travel and premium sports entertainment to hand-forged equipment and course design. It’s McGarity’s job to implement the vision, mission and direction of the entire portfolio, which makes him one of the busiest suits in golf.
He has the keys to 16 brands in total, including Golf.com, Nicklaus Companies, Miura Golf, T-Squared Social, GolfLogix, and the 8AM Invitational – a celebrity tournament orchestrated by Justin Timberlake for charitable causes.
60 SAM HAHN
CEO of LAB Golf
L.A.B. Golf’s unconventional putters are taking the game by storm this year. The brand have only been producing putters since 2018, but over the last two years they’ve become hot property among tour pros who rave about the Lie Angle Balanced technology. The idea came about when Directed Force (the company acquired and relaunched by Sam Hahn) built a device called the Revealer, to better understand how putters torque and rotate during the stroke.
59 LIANG CHEN LEE
Fusheng Chairman and CEO
A major player in manufacturing circles, Lee has the keys to the largest supplier of golf clubheads globally. At multiple sites across South East Asia, Fusheng work with virtually every major golf club brand to produce at least some of their new models in China, Taiwan or Vietnam. If a natural disaster ever wiped out a Fusheng facility, we’d see serious shortages of golf products in the western world.
58 PHIL KENYON
The Pep of putting
A modern-day legend in his field, Kenyon is the man to go to for all things putting. The Lancastrian counts Scottie Scheffler among a star-studded client list, which includes seven of the world’s top 40. He also runs an online putting academy with over 2,000 members, sells his own range of Visio training aids, and runs the academy which bears his mentor’s name: The Harold Swash Putting School of Excellence. Max Homa says Kenyon is “the most knowledgeable person” he’s ever talked to about putting. We’re inclined to agree.
57 BOB PARSONS
Golf nut game changer
Since founding PXG in 2013, Parsons has revolutionised not just golf equipment but also the way we buy clubs. PXG now have 26 standalone retail locations, including one in London, one in Tokyo and the rest in the US. New additions to their product line-up this year, like the Black Ops, GEN7 and the Zero Torque Allan putter, have enhanced their reputation as one of the finest clubmakers in the world.
56 TIM SCHANTZ
President and CEO of Troon
Since replacing founder Dana Garmany as CEO in 2019, Schantz has secured investment from Rory, completed 10 acquisitions – including two this year – and helped cement Troon as the world’s largest third-party manager of golf clubs. They now service over 900 venues, of which more than 100 underwent or are undergoing clubhouse, amenity or golf course improvements in 2024.
55 CHO MINN THANT
Asian Tour Commissioner
Thant and the Asian Tour continue to reap the benefits for accepting Saudi money. The creation of the International Series wouldn’t have been possible without it, and it has allowed the circuit to reverse the traditional flow of tournaments and talent. In the past Europe moved east, now the Asian Tour plays across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. And with record prize money on offer, the finest Asian talent now feel less need to venture to the DP World Tour to grow their careers. A win-win for the continent’s professionals.
54 JEAN-FREDERIC DUFOUR
The main man at Rolex
When Rolex partnered with Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player almost 60 years ago, it signalled the start of a special relationship with golf. While modern day stars, like Tiger and Scottie, are ambassadors, it’s their continued investment into the game itself that earns Dufour a place on our list.
As well as partnering with all the Major championships, tours and Cups, they’re pumping millions into the DP World Tour through the Rolex Series and continue to ensure Sky Sports viewers in the UK get to enjoy uninterrupted coverage with the Rolex Hour.
53 GRANT MOIR
The R&A’s Rules Man
A job title that reads ‘Executive Director – Governance’ is prosaic and deceptive too. In making key changes to the Rules of Golf and working alongside the equipment’s standards team, Moir is responsible for allowing modern technology and the finest traditions of the game to work in harmony, rather than be forever at war with one another.
52 PETER DAWSON
Chairman of the OWGR
The Official World Golf Ranking has long prompted controversy but it has peaked in the age of LIV Golf. Before, it was algorithms that prompted the most amount of squabbling. Today, debates rage about inclusion itself and the affair has not been calmed despite LIV withdrawing its application for points in March of this year. As such, the former Chief Exec of the R&A has had a key role in the battle for the game’s future.
51 STACY LEWIS
US Solheim Cup Captain
Lewis appeared in four Solheim Cups as a player before leading the team as captain in 2023 and 2024. Her debut as captain ended in a thrilling 14-14 draw that saw Europe retain the trophy, but she got her revenge this year, leading her charges to a 15.5-12.5 victory and USA’s first win since 2017.
50 DUK-HYUNG CHOI & GANG-SOO-PARK
Disruptors of industry
Though their names are probably unfamiliar to you, their impact on golf in Asia is vast. Together they head up Golfzon, the No.1 simulator brand, which logs around 90 million rounds a year across 11,439 commercial locations worldwide. Nearly 9,000 of those venues are sited in South Korea, where the GTour – a professional screen-golf circuit – is shown live on the world’s first cable network with coverage specific to simulator golf.
This year they’ve been trying to replicate that model in other markets with the launch of the Golfzon Tour, with teams from North America, England and Mexico battling it out for a $150,000 prize. It could be a game changer, though much of our excitement is reserved for a new urban golf course, called City Golf, which features 18 indoor greens and screens in a 106,000 sq ft indoor space. It’s basically TGL for China’s paying public. We can certainly see it catching on.
49 ROBERT MAXFIELD
Chief Executive of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA)
After working on three Ryder Cups as Director of Golf at The Belfry, Maxfield crossed the car park to the PGA’s headquarters, working in commercial strategy before becoming Deputy Chief Executive and then the top man at the PGA in 2017. He now spends his days trying to champion and improve opportunities for over 8,000 members in 80 countries.
