2016 PGA TOUR Rookie Class Preview

The PGA TOUR had a strong rookie class last year led by the likes of Tony Finau, Justin Thomas, Nick Taylor, and eventual Rookie of the Year award winner Daniel Berger.

All five golfers made a major impact on the PGA TOUR right away.  Taylor won the Sanderson Farms Championship, Thomas was consistent throughout the year, Finau finished in the top-14 twice in majors, and Berger made it all the way to the Tour Championship.

For as great as last year’s class was, the 2015-16 PGA TOUR rookie class looks just as good and has the potential to make the same kind of impact on the PGA TOUR.

Joe Affrunti

We kick things off with someone who we may not see much of this year.  Joe Affrunti, the 34-year old veteran, has been plagued with injuries throughout his career.

Affrunti turned professional in 2004, but has only played in 21 PGA TOUR events in his career.

In 2011, Affrunti earned his PGA TOUR card, but only played in six events due to injury.

During that time, Affrunti played on Sunday once and that was at the Puerto Rico Open where he finished T-50.

For Affrunti, 2012 and 2014 were lost years as he didn’t play in any PGA TOUR events.

Last year, Affrunti played in four events missing the cut at the Zurich Classic and Wyndham Championship.

On the bright side, Affrunti did finish T-46 at the Byron Nelson Championship and T-37 at the Barracuda Championship.

All in all, Affrunti will be up against it as he only has four starts left to earn $568,234.  As we said at the start, we probably won’t see much of Affrunti this season.

Thomas Aiken

Thomas Aiken is a rookie only in technical terms.  Aiken has been a professional on the European Tour since 2008 earning three wins in the process.

The 32-year old won the Open de Espana in 2011, Avantha Masters in 2013, and the Africa Open in 2014.

Aiken has made some cameo appearances on the PGA TOUR throughout the years.

Last year, he played in four PGA TOUR events, two majors, a WGC event, and one event just sanctioned by the PGA TOUR in the Memorial Tournament.

Aiken had a solid showing finishing T-23 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, T-26 at The Memorial, T-25 at the U.S. Open, and 80th at The Open Championship.

In 2014, Aiken played in three PGA TOUR events missing the cut at both the Zurich Classic and the Memorial, but he did make the cut at the RBC Canadian Open finishing 72nd.

Aiken is an experienced veteran and it’ll be interesting to see how well he does playing full-time on the PGA TOUR. Personally, I would expect him to be pretty solid week in and week out.

Abraham Ancer

Abraham Ancer had a very uneven year on the Web.com Tour. Ancer played in all 25 events, but he only made the cut in eleven of those tournaments.

Luckily, for Ancer, he finished T-2 at the Brasil Champions in March and won in a playoff over Bronson Burgoon at the Nova Scotia Open to give him plenty of wiggle room for the rest of the year.

Ancer needed it as he missed the cut in his last six starts, including all four Finals events.

Looking ahead, it’ll probably be a struggle for Ancer.  When he starts playing on some of these longer courses on the PGA TOUR, it’ll be tough.

Ancer only averaged 292 yards off the tee, which was good for 93rd on the Web.com Tour.  Ancer will have to make his money at some of the shorter tracks.

Ancer was a solid enough ball-striker finishing 20th on the Web.com Tour in driving accuracy and 66th in greens in regulation.

Bronson Burgoon

We just mentioned Bronson Burgoon as he lost to Ancer in a playoff at the Nova Scotia Open.

Like Ancer, Burgoon also played in all 25 events that the Web.com Tour had to offer.

While Burgoon didn’t win, he was consistent making the cut in 18 of the tournaments, finishing inside the top 25 in nine of the events, and finishing runner-up twice.

Statistically, I like Burgoon.  He is a long shot, dark horse to keep an eye on this year.

Burgoon averaged 306 yards off the tee and he was great with his irons and wedges hitting the green in regulation 73% of the time which was good for 6th on the Web.com Tour.

There are others I like for Rookie of the Year that we will get to, but Burgoon is worth monitoring.  He may profile out to be someone like a Hudson Swafford where he is statistically pretty solid and will pop up on the leaderboard every once in awhile.

Patrick Cantlay

At one time this UCLA Bruin was a very highly touted prospect, but injuries have plagued the former collegiate star.

In 2011, Cantlay showed what he was made of making the cut in all five of his starts on the PGA TOUR. Not only did he make the cut, but Cantlay also finished inside the top 24 in four of those starts which include a T-9 finish at the RBC Canadian Open and T-21 at the U.S. Open.

