Young golfers know the way forward

An old photo began making the rounds on television and social media as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were trying to send each other home from the WGC Dell Match Play last month.

It showed the two Match Play combatants in matching red shirts and khaki shorts, sitting on a grassy perch somewhere. Spieth appears to be talking. Thomas has half a sandwich dangling from his mouth. They can’t be much more than 14.

OK, not exactly Arnie and Jack in sepia tones, circa early 1960s. Heck, kids these days may never have encountered the word “sepia” before. Or “circa.” Or even “vintage.”

No matter. The newest wave of talent on the PGA Tour may not be able to rent a car without an age surcharge, but they can drive the fairways with authority.

“The strength and depth out there of these young players,” Golf Channel analyst David Feherty said earlier this year, “it’s the best it’s ever been. It’s in a phenomenal place, golf.”

Spieth was Exhibit A last year at Harbour Town, shaking off some early post-Masters victory fatigue to finish a shot outside the top 10. Also part of that cluster was Thomas, who didn’t shoot worse than 70 all week.

Another shot back was Australia’s Cameron Smith, still two months away from a surprising tie for fourth at the U.S. Open. Like Spieth and Thomas, he was merely 21.

And the movement seems to have only picked up steam in the ensuing 52 weeks. Spieth’s season went down as one of the all-time greats with two major titles, the FedExCup and more than $12 million in earnings.

Daniel Berger was voted Rookie of the Year, finishing 11th in the FedExCup standings and just missing his first victory with a playoff loss at the Honda Classic.

Emiliano Grillo graduated from the Web.com Tour and promptly won in the big leagues two weeks later, taking the season-opening Frys.com Open. Thomas scored his first two weeks later in Malaysia.

“We’ve played so many times against each other,” Thomas said. “Yeah, seeing them win was a little bit motivating.”

They’re all members of what’s become known as the Class of 2011. That’s high school Class of 2011, as none stayed in college long enough to earn a degree.

Spieth, at an age when most collegians are finishing up a bachelor’s degree, put the finishing touches on a Masters with distinction. Thomas stayed at Alabama for two years, as did Berger at Florida State. Grillo was courted by several programs, including Spieth’s Texas Longhorns, but turned pro at 18 instead.

And there’s more. Matthew Fitzpatrick returns to Harbour Town this week as a 21-year-old pro, having won the British Masters last fall. Bryson DeChambeau, 22, makes his pro debut after a year in which he became just the fifth man to win both the U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual titles.

There’s also Australian teen Ryan Ruffels, a mere 17, who like Grillo opted to bypass the American college system entirely to play for paychecks.

It’s enough to make world No. 1 Jason Day feel ancient.

“When I talk to these kids, I do feel old,” said Day, a ripe old 28. “Because I’m talking about taxes and all this other stuff that is very, very boring. And these guys are talking about music, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I remember those days.’ ”

Spieth and Thomas are the closest, hitting it off when both were selected to represent the United States at the 2007 Evian Junior Masters in France. Thomas stays at Spieth’s Dallas home during the AT&T Byron Nelson, and they keep a lively banter going.

Last month, some lively Twitter trash talk sparked buzz around Trump National Doral that the loser of their practice round was going to have to cut off his hair. It didn’t happen, but it made for a slow day’s entertainment.

This did happen: At Torrey Pines last year, Thomas impishly parked in Spieth’s reserved spot before the Wednesday pro-am. Spieth had the car towed to a spot three lots away, then went out to play his pro-am round.

The youth movement still has some room to grow, too. Patrick Rodgers, who broke Tiger Woods’ victory record at Stanford, joined the tour last year. Still to come: Former NCAA champion Ollie Schneiderjans and University of Georgia senior Lee McCoy.

A month ago, McCoy finished fourth as an amateur at the Valspar Championship outside Tampa, where he outplayed Spieth on the final day. At the table where they signed their scorecards was a sheet breaking down the week’s purse.

“(Spieth) told me not to look. I looked,” McCoy said. “I shouldn’t have looked. A lot of money. I think I’ve got like 350 bucks in my bank account right now, mostly gas money.”

And don’t forget the international wing, where Thomas Pieters (Belgium) and Paul Dunne (Ireland) have come out strongly after returning from U.S. colleges.

“Seeing your friends have success,” Rodgers said, “it’s incredibly motivating. I’ve said it a million times: I feel like I can compete with these guys. It’s just a little bit bigger stage than it was in junior golf and college golf.”

Here are the top young players who will compete in the RBC Heritage:

JUSTIN THOMAS

Age: 22

Born: Goshen, Ky.

College: Alabama

Left after: Two years

World ranking: 34

Career highlight: Notched his first PGA Tour victory last October at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Backspin: Made his first PGA Tour cut at age 16, when he played the weekend at the 2009 Wyndham Championship. Two years later, made an immediate splash at Alabama when he won his first collegiate event on the way to capturing the Haskins and Nicklaus awards as a freshman. Even with just two seasons, Thomas is Alabama's all-time leader with six tournament wins.

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK

Age: 21

Born: Sheffield, England

College: Northwestern

Left after: One semester

World ranking: 43

Career highlight: Took low amateur honors at both the 2013 Open Championship and 2014 U.S. Open.

Backspin: After early visions of following the path taken by fellow Northwestern alum Luke Donald, the 2013 U.S. Amateur champ thought better of it and went home to turn professional. A little over a year later, he won the British Masters last fall as the youngest player in the field. He also finished runner-up at the European Masters.

SI WOO KIM

Age: 20

Born: Seoul, South Korea

College: Yonsei University

World ranking: 154

Career highlight: At 17 years, 5 months, was the youngest ever to earn a PGA Tour card via the old Q-school.

Backspin: In his first full PGA Tour opportunity — tour bylaws required him to sit out much of 2013 waiting to meet the 18-year age minimum — Kim already has six top-20 finishes this season. Part of that may come from having an experienced caddie on the bag: Mike “Fluff” Cowan, who picked up the gig while main boss Jim Furyk lets his surgically repaired wrist heal.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU

Age: 22

Born: Modesto, Calif.

College: SMU

Left after: Three years

World ranking: 464

Career highlight: Just the fifth man to win U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual titles in the same year.

Backspin: Got an early start on a post-college “internship” when he left SMU in October after NCAA sanctions stripped the Mustangs of a postseason bid — and the chance for DeChambeau to defend his title. Tied for second at the Australian Masters In December and held the first-round lead at Abu Dhabi with a 64, eventually losing ground to finish 54th.

RYAN RUFFELS

Age: 17

Born: Victoria, Australia

College: None

World ranking: 772

Career highlight: A first-round 66 at last year’s RBC Canadian Open, though he wound up placing 87th.

Backspin: The son of Australian tennis pros once based in Florida, Ruffels is a former world junior champion but better known for being a thorn to Phil Mickelson. First came word of a recruiting phone call in which “interim assistant coach” Mickelson made a pitch to Ruffels on behalf of Arizona State. Later, the teen revealed he’d taken $5,000 off Mickelson in a friendly wager with six birdies in his last seven holes.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Young golfers know the way forward."