48 LUKE DONALD
Europe’s popular captain
The Ryder Cup Committee lucked out with Henrik Stenson running off to LIV. Bringing Luke Donald in as a replacement worked out so well that he was the obvious choice to lead the team again at Bethpage Black. He’s quietly gone about his business so far, though a change to the qualification criteria – which is now heavily weighted to PGA Tour members – feels like it could have big ramifications for his picks and the LIV lads. How he handles it all will be a big talking point whatever the result in New York.
47 GRANT HORVAT
The Robbie Williams of golf
Grant Horvat is a YouTube sensation delivering refreshing, original, and quality content to nearly one million subscribers. Since leaving Good Good at the end of 2022, Horvat’s solo journey has seen him join TaylorMade, debut as an on-course reporter for PGA Tour Live, and collaborate alongside the likes of Bryson, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson. His most watched video has garnered 4.6 million views – more than this year’s final-round telecast of The Players.
46 NELLY KORDA
The golden girl of American golf
Korda’s 2024 season has been nothing short of inspirational. She won six titles, including one Major, in her first seven starts and was so dominant that she beat 866 competitors in that time, losing to only six. Comparisons were unsurprisingly made with basketball superstar Caitlin Clark, though it is notable how little interest Korda has in chasing the spotlight. She did at least show a different side to her personality at the Solheim Cup, where she danced her way to and from the first tee, and gained 7.5 strokes (!) on the field during Friday’s fourballs. Capitalising on her celebrity could propel the LPGA to new heights.
45 MARK STEINBERG
Golf’s most powerful (and ruthless) agent
Once described as “the de facto chief executive of Tiger’s empire”, Steinberg has spent the last 26 years helping him to become the second-highest earning athlete of all time, behind only Michael Jordan. He is now one of four partners at Excel Sports Management, where he has earned praise from Brandel Chamblee for his anti-LIV stance. Only one of his clients (Thomas Pieters) took the Saudi money – and Steinberg duly dropped him soon after!
44 JONATHAN SMITH
Environmental champion
Golf, never mind the world, faces an uncertain future as climate change forces us to deal with ever wilder variations in weather conditions. As Founder and Executive Director of the GEO Foundation, Smith is aiming to guide the game into a new and sustainable future with progressive strategies, ideas and positive energy. He’s seeking a better future for golf, people and the planet. We applaud him for that.
43 MOLLIE MARCOUX SAMAAN
LPGA Commissioner
Three years into the job and Samaan has already left quite a mark. This year alone a record 16 LPGA tournaments had a purse of at least $3 million, while over half of them included travel stipends or guaranteed minimum payouts for members.
It was all going so well until the transportation disaster at the Solheim Cup, where poor planning on the LPGA’s side caused thousands of fans to miss the start. Inevitably, the blame game has led to question marks over Samaan’s future, which is quite the 180 given how she’s been praised for growing purses by 69% since 2021.
42 ANTONY SCANLON
Head of golf’s Olympic organisation
The Olympic Golf competitions were undoubtedly one of 2024’s highlights, providing some of the best final day drama of the year in front of a non-traditional golf audience. The man responsible for ensuring golf capitalised on this ‘golden’ opportunity was Scanlon, the Executive Director of the International Golf Federation (IGF).
Compared to the lacklustre interest in the 2016 Rio Games, Olympic Golf medals are now held in the highest esteem by the game’s top stars, helping to inspire a new global fanbase. We wait to see if Scanlon has been successful in his campaign to get a mixed golf event added to the Olympic roster for LA 2028. The noises so far are positive.
41 MIKE MCCARLEY
Co-Founder and CEO of TMRW Sports
McCarley might be the only man who can count Tiger and Rory as business partners. Their TMRW Sports venture is still to take off three years in, but that’s set to change with the delayed launch of TGL in January. McCarley is the money man behind the scenes, credited with bringing together an all-star list of celebrity investors who can help to bring golf to new audiences. He’s also the former President of The Golf Channel, so the buck stops with him if TGL flops on TV!
40 GREG MCLAUGHLIN
An unsung hero of the game
As the CEO of the World Golf Foundation, McLaughlin helps unite the golf industry around initiatives that protect, promote and enhance the game. He’s so impressive at what he does that he also heads up the PGA Tour First Tee Foundation, which provides golf and life skills to more than three million kids each year through its network of 150 chapters, 11,450 schools and 2,000 youth centres.
39 ANNIKA SORENSTAM
The Tiger Woods of women’s golf
Her on-course achievements are legendary (10 Majors, 72 LPGA wins), but the Swede plays an even greater role as a front-facing ambassador for the sport. She currently serves as President of the IGF Federation, a role she fulfils alongside hosting duties of her own LPGA event – ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge – and the running of the ANNIKA Women’s All Pro Tour. Everything is tied together by the success of the ANNIKA Foundation, which supports around 600 young girls a year through clinics, tournaments, mentorship and financial investment.
38 GOOD GOOD
The boy band of the links
The YouTube behemoths may have lost three key members in Grant Horvat, Micah Morris and Luke Kwon, but that hasn’t stopped them growing the channel to 1.7 million subscribers, thus overtaking the PGA Tour. They are now averaging over 10 million views a month and have found success with their own influencer-laden tournaments, live on the Golf Channel. According to CEO Matt Kendrick, the Good Good Desert Open brought in 800,000 total live viewers — more than the last two instalments of ‘The Match’.