In 2012, Cantlay played in ten tournaments, making the cut in eight of those tournaments, including The Masters and U.S. Open. He ended up finishing T-47 at The Masters and T-41 at the U.S. Open.

As you can see, Cantlay can play. He has shown it in the past and who knows, in another parallel universe Cantlay has been able to stay healthy and maybe in a position where Jordan Spieth is at right now.  He has the kind of upside.

As it is, Cantlay is still only 23-years old and has time to fulfill that potential.

Cantlay is currently on a major medical extension and has ten starts to earn $624,746 to keep his PGA TOUR card.

If Cantlay is healthy, he is good and talented enough to do just that.

Rhein Gibson

When you google search Rehin Gibson the first thing that pops up is “Rhein Gibson 55.”  That’s because Gibson shot a 55 during a mini-tour event which is the lowest all-time round, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

So, no matter what happens, Gibson will always have that accomplishment to hang his hat on.

As for his chances on the PGA TOUR, more than likely, it’ll be a bit of a struggle for the 29-year Australian.

Gibson didn’t have the best of seasons as he missed the cut more times than he made it.  However, Gibson got hot late and was able to secure his PGA TOUR card during the Finals. Gibson finished T-21, T-9, and 4th to earn his card.

Statistically, Gibson didn’t have a whole lot going for him as he ranked 133rd in driving accuracy and 98th in greens in regulation. The one stat that does pop out at you is putting average in which he ranked 13th on the Web.com Tour.

However, that is a pretty unreliable statistic. If you are hacking away from tee-to-green and have a 2 foot putt for bogey and you make it, hey, your putting average is 1.00.

If you do that enough times your putting average is going to look pretty good at the end of the round. But, based on Gibson’s fairway and green statistics, I’m tempted to believe he had a number of short par and bogey putts throughout the year and that’s why his putting average is good.

The Web.com Tour doesn’t track Strokes Gained: Putting which is a far more accurate gauge of putting. So as Gibson plays on the PGA TOUR we’ll see just exactly what Gibson is made of in that department.

Emiliano Grillo

The Argentine might be my favorite player of this group in terms of pure skills and potential. We got a glimpse of Grillo last season on the PGA TOUR and he impressed.

Grillo made the cut in four of five starts, finishing T-2 at the Puerto Rico Open, T-10 at the Barbasol Championship, T-22 at the RBC Canadian Open, and T-61 at the PGA Championship.

On the European Tour, Grillo played in 14 events and he made the cut in 13 of those tournaments. Grillo notched eight top 30 finishes, four top eleven finishes, and he finished T-5 at the Qater Masters, T-3 at the China Open, and 6th place at the Open de Espana.

Grillo has a lot of game and it will be fun to watch him on a regular basis on the PGA TOUR. The sky is the limit for Grillo. I would say if I had to make a preseason pick to win the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year.

Hiroshi Iwata

The longtime veteran on the Japan Golf Tour, Hiroshi Iwata played in four events on the PGA TOUR including both the WGC-HSBC Champions and the PGA Championship.

Iwata finished T-3 at the WGC-HSBC Champions to give him enough points for a non-member of the FedEx Cup to qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals. For good measure, Iwata also finished T-18 at the PGA Championship, as well.

During the Web.com Tour Finals, Iwata finished T-4 at the Hotel Fitness Championship, T-44 at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, and T-18 at the Web.com Tour Championship. That was good enough for Iwata to earn his PGA TOUR card.

Keep an eye on Iwata, he is going to be interesting to watch. From what I’ve seen, Iwata is a rock solid all-around golfer. He strikes the ball well, solid with his irons, and he is a quality putter.

Iwata won twice on the Japan Golf Tour and now that he’s got his chance to play on the PGA TOUR full-time he could be a solid golfer week in and week out.

Something like a Brendan Steele, Fredrik Jacobson type golfer that is steady all-around and is typically reliable week in and week out.

Smylie Kaufman

I see Smylie Kaufman as a combination of Tony Finau and Daniel Berger of this rookie class.

I’m not saying he’ll be as successful as those two, especially Finau, but in terms of golfing style, statistically, he’s like Finau.

Kaufman can bomb it a long way and post some low scores. Kaufman was 6th in driving distance, 3rd in birdie average, and 12th in eagle average on the Web.com Tour.

In terms of results, if his Web.com season is any indicator, he may be the Daniel Berger of this class. Kaufman only made the cut in half of his tournaments, but when he did make the cut, he made the most of it.

