Ones to
Watch
Ten young golfers who are poised to shine in 2025.
By Robin Barwick
The breeding grounds for elite golfers continue to expand, with countries from all corners of the globe contributing top young talent to the professional tours. Hailing from Japan, Denmark, Spain, and beyond, these 10 up-and-comers are poised to join the ranks of the game’s contenders in 2025.
Saki Baba
It is hard to believe what Baba has already achieved by the age of 19. After securing the U.S. Women’s Amateur title in 2022, the Tokyo-born golfer turned pro in 2023. Following a strong season on the Epson Tour in 2024 (16 cuts made from 18 starts), she has now qualified for the LPGA Tour.
Luke Clanton
Takumi Kanaya
Japan’s Kanaya, 26, secured his first PGA Tour card via Q-School in December. Once the world’s top-ranked amateur, he has won seven times on the Japan Golf Tour and led its 2024 money list.
Matthew Riedel
Riedel graduated from Vanderbilt in 2024, where he was runner-up in the SEC individual championship. The 24-year-old from Houston turned pro in June and was hit-and-miss on the Korn Ferry Tour for four months. But he relocated his A game when it mattered most, at PGA Tour Q-School, where he finished fourth to secure his tour card.
Julia Lopez Ramirez
Lopez Ramirez, from Spain, is turning 22 in February, just two months after turning pro. The 2023 European Amateur champion starred at Mississippi State, where she was Southeastern Conference (SEC) individual champ in 2023 and 2024. She is now an LPGA rookie.
Amari Avery
Watch out for Avery on the Epson Tour in 2025. The 20-year-old was California Women’s Amateur champ in 2019 and represented the United States on a winning Curtis Cup team in 2022. She turned pro last summer, having graduated from USC, and so this year is her first full season on tour.
Neal Shipley
Only the phenom Nick Dunlap came between Shipley and the 2023 U.S. Amateur title at Cherry Hills. No matter, Pittsburgh’s Shipley secured low-amateur honors at both the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2024. Aged 23 and now professional, he should be seen on the PGA Tour sooner rather than later.
Lottie Woad
Blades Brown
Nashville’s Brown, who will celebrate his 18th birthday in May, turned pro late last year, after skipping college altogether. How special is Brown? In 2023, he broke Bobby Jones’s 103-year-old record to become the youngest golfer to earn stroke-play-medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur. That’s right—not even Tiger did that.
