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5 Most Meaningful Golfers in 2021

Looking back at 2021, we can’t believe it is almost over. It seems like the last twelve months have flown by, but that doesn’t mean it was uneventful in the slightest. The pandemic is still affecting every aspect of our daily lives from mandates to cancelled events we’ve been looking forward to for years.
The same is true for the world of golf. When Covid first came along, majors where rescheduled, some multiple times, and golf fans were left longing for any tidbit of golf news they could sink their teeth into.
But 2021 was different. So much has happened that it’s hard to believe it could fit all in one year. Not all of it was pretty, but it was quite entertaining to say the least. On the flipside, so many wonderful things happened as well. We got to watch some of our favorite players rise up to new challenges and unexpected winners showcase their talents.
One of our favorite things to do at the end of every year is to take a look back at these memorable moments and find the ones that affected us the most. In determining who belongs where on this year end list, we will be looking at more than just the wins a golfer racked up. Sure, you might feel differently about the choice made here, but that’s what we love about this sport. So many people can get different things out of every situation.
All in all, we wanted to put together a list that meant something for this year in golf. Something we could take a look back at years down the road and remember the talents that helped define 2021. It was very difficult as there were so many to choose from.
Here’s our list for the top five golfers from the last year:
1. Jon Rahm
This one seemed like a no-brainer for us. Easy day. His list of accomplishments is ridiculous, but even his win total — only that U.S. Open victory in June — belies how good he was. It’s important to note that Rahm led the Memorial Tournament in June by six before having to withdraw following Round 3 after testing positive for COVID-19. He also finished T1 at the Tour Championship if you look at who took the fewest strokes throughout that week and don’t factor in players’ starting scores.
Rahm’s 2.28 strokes gained was the best in the world in 2021, just ahead of Patrick Cantlay’s 2.14 and well ahead of Daniel Berger — who finished third — at 1.85. Rahm also had the highest percentage of top 10s (62%) across all events worldwide and the lowest cumulative score of the golfers who made the cut at all four major championships. At those four majors, he finished T5-T8-1-T3. He beat or tied 539 of 552 (97.6%) of golfers at the four most important events. And if all of that wasn’t enough, he was one of just three golfers to win more than a single point for Europe at the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.
2. Collin Morikawa
The only other lock for me. While his strokes-gained number was not as impressive as Rahm’s (Morikawa finished 10th in the world in strokes gained), he won a major, had the second-highest top-10 percentage behind Rahm and took the Race to Dubai by winning the DP World Tour Championship. He was also a nightmare for Europe at the Ryder Cup. Morikawa is a tremendous example of strokes gained not telling the entire story. According to Data Golf, even though he ranked 10th overall in strokes gained for the year, he ranked third when you look at the 95th percentile of players’ rounds. In other words, his best stuff was better than the best stuff of everyone other than Patrick Cantlay and Rahm.
3. Jordan Spieth
I know everyone will be shocked that I included Spieth, but his case is fairly airtight. He finished fourth in strokes gained on the year, won the Texas Open and legitimately mixed it up at both the Masters and Open Championship. He could have fairly easily won either one of those. Additionally, he accumulated the fifth-most OWGR points behind Morikawa, Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns. You could have made a compelling argument that, for most of the first half of 2021, Spieth was once again the best golfer in the world.
4. Patrick Cantlay
This might surprise you, but Cantlay was actually difficult for me to include on here. He was not very good at the major championships (best finish was T15 at the U.S. Open), but he was very good everywhere else and won two big-time events at Memorial (although Rahm probably should have won) and that epic playoff at the BMW Championship over Bryson DeChambeau. Ultimately, the fact that he was the only golfer other than Rahm to top 2.0 strokes gained on the year won me over, but I strongly considered throwing Brooks Koepka or Louis Oosthuizen into this spot.
5. Hideki Matsuyama
Another player who won’t win any statistical wars but did win perhaps the two most meaningful tournament of the season. First, he became the first golfer from Asia to win the Masters in April, and then he won in his home country of Japan at the Zozo Championship in the fall. The rest of his year was fairly tepid — top-five finishes at the Olympics and in Memphis at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational — but any list of the best and most important golfers in 2021 has to have Matsuyama on it.
The toughest golfers to leave off the list were Louis Oosthuizen, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. They all had interesting cases to make, but ultimately didn’t win enough, weren’t consistent enough or didn’t play enough high-quality golf throughout the year to warrant inclusion.
Mickelson is especially intriguing because I think when we look back on 2021, his PGA Championship victory will be one of the most memorable moments. But he was so bad the rest of the year that it made it impossible to include him. He lost strokes over the course of the entire 2020-21 PGA Tour season and did not rank in the top 150 in the world in strokes gained. He didn’t have another top 10 worldwide other than that PGA win, which somehow makes the PGA win even more impressive but also means that he falls short of making this list.
This article originally appeared on CBS Sports.