Kaufman finished inside the top 25 in seven of those tournaments, five times he finished in the top ten, he finished second once, and he won a tournament.

Kaufman was a hybrid of Finau and Berger on the Web.com Tour, but we’ll see if he can carry that onto the PGA TOUR.

We’ll see if when he makes the cut does he compete for the win? And, will his distance carry over on the PGA TOUR? Keep an eye out on that.

Michael Kim

Michael Kim is going to be one to watch for this season.  I would expect Kim to be in the hunt and in contention for the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year.

The 22-year old is just a couple of years off of being the best college golfer in the nation. Kim won the Jack Nicklaus and Haskins awards in 2013 with the Cal Golden Bears.

On the Web.com Tour, Kim made the cut in 19-of-24 tournaments finishing inside the top 25 in eight of those tournaments, inside the top ten in five of the events, and he finished 3rd twice.

Kim is an excellent ball-striker. I remember watching the 2013 U.S. Open and Kim was just spot on. Kim ended up finishing T-17 that year and he ended up playing The Greenbrier Classic a month later and he finished T-38.

On the Web.com Tour this past season, the statistics back that up, as well.  Kim was 31st in driving accuracy hitting 67% of fairways, 5th in greens in regulation, 11th in putting average, and 4th in birdie average. I’m really excited to see Kim week in and week out on the PGA TOUR.

As I talked about with the Grillo slide, if I had to make a preseason Rookie of the Year pick, I would choose Grillo. However, Kim is right there. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Kim ended up with the Rookie of the Year award.

Patton Kizzire

The big 6’5, 29-year old from Auburn was a good collegiate player a little less than a decade ago. Kizzire was first team all-SEC in 2006-07 as he won the 2007 SEC Championship.

Since then, Kizzire has struggled as a professional. From 2008 to 2013, Kizzire played in a total of seven tournaments on the PGA and Web.com Tours, but never once made the cut.

In 2014, Kizzire finished T-29 at the Rex Hospital Open and then finished T-21 at the Web.com Tour Q-School to gain entry into the Web.com Tour.

Kizzire made the most of it as he made the cut in 18 of 23 events, he finished in the top ten in 12 of those events finishing third once, second twice, and won twice.

Kizzire had the best season on the Web.com Tour and he capped it off with a T-5 finish at the Web.com Tour Championship.

It’s good to see someone who has paid their dues for years finally do enough to earn their way to the top of the mountain.

Andrew Landry

Andrew Landry got out of the gates hot making the cut in six of seven tournaments, finishing inside the top 23 in four of those tournaments, including pulling off a win at the Karibana Championship.

After that, Landry sputtered out missing the cut in eight of sixteen tournaments, and only finishing inside the top 30 once in that time span.

Statistically, Landry doesn’t do anything all that well, but he doesn’t do anything poor either. He is decent off the tee, and he hits his fair share of greens and fairways. He hit 65% of fairways and 68% of greens.

It’s an extremely small sample size, but those are the kind of numbers he put up in his one and only start on the PGA TOUR last year at the Shell Houston Open.

Landry hit 67% of fairways and 66% of greens during his two days at the SHO.  We’ll get more of a sample size this season, but overall, Landry’s upside is probably limited.

Lucas Lee

Lucas Lee didn’t have the best of finishes as he withdrew from the final three events of the Web.com Tour.

Aside from that, Lee was solid overall. Lee played in 17 tournaments and only missed the cut twice while earning five top 25s, three top tens and two runner-up finishes.

Lee had a quality season, but I do wonder if he’s mentally strong enough.  Withdrawing that many times during a season is a major red flag.  Lee is already handicapped as far as talent goes. Lee isn’t long off the tee, at all.

Lee only averaged 289 yards off the tee which was good for 108th on the Web.com Tour. Lee did hit a good amount of fairways ranking 22nd on the Tour, but his iron play was a bit spotty. Lee was 83rd in greens in regulation.

For what it’s worth, Lee was second on the Tour in putt average and 5th in birdie average. I wouldn’t expect Lee to do all that well on long courses, so he’ll have to make his money on the shorter tracks.

We’ll see if he can do that consistently throughout the year and if the going gets tough how will he react. That is something to watch for as the season progresses.

Rob Oppenheim

No not Rob Oppenheimer, but Rob Oppenheim. And even though the name isn’t exact and Oppenheim only averages 289 yards off the tee, you can’t help but call him “Rob the Bomb.” It just fits about as well as you can get.

