ALL CYLINDERS FIRING IN 2025

The new year promises to be an exhilarating one for the PGA TOUR.

- JIM MCCABE

While it would be misleading to call the second half of the 2024 season a head-to-head race between thoroughbreds named Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele - after all, elite names such as Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley posted memorable victories in that stretch - it sure had the feel of an elongated duel in the sun.

From the PGA Championship in May to the TOUR Championship in August - and for good measure we'll add a glorious Olympics competition - these two giants were in the same field nine times. Schauffele won two of them, both majors (PGA and Open Championship), while Scheffler won four times, including the Olympic gold.

Of course, it was Scheffler's scorching start to the season (four wins in 10 tournaments) that separated him from Schauffele in Player of the Year honors. No debate there.

But as we shine the crystal ball for 2025, here's a thought: the gut says it will be Schauffele who'll turn the tables and have the monster season, perhaps five or six wins. There was just an uncanny finish to his 2024 season - first, T9, T2, T5, T4 over his last five tournaments - and here's a guess that the 31-year-old will pick right up where he left off.

All of which isn't to say that the good stuff in 2025 will begin and end with Schauffele, because that's far from the truth. There's such an incredibly deep pool of talent, much of young, that the PGA TOUR has brilliant storylines at every turn.

So, what are we in store for in 2025? Let's throw out a few names in no particular order, but all of which should resonate: Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns, Ludvig Aberg, Max Homa, and Tony Finau.