Plenty of people take up golf at a later age and enjoy it, but there are also those who show an incredible amount of promise at a young age. These are the greatest prodigies in sports and the stories of what happened in their careers.
Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones is one of the greatest players in the sport’s history and one of its earliest prodigies. Jones, who never gave up his amateur status, won the Georgia Amateur as a 14-year-old. He would go on to help found the Masters and won 13 majors during his career.
Ty Tryon
Ty Tryon, nicknamed for Chevy Chase’s character in Caddyshack, was seemingly destined for great things after becoming the 3rd youngest player (16 years old), to make the cut at a major event, finishing T80 at the 2010 U.S. Open. He banged around on professional tours, winning only once, on the NGA Hooters Tour.
Tadd Fujikawa
Coming in at only 5 foot 1 and 150 pounds, Tadd Fujikawa was an excellent amateur from Honolulu, Hawaii, qualifying for the U.S. Open at 15, the youngest player to ever qualify. While he would win six events as a professional, none came on the PGA Tour.
Jordan Spieth
A significant name on the tour today, Jordan Spieth was making waves as an amateur, qualifying for the Byron Nelson Championship at 16. Spieth has had considerable success as a pro with three major wins and world number one ranking in 2015.
Lexi Thompson
Hailing from Coral Springs, Florida, Lexi Thompson turned pro at 15 after failing to find competition on the amateur scene. She has had a nice career as a pro so far, with 15 wins and a major title at the Chevron Championship in 2014.
Jim Liu
Hailing from Smithtown, New York, Jim Liu became the youngest U.S. Junior Amateur champion ever at 14, winning the event over future superstar Justin Thomas. While he would play college golf at Stanford, Liu never showed interest in playing full time on the PGA Tour.
Phil Mickelson
Now that he has been on the PGA Tour since 1992, Mickelson won a World Junior Title and was the Haskins Award three years in a row at Arizona State. The success has continued for Lefty as he has six majors and is tied for the eighth most wins on the PGA Tour in history.
Ryo Ishikawa
Early in his career, soon after he became the youngest player to win an event on the Japan Tour at 15, it was thought that Ryo Ishikawa could become the Japanese male to win a major. While Ishikawa has had a fine career, winning 20 times on the Japan Tour, Hideki Matsuyama achieved that feat.
Justin Rose
Born in South Africa and raised in England, Justin Rose had one of the best teenage performances in golf history, finishing T4 at the 1998 Open Championship at 17. He would have a terrific pro career as well, winning the 2013 U.S. Open and becoming number one in the world in 2018.
Allan Kournikova
Allan Kournikova was notable both for his prodigious play as a youth and the fact that he is the half-brother of former tennis star Anna Kournikova. He won the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship four times, but has yet to break through on a professional tour.
Young Tom Morris
Players did things at much younger ages in the early days of golf, but Young Tom Morris won his first Open Championship at only 17 years old and added three more by the time he was 21. Sadly, Morris would die of a pulmonary hemorrhage at 24.
Inbee Park
Still active on the LPGA Tour, Inbee Park was so dominant that she asked to join the tour when she was 17. She was made to wait one more year and had won her first major, the U.S. Women’s Open at 19. She has won 7 majors and is already in the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Rathchanon Chantananuwat
A player from Thailand, Ratchanon Chantananuwat made his story by becoming the youngest player to win an Official World Golf Ranking event at 15 years old. He is still only 18 and currently enrolled at Stanford and has a bright future ahead of him.
Lucy Li
A true prodigy, Lucy Li astoundingly qualified for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 11. She officially turned professional in 2019 and has played on both the Epson Tour and the LPGA Tour and is now ranked 79th in the world at age 22.
Michelle Wie West
Not long after Tiger Woods broke in, Michelle Wie was being called the next Woods. She turned pro at 15 and has been playing professional golf ever since. Her five wins on the PGA Tour are not exactly what was expected of her, but she did win a major, the U.S. Women’s Open in 2014.
Tiger Woods
There is no other golf prodigy quite like Tiger Woods, who showed off his skills on television as a three-year-old. There were incredible expectations on Woods and he met them despite injuries that have derailed his career.