I really hope Oppenheim plays well not only can Rob the Bomb catch on (Oppenheim with a 35 foot putt for birdie…yes sir! Rob the bomb!) or RTB (crowd starts chanting R-T-B! R-T-B! after every birdie putt), but because he’s a great story as he gained his PGA TOUR card for the first time at age 35.

Oppenheim had been playing on the Web.com Tour for so long, since 2010, Oppenheim had been good enough to play on the Web.com Tour, but not quite able to make it on the PGA TOUR.

It didn’t look like he’d ever get on the PGA TOUR, but he finally was able to squeeze in as he made the cut by a $101 dollars. That’s how close it got for Oppenheim to make it on the PGA TOUR or spend another year on the Web.com Tour. That close.

It was a stretch from March to June that made the difference.  Oppenheim was able to grind out cut after cut after cut and continue to make money.

Oppenheim made eleven straight cuts, finished inside the top 40 seven times and it was all capped off with a win at the Air Capital Classic.

If Oppenheim misses a cut, if he doesn’t win, he doesn’t make it on the PGA TOUR. It’s truly amazing when you think about it and talk about paying your dues.

Oppenheim had been grinding out for years and it’s fantastic that he’ll finally be able to join the PGA TOUR. It takes a lot of hard work, but he’s finally able to reap some of the benefits.  Hats off to Rob the Bomb.

Brett Stegmaier

Brett Stegmaier came from the golf factor that is the Florida Gators.  Stegmaier was a two-time Individual Conference Champion.

Stegmaier joined the likes of Camilo Benedetti, Brian Gay, Phil Hancock, Gary Koch, and Tommy Aaron as the only golfers to do that in Gator history.

Stegmaier clearly had a lot of talent coming out of college. Stegmaier turned professional in 2006, but he would be plagued with wrist injuries and consequently retired in 2009.

Stegmaier became an assistant professional, but got the itch to get back on the professional scene and give it one more go.

In 2013, he came close to earning his PGA TOUR card, but he stumbled down the stretch of the Finals as he missed the cut in the final three tournaments.

Stegmaier did better in 2014 finishing 35th, but missed the cut in the final three Finals events again to just miss out on his PGA TOUR card.

Things would eventually turn out different in 2015 as he didn’t have a great season, but he played strong down the stretch when he had to.

Stegmaier finished 7-8-5-WD-T18 in his final five events.

Harold Varner III

We’ve had a few feel good stories already and there is one more to talk about. Harold Varner III is a young, talented, 25-year old that has the potential to make a huge difference on the PGA TOUR.

Varner earned his PGA TOUR card on the Web.com Tour by the slimmest of margins.

Varner was in the 25th and final spots to earn a PGA TOUR card and he did with $943 dollars to spare. And with that he became the first African-American to earn his PGA TOUR card through the Web.com Tour series.

It was an incredible and historic accomplishment by Varner and no doubt that will have a significant impact in the future.

Varner is very talented and he has a lot of upside to grow as a golfer.  Varner may only be 5’9 and a 160 pounds, but he can get it out there.  Varner averaged 313 yards off the tee which was good for 8th onthe Web.com Tour.

Varner’s accuracy concerning as he only hit 57% of fairways, but that’s something he can improve on. You can teach and become a better ball-striker, but you can’t teach power.

On the other plus side, Varner still hit greens on a regular basis.  Varner hit 71% of greens in regulation which was good for 20th on the Tour.

Varner is going to be one of the most talked about rookies on the PGA TOUR and it’ll be interesting to see how he performs and develops throughout the years.

Oh yeah, it’s also worth mentioning that Varner became the first player in East Carolina golf history to be named Conference USA player of the year. Just another accomplishment you can add on Varner’s resume.

Dawie van der Walt

The big South African has been playing all around the world. Dawie van der Walt has played on the European Tour regularly since 2013 and on the Web.com Tour since 2011.

Overall, it has been a struggle for Van der Walt as he hasn’t found success on a regular, consistent basis. Van der Walt’s best finish on the European Tour was a T-15 and he only made the cut six times out of eleven tries.

However, he did make strides in 2015 on the Web.com Tour. Van der Walt found the winners’ circle twice and he made the cut 15-of-19 times.

Van der Walt was superb with his iron and wedge play as he was 3rd on the Web.com Tour. We’ll see if he can carry that momentum into the PGA TOUR this 2015-16 season.

Cover Photo by @EmilianoGrillo via Twitter