37 STEVE PELISEK
President of Titleist golf clubs
Pelisek takes responsibility for getting Titleist clubs in the hands of eight million golfers around the globe. His stock grew in 2024 as his product team created the Thermoform Crown (an ultra-light, metallic-sounding polymer) which is found on the new GT drivers. That same technology is now being explored in other industries. Pelisek has also recruited Callaway legend Dr Alan Hocknell and ex Odyssey putter guru Austie Rollinson to the brand, which feels especially significant.
36 JON WATTERS & SCOTT WERBELOW
Co-Presidents of Foresight
Foresight’s unique approach to measuring ball launch and club delivery has earned them a reputation as the game’s most trusted launch monitors. Under the guidance of Watters and Werbelow, Foresight have worked with top equipment manufacturers to create industry-leading camera-based tracking solutions, relied on by the best players in the world – and us here at TG, as we use the GCQuad for all our equipment tests.
35 JOE GORDER
Chief negotiator and moneyman for the PGA Tour
A growing force in golf, Gorder was elected chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises, which houses the tour’s commercial businesses and rights, as well as those of the DP World Tour. His influence also extends to the PGA Tour Policy Board, where he is an independent director and part of the Transaction Subcommittee that has been engaged in direct negotiations with the PIF.
34 JOE ASSELL
GolfTec CEO
Assell has overseen GolfTec’s rise to becoming the world’s largest provider of lessons and premium club fittings, with 250 centres across eight countries. Over 20 million data-driven lessons have been delivered since 1995, helping golfers improve by an average of seven shots. GolfTec’s OptiMotion measurement system captures real-time swing information in 3D and, via the integration of SkyTrak launch monitor technology, can design bespoke holes with virtual obstacles such as a brick wall to help you put an end to your slice.
33 KLAUS ELDRUP-JORGENSEN
TrackMan CEO
Alongside co-founder and CTO Fredrik Tuxen, KEJ’s industry-leading Doppler radar technology continues to quietly influence the decisions of players, coaches and club fitters worldwide. If you’ve purchased equipment, had a lesson, or been fitted for clubs in the last 20 years, there’s a good chance this little orange box has had a part to play. TrackMan are also leading the way in competitive simulation via the NEXT Golf Tour, where players compete for real-world starts on the DP World and Challenge Tours.
32 MARY LOU BOHN
President of Titleist Golf Balls
Titleist have dominated the golf ball market for as long as we can remember, so it’s no surprise Bohn retains her position from 2023 as the most influential woman in the game. Net sales were up 6% for the first half of 2024 and now account for around 34% of Titleist/FootJoy’s total business. It shouldn’t go unnoticed either that 70% of pros use a Pro V1 or Pro V1x on Tour, which is the ultimate endorsement for Bohn.
31 BURKE MAGNUS
President of content at ESPN
A key figure in expanding ESPN’s golf offering in America beyond the Masters and PGA Championship. Magnus agreed to pay $76 million a year until 2030 for PGA Tour Live, which allowed them to air 4,300 hours of live golf on ESPN+ this season. Throw in a multi-year deal with TGL, plus another with the LPGA to stream four events this season and next, and suddenly ESPN has become a must-have subscription service for US fans.
30 RICK SHIELS
The godfather of golf on YouTube
The Mancunian has now completed five years as the sport’s No.1 creator on the platform, with more than 850 million views to his name. His profile is so big that he remains capable of attracting huge names, with Bryson, Sergio Garcia and England captain Harry Kane all appearing on his podcast in 2024. Other highlights include launching his own line of merchandise and seeing his limited-edition Ecco shoes sell out.
29 CHAD MUMM
Executive producer of Full Swing
Whatever you think about Netflix’s Full Swing, Rory wouldn’t have been in it had Mumm not managed to convince him to be. That the series was renewed for a third run probably says more about Mumm’s power of persuasion than it does viewing figures, which fell to 28.5 million hours watched for the first six months of 2024, versus 53.1 million for the same period in 2023.
The PGA Tour are clearly big fans of his and have given Mumm their backing by becoming a minority owner in a new media venture, called Pro Shop, which is now the production partner for Full Swing. Mumm was also the brains behind the Creator Classic and has just been given the keys to Skratch, a digital platform that has the rights to film at PGA Tour events. What they do with that access should be fun to watch.
28 BRIAN BAZZEL
VP of Product Creation at TaylorMade
Adjustable weights, white drivers, hollow irons, carbon-fibre driver faces… in almost 25 years with TaylorMade, Brian Bazzel has seen it all. And now, as the boss of the company’s product creation team, he signs it all off before it gets anywhere near a pro shop shelf. It’s hard to argue against TaylorMade having their strongest product line-up ever. Bazzel can take a lot of credit for that.
27 JOHANN RUPERT
Golf’s white knight
It’s rare to find someone with his feet in so many camps, but Rupert’s status as South Africa’s richest billionaire means he carries a lot of clout in golfing circles. His impact on developing the sport has been lauded for some time, hence he now holds high-profile positions as Honorary VP of the DP World Tour, and tournament host of the Dunhill Links.
This year he’s continued to fight the good fight as an overworked peacemaker, and engineered it so Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan played together at the Dunhill Links in Scotland. That Guy Kinnings and 14 LIV golfers were also present on the ground owes a lot to the connections he has built, not to mention the respect in which he is held after ploughing more than £90 million into the game.
26 JASON WESSELY
Head of Golf at Sky Sports
Wessely plays a big part in your enjoyment of the sport. Under his watch, Sky Sports has become the home of golf in the UK and Ireland, showcasing well over 100 tournaments across both the men’s and women’s tours. The fact they have renewed their rights to The Open and PGA Championship over the past year owes a lot to the brilliant product Wessely has created. No one does innovation better in golf.
