With Brian Harman claiming victory in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the men’s 2023 Major season is over with a near nine month wait until the next one at Augusta in 2024.
It’s been a thrilling few months on both sides of the pond at the very top of the men’s professional game. At Augusta in April, Spain’s Jon Rahm became the fourth Spanish player to win The Masters, holding off a late run from 52-year-old Phil Mickelson. At the PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka got back to Major-winning ways and, in Los Angeles for the US Open, Wyndham Clark upset Rory McIlroy to win a first Major title. There was another debut Major win for Brian Harman in The Open Championship at Hoylake.
Here we consider some of the main talking points and the big winners and losers from those four highly entertaining tournaments.
3-1 PGA Tour vs LIV
Although they could all be playing under the same banner again if the proposed PIF and Tour merger goes ahead, there’s been rivalry between the PGA Tour and the LIV players through the course of the season. In the battle for the Majors in 2023, the PGA Tour has come out on top, with PGA Tour members winning three out of the four – Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark and Brian Harman. LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship.
And 3-1 USA vs Europe
Jon Rahm was the only non-American to win a men’s Major this year. It bodes well for team USA’s chances in the Ryder Cup. In total, over the four Majors in 2023, the USA recorded 23 top-10 finishes compared to just 14 from Europeans. Ominous signs for September.
The Usual Suspects
There was a selection of top name players whose names repeatedly appeared top, or near the top of leaderboards in the Majors through 2023.
Jon Rahm was winner at The Masters and runner-up at Hoylake, Brooks Koepka won at the PGA Championship and was runner-up at The Masters. Rory McIlroy had a poor showing at Augusta but recorded three top-10s in the PGA, US Open and Open.
Scottie Scheffler was runner-up at the PGA Championship and third at the US Open. Viktor Hovland finished inside the top-20 at all four Majors.
And Surprise packages
Wyndham Clark’s best finish in a Major prior to this year’s US Open was a tie for 75th in the 2021 PGA Championship. He won the Wells Fargo in May and then surprised everyone, including Rory McIlroy, to win his first Major title in the US Open at The Los Angeles Country Club.
Brian Harman was less of a bolt from the blue than Wyndham Clark but his dominant performance was certainly something of a surprise. Harman won by six at Hoylake and was barely threatened following his second round 65.
Another Disappointing Major Season For DJ
Two-time Major champion Dustin Johnson managed a tie for 10th in the US Open, but he missed the cut in The Open and was tied 48th and tied 55th in the Masters and PGA Championship respectively. Johnson has managed just one Major top-10 a season for the last three years. He’s down to 86th on the Official World Golf Ranking.
And Poor Major runs for...
Matt Fitzpatrick with just one top-10 (Masters), Patrick Cantlay also with just one top-10 (PGA Championship). Keegan Bradley missed the US Open and Open cuts and managed just one top-25 finish (Masters), as did Collin Morikawa (Masters), Tony Finau had no top-25 finishes.
If Only Rory Could putt
Rory couldn’t buy a putt in the final round of the US Open as he lost out by a shot to Wyndham Clark. He threatened to go on runs in the early part of rounds three and four in The Open at Royal Liverpool but the putter went cold. He finished the week ranked 54th in strokes gained putting but was only six back of Brian Harman… If he had more joy on the greens he could be a two-time Major winner this year.
