Breakfast Ball #50: 2024 Blue Horizon Golf Awards

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I would like to wish everyone a happy new year! Given that it is the new year, it is time to complete our review of 2024 and move onto 2025.

But first… One final plea to fill out our feedback survey. This will be extremely helpful to me as I plan to make this product better in 2025 and beyond. Thanks!

In This Week’s Newsletter:

2024 Blue Horizon Golf Awards: The Blueys

I am probably set for a lawsuit from the creators of Bluey, but in European golf the Blueys will henceforth mean something different entirely. While there are many deserving winners outside of Europe, the Blueys are solely for those that could wear the blue and gold of Europe at the Ryder Cup. Let’s get into it!

Tournament of the Year

Nominees: US Open, Open Championship, BMW PGA Championship, The Olympics, Irish Open

There are compelling reasons to champion any contender, but for me, no event surpassed The Open at Royal Troon. It offered everything: a tough, ever-changing links course, an underdog story in Daniel Brown, and veterans like Justin Rose and Billy Horschel vying for glory. Ultimately, a deserving champion emerged from a dramatic and unpredictable tournament. The unique challenges of links golf, combined with shifting conditions that reshaped the course daily, delivered a captivating four days of golf at its finest.

Winner: The Open at Royal Troon

Comeback Player of the Year

Nominees: Matteo Manassero, Tyrrell Hatton, Sergio Garcia, Richard Bland, Paul Waring

Matteo Manassero’s story from a childhood prodigy to obscurity and back to the top of the game is a truly fascinating one. His win at the Jonsson Workwear Open last March capped an ascent that began 5 years ago in the Alps Tour, mere months after he contemplated giving up the game for good. Now, he will be on the PGA Tour in 2025.

Winner: Matteo Manassero

Breakthrough Player of the Year

Nominees: Jesper Svensson, Niklas Nørgaard, Aaron Rai, Bob MacIntyre

In May 2023, Jesper Svensson was ranked 708th in the world and plying his trade on the Challenge Tour. A life changing victory in the B-NL Challenge trophy started a run that ended in Svensson receiving his PGA Tour card for 2025. Just 19 months after he was fighting for starts on the Challenge Tour, he will have a fully exempt membership on the PGA Tour. That is a breakthrough.

Winner: Jesper Svensson

Moment of the Year

Nominees: Shane Lowry’s 62 at the PGA Championship, Bob MacIntyre’s Win at the Scottish Open, Bob MacIntyre’s Win at the Canadian Open, Daniel Brown’s First Round at The Open, McIlroy and Lowry’s Win at the Zurich Classic

The real debate here centers on Bob MacIntyre’s two standout victories in 2024: the Canadian Open, where his father stepped in as caddie, or his emotional triumph at the Scottish Open on home soil. While Bob would likely choose the Scottish Open as his defining moment of the year, the Canadian Open highlighted a deeper truth about golf—beyond the money and mergers, it’s ultimately about the people you share the journey with and the bonds forged on the course. The post-round interview with Bob and his father Dougie captured this beautifully and was nothing short of unforgettable.

Winner: Bob MacIntyre’s Win at the Canadian Open

Player of the Year

Nominees: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Højgaard, Bob MacIntyre

European golf finds itself at a fascinating crossroads. The last European to claim a major was Jon Rahm at the Masters in April 2023. Since then, while Europe celebrated a Ryder Cup victory, American golfers have dominated the majors, winning seven straight. The player who came closest to breaking that streak is also my Player of the Year: Rory McIlroy. With four wins and 18 top-20 finishes in 27 starts, Rory remains the cornerstone of European golf. As he enters 2025, many fans will be rooting for him to finally end his decade-long major drought and reclaim his spot atop the game’s biggest stages.

Winner: Rory McIlroy

The 2025 PGA Tour Season Begins in Hawaii This Week

It may be hard to believe, but the PGA Tour season begins today in Hawaii. The Sentry is a limited field signature event with $3.6M and 700 FedEx Cup points on offer for the winner. However, the field is weaker than a typical signature event on tour. Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood will not be playing as they plan to begin their year on the DP World Tour in Dubai in a couple of weeks. Scottie Scheffler injured his hand while making Christmas dinner (not a joke), and will be out until the AmEx in 3 weeks.

From a European perspective, eyes will be on two Scandinavians as they start their 2025 seasons. Ludvig Åberg exploded onto the pro scene in 2023, and while he showed signs of his potential at The Masters last year with a second place finish, a persistent knee injury ended his season early and he was unable to pick up a win in 2024. Viktor Hovland had a turbulent 2024 season characterized by an on and off relationship with his swing coach, Joe Mayo. News emerged this past week that he has once again split with Mayo, and he broke his baby toe in a fight with his bed frame. The 2023 FedEx Cup champion will be eager to return to the form that brought him to the top of the game just 16 months ago.

Other Europeans starting their seasons include Matthieu Pavon, Matt Fitzpatrick, Bob MacIntyre, Aaron Rai, and Thomas Detry. The first groups tee off at 12:45pm ET / 5:45pm GMT.

I’d Love Your Feedback!

Thank you to those who have filled out the survey so far! One final push for a few more survey respondents.

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Evan’s Trivia Corner

The answer to last week’s question was Nick Price. The Zimbabwean won three major titles during his career.

Jon Rahm won The Sentry in 2023 with a final round of 63. Rahm has two major title wins to his name, the 2023 Masters and the 2021 US Open. Where did that US Open take place?

Hint: It is home to an annual event on the PGA Tour and is one of the few public courses on the US Open rota.

Come back next week for the answer!

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!