25 JON RAHM
Golf’s biggest sell-out
Jay Monahan is still having sleepless nights after seeing Rahm in that LIV Golf bomber jacket, flanked by Greg Norman, having agreed a reported $300 million deal to switch sides. The Spaniard’s reputation has taken a bit of a battering because of it, though he did bounce back from an underwhelming performance in the Majors by winning twice and banking another $37.9 million on his way to lifting the Individual Championship. Crucially, he looks set to play in the Ryder Cup with his appeal against DP World Tour fines not due to be heard until after the clash at Bethpage. Convenient indeed.
24 ED HERLIHY
PGA Tour Policy Board Chair
Another major protagonist in the PGA Tour-PIF framework agreement. Herlihy currently chairs the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, which rules on matters pertaining to eligibility, prize money distribution and the like. The biggest changes this year include a return to a calendar-year schedule, several no-cut ‘signature’ events, and a special lifetime achievement exemption for Tiger Woods.
23 JACK NICKLAUS
Titan of the Sport
‘The Golden Bear’ turns 85 in early 25 but he continues to impact the game as much as ever. Is he the greatest player of all time? If he isn’t, he’s miles ahead of whoever is No.3. Is he golf’s greatest ever businessman? Only Arnold Palmer could conceivably be considered greater. Is he golf’s greatest ever architect? Undoubtedly not, but his design company has a huge and respected portfolio. Is he the greatest ever combination of player, entrepreneur and architect? Absolutely.
22 JOHN K SOLHEIM
President of Ping
Very few of golf’s biggest equipment companies are family owned, but Ping have never been anything else since setting out in 1959. A third-generation leader, John K is charged with carrying on the success of his grandfather who founded the legendary Anser putters and the Solheim Cup. Last year Ping’s European business passed the £100 million mark in revenue for the first time thanks to the success of the G430 family and their custom fitting business. They are on track to do the same this year too.
21 ANDREW GEORGIOU
President and MD of Sports at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe
Without Eurosport and Discovery+, we might never have seen Scottie Scheffler’s comeback or Lydia Ko’s emotional victory in Paris. Georgiou can take a portion of the credit for putting millions of eyeballs on the sport and for convincing the IOC to keep the Olympics – and its golf events – on Discovery’s network in Europe for 2026 and 2030.
Where the sport fits into Georgiou’s grand plan following the closure of GolfTV is still up for debate, but the only reason Sky Sports remains a PGA Tour rightsholder in the UK and Ireland is due to a sub-licensing deal agreed by Georgiou in 2022. Clearly, he still holds a lot of cards.
20 GREG NORMAN
LIV Chief Executive (for now)
The Aussie’s dislike for the PGA Tour was always a fire in his belly and the addition of Saudi Arabian oil made that fire burn even stronger. With a suede jacket around his shoulders and aviator sunglasses hiding his gimlet-eyed gaze, Norman has delighted in seeing his fantasy rock the foundations of the PGA Tour. Reports in October, however, suggest that he will soon be replaced as CEO and shuffled upstairs by the Saudis. We can think of a few people who will be happy to see that happen!
19 GUY KINNINGS
Poacher turned gamekeeper
A lawyer by trade, Kinnings ran IMG’s global golf division for two decades before moving to the European Tour Group, where he spent six years juggling three jobs as Ryder Cup Director, Chief Commercial Officer, and Keith Pelley’s deputy. He was promoted to the top job in April having delivered a 100% uplift in sponsorship revenue since the pandemic. He is now tasked with balancing the books and leading the DP World Tour into a brighter, more sustainable future as peace talks continue with the Saudis and PGA Tour. No pressure, then.
18 JOHN W. HENRY
Fenway Sports Group principal owner
Better known as the owner of Liverpool FC, Henry positioned himself as the frontman of The Strategic Sports Group after they struck a $3 billion partnership with the PGA Tour. His consortium now owns a minority share in the Tour’s commercial arm, while Henry has won himself a seat at the table in negotiations with the Saudis.
17 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
The dominant force in golf
The World No.1 won a second Major at the Masters, became the first player in history to successfully defend The Players, took gold at the Paris Olympics, won the FedEx Cup, and enjoyed a stretch of dominance not seen since Tiger at his peak. Perhaps most impressive of all was him making the cut at the PGA Championship despite almost missing his tee time following an arrest for traffic violations and ‘assaulting’ a police officer. So much for people calling him boring!
16 FRED RIDLEY
Augusta and Masters Chairman
The world’s most powerful ‘Green Jacket’ backed the rollback, urged the game to reunite, and unveiled big upgrades to the club as he worked through a packed inbox. Elsewhere, he revealed significant investment in renovating Augusta Municipal Golf Course and vowed never to let Augusta National expand beyond 8,000 yards.
15 STEVE OTTO
The R&A ‘scientist’
No one has a greater influence on the equipment you use. Professor Otto heads up The R&A’s equipment standards department and was the lead architect behind the controversial Distance Insights Project. As Chief Technology Officer, his day-to-day job involves testing and analysing thousands of balls and clubs at Allan Robertson House in Kingsbarns. Nothing gets approved without his say so.
14 DAVID ABELES
CEO of TaylorMade
TaylorMade isn’t just TaylorMade anymore. Under Abeles, it’s TaylorMade Golf (Qi10, P-Series, TP5). It’s PopStroke Entertainment (a putting experience backed by Tiger). And since January 2024, it’s Sun Day Red (Tiger’s new apparel brand). But with top-selling drivers, irons, putters and balls, plus a stellar stable of athletes including Rory, Scottie and Nelly, Abeles and his team have been smashing it in 2024.
