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The 2023 season is already in the books and fans are looking forward to 2024. But the echoes of what happened in the year just about to end, which brought a little bit of everything to the world of golf, have not yet faded.
The last 12 months were prolific in shocking events that occurred off the courses. For example, the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, Jon Rahm's departure to LIV Golf, and the announcement of the ball rollback rule.
But golf really lives inside the courses, and there were some brilliant events that marked an undoubtedly memorable year. The 2023 season proved that if this sport is going through stormy times, it is not for lack of heroes and feats.
Let's take a look at some of the highlights of the season.
Top 6 great moments of 2023 golf season
The 2023 season brought us some great victories, luxury comebacks, and amazing debuts. Some of those events qualified for the following selection:
1- Jon Rahm winning The Masters
The Masters Tournament is the most coveted title in world golf, so it occupies a central place in every season. Jon Rahm took top honors in the 2023 edition, showing great dominance, winning by four strokes over Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.
The Masters was the icing on the cake for Jon Rahm in a season in which he had three more victories on the PGA Tour and also won the Ryder Cup. The Spaniard only gave minimal ground in the FedEx Cup playoffs. His performance during the rest of 2023 was of the highest quality.
2- Rose Zhang winning her very first professional start
It seemed that Rose Zhang's enormous quality was no longer news in the golf world, after breaking every record imaginable in (just) two years in collegiate golf.
It was then that the still-Stanford University student decided to take the next step and start her professional career during the 2023 season. As if it were nothing more than a change of attire, Zhang went and won her very first professional start, the Mizuho Americas Open.
It had been "only" 72 years since this had happened on the LPGA Tour (Beverly Hanson, 1951 season). What's even more surprising is that Zhang does not seem to have lost focus for a second. So much so that she will reportedly take some time off in 2024 to further her studies.
3- Viktor Hovland back to back victories
Viktor Hovland came into the FedEx Cup playoffs ranked 7th, so a good finish to a solid season was expected of him. Even after the first event (FedEx St. Jude Championship), the Norwegian maintained his ranking and it seemed that everything would be defined between Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, and Rory McIlroy.
However, Hovland saved his best game for last and won not one, but the two remaining events (BMW Championship and TOUR Championship) to take home the season's FedEx Cup title and the juiciest paycheck of the season.
The Norwegian thus closed a brilliant 2023 season with a flourish, in which he had 18 Top 25, reached the Top 20 in the four Majors and achieved three victories.
4- Rickie Fowler conceding the winning putt to Tommy Fleetwood at the Ryder Cup
It was the third round of the Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club and Rickie Fowler was facing Tommy Fleetwood in the individual match. They reached the 16th hole, with the European winning by 1-up.
It is a 352-yard hole with a water hazard to the right of the green and several bunkers surrounding the access from the fairway to the green, i.e., a short but difficult par 4.
Fowler found the water but made it to the green with a chance for par, while Fleetwood had a three-foot putt for birdie. Surprisingly, the American decided to go for sportsmanship and conceded the Englishman the putt and the victory on the hole.
Fowler's decision generated a lot of criticism in America, although it is not the first time it has happened in the Ryder Cup. The truth is that this concession gave Team Europe the point it needed to secure the tie and retention of the trophy. Eventually, Europe would win by four points.
5- Bryson DeChambeu's round of 58
Bryson DeChambeau's third round at the LIV Golf Greenbrier was probably the best in all of professional golf in the 2023 season. However, its merit goes far beyond the score (12-under 58), which in itself is historic.
DeChambeau achieved this feat despite having bogeyed the 8th. This means that he birdied no less than 13 holes, with two consecutive streaks of four in a row. It's also worth noting that the day before he had played his round with 61 strokes.
6- Michael Block's ace
Michael Block's story is well known and his name will hardly go unnoticed, even though he might never again obtain results similar to what he achieved in the 2023 PGA Championship.
Everything went Block's way at Oak Hill Country Club, from finishing in the Top 15 to playing his fourth round with Rory McIlroy. To cap off a dream weekend, Block managed to ace that Sunday.
It was on the 15th hole (151 yards, par 3) against none other than Rory McIlroy himself. It was the 29th hole-in-one at the PGA Championship since 1983, but this one is unlikely to be forgotten for a long time.
