What I really like about golf is not only playing the game for myself but also to cheer for one or the other professional player. I try to see some pro tournaments on TV which is not easy with a full business and family life, but I do have some favorite players that I follow, double-tap on Instagram and support in other ways.

Compared to other sports like football I seriously appreciate the fact that rooting for one player not at all means that I hate everybody else in the field—a behavior which unfortunately is so predominant in football.

Anyway, I like playing golf and I like support a handful of golf players. It’s a gentleman’s sport throughout and spectators should be included in the equation. I’m aware that the Ryder Cup or the Solheim Cup might be sort of an exception, where two continents, two teams clash together and the situation is artificially hyped to an extreme. It’s different from the rest, one could say.

Coming back to the normal tour schedule, players earn points according to their stats in the weekly events. The better they play, the more they earn, the more points they receive. Easy as that.

Translated in a ranking of points earned globally on any given tour, this adds up to the current standing on the official world golf ranking high-score list. Please find below the 2019 season ending top 10, enriched with my personal view on the person in question:

🇺🇸 Brooks Koepka
Brooks is a role model in my opinion. He’s young, he’s a pure athlete, looks like one too and is a very good ball striker indeed. He has the right attitude, the correct behavior and is doing so much for the good of the game. He says he not practicing hard and that might be questionable, but he’s just not taking the game too seriously. The game he’s already really good at, as numero uno in the world.

🇬🇧 Rory McIlroy
The little Rory. I don’t know why but I always underestimate this young lad from Northern Ireland. For me he’s still one of the young guns still, smashes the ball the long way and is on his super exciting quest to reach the Career Grand Slam soon. He’s a good guy and I really like watching him.

🇺🇸 Dustin Johnson
My opinion of DJ is two-fold really. Similar to Brooks he’s young, athletic and powerful, three characteristics I really appreciate in a modern player. He has some flaws (the ones for which he had some time off already, wink wink) and he seems a bit too cool for my liking, but overall a very deserving champ and definitely a player who will earn more major titles in the not so far future.

🇬🇧 Justin Rose
Best last name ever. And he’s one of these guys trying to look extraordinarily young, but the behavior, the ability to talk and elaborate and sometimes the way he’s dressed, tells quite another story. He’s a good guy, honest, fair and likable. And I do appreciate when he’s in contention or lifting the trophy in the end.

🇺🇸 Justin Thomas
Really like JT I have to say. Young and athletic as well, good ball striker and a very good person off the course too – as far as I can tell. Open-minded and well worth being in the winning circle over and over again.

🇪🇸 Jon Rahm
First Continental European in the list but somebody I don’t support much to be honest. I don’t like his behavior on and off the course, his cursing, his outbursts, etc. You could argue he’s a fiery Southern European, but that would just be an excuse for his mis-behavior in my eyes. He’s a good ball striker though and he will win more and more tournaments, no question.

🇺🇸 Patrick Cantley
The new kid. Can’t really say much I have to admit. Time will tell if he’s good enough to stay up in the rankings.

🇺🇸 Tiger Woods
Tiger used to be my big idol when I learned the game years ago when he was in his prime. After one or the other “incident” I totally lost interest in being curious what’s happening to him. Even after the 2019 Masters win, this didn’t change. I think he’s done and I don’t like the fuzz that everybody is making around him. Totally overrated. Unfortunately, I have to add. He was indeed on the track to become the best golfer in the world, including the most respected. That is no more. Again, unfortunately.

🇺🇸 Xander Schauffele
Alex is one of the new breed as well. He’s 26 years old, made his way up the leaderboards slowly but surely and currently is in a position that nobody is questioning why he’d come that far. He’ll definitely win more titles going forward and what I like about him is the positive attitude. He’s just smiling a lot.

🇺🇸 Bryson DeChambeau
Can’t stand the guy. I don’t want to go in to much details but I absolutely dislike his approach to the game and his attitude to other players. Not even starting with the current slow play discussion.

So that for the top 10. There are obviously many more very good players close to the top who deserve to be mentioned here as well, because I like them and follow what they are doing. So who should belong there, too?

I’d consider Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson for example still being players who should play a major role in the top ranks of golf. Not only because I like them personally, but also because they are excellent players in general and do deserve not to be forgotten over all the new breed everybody is talking about—besides Tiger.

Who do you like particularly, and why?