13 DAVID MAHER
President of Acushnet
The man who heads the parent company of Titleist, FootJoy, Scotty Cameron and Vokey is as influential as ever. Balls continue to drive Acushnet’s profits – and Maher keeps the Pro V1 front and centre of his thoughts as a new one looms on the horizon. It’s testament to that unwavering focus that Acushnet’s revenues are predicted to top $2.4 billion in 2024, despite a dip in FJ apparel and footwear sales.
12 THOMAS PAGEL
USGA rules guru
While Pagel is far from a household name, his Chief Governance Officer role means he influences every round of golf played in the US (and Mexico). From the conformity of equipment to the implementation of the World Handicap System, Pagel’s paw prints are all over it. He also led the Rules Modernisation initiative, and played a significant role in informing the rollback proposal.
11 DAVID BERSON
CEO & President of CBS Sports
The PGA Tour owe a debt of gratitude to Berson. He was a key driver in keeping PGA Tour golf on CBS until 2030 as part of a $6.3 billion media rights deal signed with ESPN and NBC in 2022. That money is now being used to prop up the purses, while US fans get to watch 16 Tour events, alongside the Masters and PGA Championship, on CBS for the foreseeable.
10 OLIVER ‘CHIP’ BREWER
President and CEO of Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp
It’s been a tough year for Topgolf Callaway, with share prices down more than 20% in the last 12 months. Perhaps not coincidentally, Topgolf and Callaway are set to be split into separate companies, with a sale of Topgolf not being ruled out. A refocusing on golf equipment may suit Brewer, who headed up Adams Golf for a decade before getting involved with Topgolf and then Callaway in 2012.
9 RICK CORDELLA
President of NBC Sports
TV ratings may be down across the board, but NBC’s network of channels continues to air more golf than any US broadcaster. Cordella is the man responsible for what is shown on The Golf Channel, as well as NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Golf Pass, USA Network and Peacock. He also oversees their booming GolfNow business, the largest online tee time marketplace in the world.
8 RORY MCILROY
Player and provacateur
There’s almost nothing the Northern Irishman does or doesn’t do that fails to provoke a public reaction. If he doesn’t play in the Irish Open he is criticised. If he plays in it and doesn’t win, he is criticised. And if he wins it, he is panned for not winning it more often. The same tale tends to play out in the Majors or just about any tournament he enters. If he offers an opinion or changes tack in a press conference, he will be criticised for it. And if he keeps quiet, well, you get the picture. In 2024, he was even criticised for both starting and then ending divorce proceedings.
Next year will be huge for him. His TGL venture with Tiger Woods, which showcases stadium team golf during TV prime time, will launch across the United States. His quest for Major No.5 will take him back to Royal Portrush. And you can guarantee he will be the main vocal target of the raucous New York galleries as Europe seek to defend the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. His influence is enormous already, but it still has the potential to become absolutely seismic.
7 KERRY HAIGH & SETH WAUGH
The key decision makers at the PGA of America
Both men have sat in the hot seat at the PGA of America this year. Waugh was in situ for six years up until July and oversaw a period of growth that coincided with enhanced diversity and salary spikes among their 30,000 members, a money-spinning sponsorship title for the Women’s PGA Championship, and a move to a new headquarters, dubbed the ‘Silicon Valley of Golf’, in Texas.
The search for his successor is still ongoing, which is why Chief Championship Officer Kerry Haigh – the man responsible for the overall operation and course set-up of the Ryder Cup and PGA Championships – has stepped into the position in an interim role. One of his first acts was to ensure LIV players have a route to represent Team USA in the 2025 Ryder Cup, though any credit in the bank has probably been lost following the decision to charge $749.51 for day tickets for the competition proper at Bethpage Black. Even volunteers will have to shell out $350 just to help out, which seems utterly ridiculous. It’s not a good look for the PGA or anyone associated with it.
6 BRYSON DECHAMBEAU
The new man of the people
“I’m a completely different person than I was back at Winged Foot. I’ve still got a lot of the same cells, but I’m definitely different in the brain, for sure.” Those were the final words of Bryson DeChambeau before he teed off his campaign to become America’s Champion Golfer of the Year for a second time.
Bryson had reluctantly accepted that ‘boring golf’ was his only play for being competitive that week, although the thought of swapping out driver for 6-iron off the tee still didn’t sit well with him. But his ‘different brain’ is his overriding voice now, and for the most part across the next four days, it was listened to. Come 6.16pm, Bryson found himself as the last man standing – executing a sand save for the ages from 55 yards to ensure Rory McIlroy’s putting meltdown didn’t go unpunished. It was the shot that defined 2024, dispelling any myths that Bryson wins golf tournaments with his driver alone.
His public pursuit of distance has perhaps disguised the roundedness of his game to the casual fan, but even during his six-shot romp to victory at Winged Foot in 2020, Bryson ranked in the top three for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (3rd), Approach (3rd), and Around the Green (2nd).
Pinehurst painted a similar picture. He was the only player in the field to rank in the top 20 across all major SG categories from Off the Tee to Putting. He didn’t dominate the field in any one part of the bag, but that’s not a prerequisite for winning on a track riddled with pitfalls. Unlike the esteemed leaderboard surrounding him that weekend, Bryson limited the damage when it mattered most.
What the history books won’t retell, however, is the four-year evolution sandwiched between those two landmark victories. An evolution to becoming that ‘completely different’, trophy-lifting Bryson. Bryson 2.0.
To label it a reincarnation may seem hyperbole, but in his own words, Bryson dug himself out of a “pretty deep hole”, made all the darker by the passing of his father Jon in 2022. Earlier that year, DeChambeau defected to the Saudi-based LIV Golf Tour, U-turning on his sworn allegiance to the PGA Tour just months earlier.
“I was knocked down pretty hard in 2022 for numerous reasons, numerous scenarios, numerous things. Golf swing wasn’t doing well. Ball striking was terrible. Putting wasn’t great,” recalled Bryson. “People can say I moved to one side, but I did it for my family and what I had in front of me at that point in time. I think my mom would have probably smacked me for not taking the deal.”
DeChambeau had been a polarising figure long before his $125 million move. From publicly lambasting his equipment manufacturer at The Open in 2021, to emasculating the iconic Augusta National because of his ability to reach all the par-5s in two. Nothing or no one was seemingly off-limits for Bryson 1.0 – the pantomime villain – as his mouth continued to beat his head to the punch.
A petty, back-and-forth feud with Brooks Koepka did little to help his dwindling fan support, with Bryson swiping back at slow play criticism by bizarrely taking aim at Koepka’s lack of abs. Even that petulance backfired with Koepka publicly accepting that his four-pack of Major trophies remained just two short. Touché.
The pair have since found some common ground in their appreciation of the Saudi PIF, however, and having notched up seven LIV titles between them, are preparing to take on Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in a PGA Tour versus LIV showdown in Las Vegas on December 17.
Even just 12 months ago, you’d be forgiven for presuming the PGA boys would have the lion’s share of support as golf’s ‘good guys’. But a year is a long time in golf. Not long enough to “unlock golf’s worldwide potential,” it seems, but long enough for anti-LIV sentiment to mellow further. Perhaps a consequence of a drastic levelling up in prize money on the PGA side of the divide, but more likely because golf’s most exciting personality happens to be dressed in the away strip.
And you’d be wrong to think Bryson’s groundswell of popularity is reserved to the beer-chugging grandstands of Adelaide’s Watering Hole and the like. It now infiltrates great cathedrals of the game. At Pinehurst, it was a man with a LIV logo on his collar who had the crowd in the palm of his hands, orchestrating them on a whim into chants of ‘USA… USA’, as he strutted the fairways signing autographs. Only Tiger could have been a more popular winner that week, and as desperate as we all were to see Rory end his decade-long Major drought, no one recognised their Open Champion as the man once maligned so badly by fans that the PGA Tour had to threaten ejection from venues.
But how did he change the narrative in such a short period of time?
Dubbed ‘The Scientist’ due to his uncompromising approach to swing biomechanics and strength and conditioning, Bryson is constantly reinventing himself. The trouble is that bathing balls in Epsom salts is unlikely to bring with it a swathe of new fans. Remodelling his public persona needed a softer intervention, and as alluded to during his winner’s press conference, it started by surrounding himself with the right people and a pinch of vulnerability.
“I would say first and foremost I respect and understand people’s opinions. I’m not perfect. I’m human. I had some great friends and great people around me who were a massive help to get me in the right mind frame from such a low point in my life.
“I’ve realised that there’s a lot more to life than just golf. Respecting yourself is super important to being able to treat others with respect. Certainly, those low moments have helped establish a new mind frame of who I am, what’s expected, what I can do and what I want to do in my life.”
And while that vision would ideally manifest in a few more Majors, Bryson appears to have found his calling on YouTube, where he has made it his mission to grow the game globally and domestically.
“It’s direct conversations with people who truly engage with what I’m doing. It’s such an awesome platform for me to show who I truly am,” said Bryson, who boasts 1.6 million subscribers, with a typical video reaching over three million pairs of eyeballs.
With a lighter LIV schedule, Bryson has launched into the ‘influencer’ space with the same vigour as he commits to his equipment optimisation. Gone is the historical ‘know-it-all’ attitude, replaced with a gregarious charm as he’s joined by golfing A-listers in a series of challenges.
From trying to break par with a Walmart set of clubs, to linking up with the game’s biggest personalities in a bid to Break 50, Bryson is not reinventing the tried and tested content wheel, but he is redefining perceptions of what it takes to grow the game beyond its traditional ‘wheelhouse’.
And with that audience now less dependable than ever, reflected by a downward trend in TV viewing figures, the endeavours of Bryson are all the more welcome. With 12 million views, his Break 50 scramble with Donald Trump helped establish Bryson as one of the most popular golf YouTubers on the planet. An exponential bump in subscribers saw subscribers rocket from 800,000 to well over 1.5 million. Bryson is on the road to ‘Making Golf Great Again’.
Undoubtedly, YouTube has been pivotal in softening a once unenviable image. Even his unsought status as golf’s ‘Prince of the American right’ is not derailing the effectiveness of his charm offensive express. That said, his sheepish cameo at Trump’s victory address may prove a step too far for some.
Of course, such a transformation will call into question the authenticity of this second coming. More judgment than luck? A meticulously managed act? Not according to the greatest showman himself.
“I don’t practise or train. If anything, on my YouTube channel, I give some pretty pure emotional reactions whenever we do something cool,” he explained. “It kind of keeps me in the flow of it where I’m always trying to do my best for the camera. It keeps me in that mind frame of ‘I’m an entertainer’.”
But whether you ‘like’ and ‘subscribe’ to the cynicism or not, there’s no knocking the conviction with which he applies himself to a task. And if there was going to be a slip out of character, you could have forgiven a 54-hole US Open leader for wanting to scurry off following media obligations to prepare for a potentially career-defining Sunday. And maybe he did, but not before ensuring every last autograph hunter received his squiggle.
Twenty-four hours later and Bryson was cradling the trophy in the same iconic pose as his idol – the late Payne Stewart, even switching into the same style cap as the 1999 champion. Another masterstroke, converting a few more of golf’s old guard before parading the trophy through his new-found congregation. The transformation was complete.
“I want you guys to touch this trophy, because I want you to experience what this feels like for me,” he said. “You were a part of this journey this week, and I want you to be a part of it for the after-party.”
The once unlikely emergence of Bryson DeChambeau as a beacon of hope and excitement for the future of the men’s professional game is the good news story of 2024 that golf so desperately needed. The box office entertainment that we’ve had to rely on Tiger to provide is now weighing heavy on fused ankles, and we shouldn’t encourage Scottie Scheffler to keep getting arrested to push golf up the news agenda. Bryson can’t do it single-handedly, but he’s making a good go of it at the moment. We should it enjoy it while it lasts.
5 JAY MONAHAN
Divisive Commissioner of the PGA Tour
Twelve months ago we likened Mr Monahan to a covert secret negotiator after the bombshell PGA-PIF merger announcement in June 2023 that left us all open mouthed. Monahan needed to hit the ground running in 2024 and prove the betrayal felt by his PGA Tour stars was a price worth paying to end golf’s civil war. The ceasefire was short lived however, with Greg Norman swooping in to poach the firepower of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. Monahan needed to armour up… and fast.
The solution? PGA Tour Enterprises, a $3 billion venture in partnership with The Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium led by Fenway Sports Group (FSG). The deal made nearly 200 players equity owners in the company, rewarding them for loyalty with recurring grants alongside a bunch of $20 million signature events.
After appointing himself as PGA Tour Enterprises CEO, Monahan reiterated at the Players Championship “a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf’s worldwide potential,” albeit with the caveat that the merger “is going to take time.”
A frustrating summer followed for Monahan, marred by dwindling TV viewing figures and a largely forgettable FedEx Cup Playoffs series that even winner Scottie Scheffler described as “silly”. With no carrots left to dangle, Monahan joined PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for 18 holes at the Dunhill Links Championship in the clearest signal of intent yet that golf does have a united future.
Monahan remains a central cog to delivering that vision, and despite failing to move the merger into second gear, the SSG deal has been a big win, stemming the LIV exodus while keeping all doors ajar for PIF investment. The next 12 months may dictate how Monahan’s tenure is remembered… and his direction of travel on this list!
4 MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN / YASIR AL-RUMAYYAN
The Saudi disruptors
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has the PIN code to the Saudis’ Public Investment Fund (PIF), while Yasir Al-Rumayyan is the PIF’s Governor. Together, the pair have whipped the carpet from beneath the feet of golf’s complacent C-Suite community in dramatic and turbulent fashion over the last three years.
LIV Golf, and its CEO Greg Norman, failed to achieve their stated aims when the project was first introduced, but there is no denying that the Saudis have transformed elite level golf, forcing the hands of the PGA and DP World Tour, and also providing the Asian and LET Tours with record prize money.
We are now coming up to 18 months since the warring factions called their infamous ceasefire and avoided an ugly and humiliating-for-all lawsuit, but in essence the Cold War continues and confusion clouds the horizon.
Quite what the future holds is anyone’s guess, but the impact of MBS and Al-Rumayyan has already been way beyond significant. The PGA Tour’s Jay Monahan admitted that he cannot compete against “a foreign government with unlimited funds” and it is said that the PIF has over $600 billion to play with. Monahan’s response was to rewrite the PGA Tour’s schedule, rules, field sizes and arguably its ethos, all in a desperate attempt to stave off the threat of mass player evacuation.
We wait to see what further changes will come if there is – or isn’t – any reconciliation…
3 MIKE WHAN
The USGA’s top dog
As Chief Executive Officer of the USGA, Whan leads golf in America (and Mexico) at an unusual time. Participation rates are at an all-time high, but the challenges facing the game are now greater than ever. To his credit, he has been a measured and calming voice on the merits of rolling the ball back, seeking to avoid “a frenzy that quite frankly isn’t based on fact”.
He’s made it his mission to target sustainability and reduce water usage in golf by as much as 45% in the next 15 years. That same, forward-thinking approach has also been reflected in the creation of a US National Development Program, the country’s first unified pathway, which is currently helping to train, fund and support 250 of America’s most promising junior players.
Next on his to-do list is to establish a pathway to ensure the game’s biggest names are still part of the US Open, even if they now ply their trade with LIV. The R&A and Augusta will undoubtedly pay close attention to the outcome.
2 MARTIN SLUMBERS
The soon-to-be ex chief of the R&A
Martin Slumbers says he is already “counting down the days” until he hands over the reins to his successor Mark Darbon. For almost 10 years, the Englishman has served as the head of the R&A and presided over some of the biggest – and most significant – changes to golf and the governing body in the modern era. It started just two years into his tenure when he led the merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union, bringing the Women’s Open under the R&A’s control for the first time.
A complete modernisation of the R&A’s activities followed soon after and included the biggest rewrite of the rule book in 68 years, plus the introduction of new international amateur championships for women and golfers with disabilities, and the rollout of the World Handicap System (WHS) in conjunction with the USGA.
More recently he has been at the forefront of plans to limit driving distances of the big hitters by up to 20 yards, with regulations now in place that will render nearly every golf ball in circulation non-conforming from January 2028. That he isn’t seeing the rollback through to the end is perhaps the biggest surprise, though he says it was always his intention to stay in the post for a maximum of 10 years.
By staying true to his word, he is leaving behind an organisation which is in a far stronger position now than when he found it, with participation rates and prize funds at a record high.
1 Tiger Woods
The most influential force in golf
Did you really expect it to be anyone else? Well, we’ll let you into a secret. Before we started the process, every single member of our panel expected Bryson DeChambeau or Donald Trump (yes, really!) to be No.1 on this year’s list until we actually rated Tiger’s impact as a golfer, businessman and negotiator for the PGA Tour. Ultimately, why Tiger came out on top boiled down to these 10 reasons – and in the end, it wasn’t even that close!
1. The legacy
If you grew up in the nineties and noughties, the chances are you were inspired to pick up a golf club by Tiger Woods. His style, look and athleticism single-handedly changed the perception of golf, and his legacy has been the catalyst behind the huge increases in purses and TV and sponsorship deals that we see today. Every golfer is richer because of him, which is one of the reasons they’ve made a special sponsorship exemption just for him so he can play in the PGA Tour’s signature events in 2025 and beyond.
2. The ‘Tiger Effect’
Not since Arnold Palmer has there been a bigger draw in golf. Any tournament official will tell you that Tiger generates more viewers and more ticket sales than any other player in golf. At the Masters, ESPN’s live telecast from the first round pulled in an average of 3.2 million US viewers, the highest since 2015. It was no coincidence that Tiger was a late starter that day, making his first appearance in a Major championship since his withdrawal at Augusta 12 months earlier. Neal Pilson, the former President of CBS Sports in the United States, once estimated that Tiger contributed to a 30 to 35% ratings increase when he played. It’s come to be known in our industry as the ‘Tiger Effect’. And it’s still just as strong as it was 20 years ago!
3. The petition
Remember the events of June 6 last year and how Jay Monahan blindsided everyone by making a deal with the Saudis? It was Tiger who led a group of 40+ players in signing and petitioning a list of demands to Monahan, which ultimately led to him ceding control of the PGA Tour to its members. Tiger was appointed to the Tour’s Policy Board off the back of it and is now part of a five-member ‘transaction committee’ negotiating with the Saudis. We’re not sure where his Vice-Chairmanship of PGA Tour Enterprises fits into all this yet, but by becoming the Pied Piper of the PGA Tour he has taken the torch from Jack Nicklaus as the most influential statesman in the game.
“What he’s done for us prior to any of this can’t be overstated,” said Jordan Spieth. “I know he doesn’t sleep a lot, but he’s spending most of his waking hours thinking about how to better the PGA Tour for the players. And he doesn’t have to do that. He could ride off into the sunset if he wants. We know that’s not his personality, but it is really, really cool that he’s wanted to step up and take the role that he has.”
4. The mini-golf concept
In the same way TopGolf has reinvented the driving range experience, Tiger’s PopStroke franchise is doing the same for putting. There are now 16 locations across multiple US states, and each one combines two 18-hole putting greens and a host of interactive games, with casual dining concepts and an outdoor beer garden. They’ve even been making moves to partner with universities, which seems like a clever way to get millennials into golf. Some might even refer to it as growing the game…
5. The brand
OK, so the Sun Day Red logo is underwhelming. The prices of the products are extortionate. And when did Sunday become two words? We could go on, but to do so would be missing the point of how many people are still invested in the Tiger Woods look and brand. A collection of classic red polos, ranging from $120-$170, were all snapped up within hours of going on sale in May. A pop-up shop has just opened at Pebble Beach of all places, and Tiger is expecting sales to exceed $200 million per annum by 2026.
6. The pulling power
We’re reserving judgement on how good TGL could be, but the fact there are so many people talking about it is testament to the amount of big-name investors, partners and players they (or rather, Tiger) have managed to attract. They’ve even got a big TV deal out of it, which is more than LIV have managed in their three years.
7. The social impact
When Tiger speaks, people listen. When he announced the launch of his Sun Day Red brand across socials, the trailer video was watched 1.3 million times on X and racked up 261,000 likes on Instagram. It’s hard to imagine any other golfer getting those sort of numbers for a new apparel range.
8. The Scheffler assist
Tiger and Scottie have more than a few wins in common. They also have the same equipment sponsor and play the same irons that Tiger had a hand in designing. TaylorMade began crafting the prototypes in 2017, based on the look, feel and performance that Tiger was looking for. They came up with the P-7TW irons, which have been in Scheffler’s bag for the last two years and in Tiger’s for much longer. So far, they’ve helped both players win the Masters, which is quite the validation for TaylorMade and Tiger the designer.
9. The TGR Foundation
This is the one part of Tiger’s empire which doesn’t get enough credit. Since its inception in 1996, the TGR Foundation has raised nearly $150 million from the two PGA Tour events hosted by Tiger, as well as various clinics, invitationals and partners which fall under the TGR Live brand. That money is still being used to support, educate and prepare disadvantaged youths for careers inside and outside of golf. Two new TGR learning labs, in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, are now set to join their flagship education campus in California, which has helped reach more than two million students through the foundation’s in-person and satellite programs.
10. The course designer
Tiger’s design business is a bit like his playing schedule: somewhat limited. But he’s also been doing things differently by designing short courses as a complement to championships layouts or as a standalone experience. The 10-hole, par-3 ‘Playgrounds’ at Bluejack National, in Texas, and Jack’s Bay, in the Bahamas, are perhaps the best examples and are two of four ‘short courses’ that now feature in the TGR portfolio. His work has been so well received that he’s recently won commissions to design four more courses, including one at Trout National in New Jersey, alongside 11-time MLB All-Star Mike Trout.
READ MORE: Check out the 2023 list of the Most Influential People in Golf
About the author
Michael Catling – Features Editor
Michael Catling is an award-winning journalist who specializes in golf’s Majors and Tours, including DP World, PGA, LPGA, and LIV.
Michael joined Today’s Golfer in 2016 and has traveled the world to attend the game’s biggest events and secure exclusive interviews with the game’s biggest names, including Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Gary Player, Martin Slumbers and Justin Thomas.
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