When JJ Spaun stood over a 64-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont, few could have predicted what would come next. The ball meandered across the slick green, trickling over every contour, picking up speed at the crest, and then—like it had GPS—dropped center cup. Spaun dropped his putter, raised his arms, and the crowd erupted. With that single stroke, he claimed his first major title in one of the most dramatic finishes in U.S. Open history.
But how does Spaun’s putt stack up against other legendary finishes in the tournament’s storied past? Let’s break down some of the most iconic moments and see where this one lands.
1. Payne Stewart – 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst
Perhaps the most iconic putt in U.S. Open history came from Payne Stewart, who nailed a 15-footer for par on the 18th to win by one over Phil Mickelson. The pose—fist pump and outstretched leg—has since been immortalized in a statue at Pinehurst. What made it legendary wasn’t just the putt—it was the context: Stewart’s final major before his tragic death just months later.
Verdict: Iconic and emotional. Spaun’s putt was longer, but Stewart’s was more poetic.
2. Tiger Woods – 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines
Woods drained a 12-foot birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate—while basically playing on one leg. That tournament went to sudden death after an 18-hole playoff, and Tiger prevailed. This was peak Tiger drama, pain and all.
Verdict: Spaun’s putt was longer, but Tiger’s win was sheer willpower and mystique.
3. Jack Nicklaus – 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach
With a 1-iron shot that hit the flagstick on 17 and a crucial birdie putt on 18, Jack sealed a dominant win. His precision and timing under pressure showed why he’s the GOAT.
Verdict: Not a putt for the win, but a signature finishing statement from Jack. Spaun’s was more electric in terms of pure putter drama.
4. Ben Hogan – 1950 U.S. Open at Merion
Hogan’s 1-iron into the 18th fairway and the par to force a playoff—just 16 months after a near-fatal car crash—remain legendary. He won the playoff and completed one of golf’s great comeback stories.
Verdict: Larger-than-life comeback. Spaun’s putt had more flair, but Hogan’s win was heroic.
5. JJ Spaun – 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont
Let’s not underestimate what Spaun accomplished. The pressure was immense. He wasn’t the favorite. And on the most treacherous greens in golf, he buried a 64-foot bomb—a putt most players would be happy to lag to within 5 feet—to win the U.S. Open outright.
Verdict: For distance, surprise, and drama, Spaun’s putt may be the most shocking winning stroke in U.S. Open history.
Final Thoughts
JJ Spaun may not have the résumé of a Nicklaus or Woods, but for one Sunday afternoon in June 2025, he created a moment that will live in golf lore forever. Spaun’s putt was longer than Stewart’s, more unexpected than Tiger’s, and more dramatic than any final-hole finish in recent memory.
In terms of pure clutch putting? It might just be the greatest walk-off in U.S. Open history.
Blog
The Zen of the Shank: Finding Inner Peace in Your Worst Shots
Find your inner peace even when you aren’t playing well.

Ah, the shank. That glorious, unpredictable misfire that sends your pristine golf ball screaming sideways, often directly into the unsuspecting shins of your playing partner, or perhaps, with a touch of poetic irony, into the very lake you’ve been trying to avoid all day. Most golfers, bless their earnest little hearts, view the shank as a catastrophic failure, a blight upon their scorecard, a testament to their inherent lack of coordination. They curse, they throw clubs, they contemplate a career in competitive thumb-wrestling. But not I. No, my friends, for I, Ty Webb, have found enlightenment in the humble shank.
You see, the shank is not a mistake; it’s a revelation. It’s the universe’s way of reminding you that control is an illusion, that perfection is a myth, and that sometimes, the most direct path to your goal is, in fact, a wildly indirect one. Think of it as a philosophical detour, a sudden, unexpected journey into the unknown. One moment, you’re aiming for the green, a paragon of precision and intent. The next, your ball is ricocheting off a tree, narrowly missing a squirrel, and landing, by some divine comedic intervention, closer to the hole than your perfectly struck drive ever would have. Is that not a miracle? Is that not a sign that the golf gods, much like life itself, have a wicked sense of humor?
The key, my dear apprentices of the links, is acceptance. Embrace the shank. Welcome it with open arms, like a long-lost, slightly inebriated relative. When that familiar, sickening thwack echoes through the air, do not despair. Instead, take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Feel the gentle breeze on your face. And then, with a knowing smile, open them and observe the chaos you have wrought. Is it not beautiful in its own chaotic way? Is there not a certain freedom in relinquishing control, in allowing the ball to choose its own destiny, however bizarre that destiny may be?
Some say the shank is a sign of poor technique. I say it’s a sign of a vibrant, untamed spirit. A golfer who never shanks is a golfer who has never truly lived, never truly explored the outer limits of their own golfing absurdity. They are content with mediocrity, with predictable trajectories and mundane outcomes. But you, my enlightened few, you understand that the true joy of golf lies not in the score, but in the story. And what a story a good shank can tell.

So, the next time you feel that familiar tremor of a shank brewing, don’t fight it. Let it flow. Let it be. For in the heart of every shank lies a lesson, a laugh, and perhaps, just perhaps, a path to a lower score you never saw coming. After all, as the great philosopher Basho once said, “A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish.” And a golf game without a shank? Well, that’s just not golf, is it?
Blog
Meet The Canadian Open Qualifier Tied To ClickIt Golf!
“This week was incredible,” he said. “A dream come true.”

Josh Goldenberg doesn’t plan to quit his day job. But he had a great time dabbling in his old career.

He gave up on pro golf, then qualified for his first PGA Tour event.
Read the full story here
https://golf.com/news/josh-goldenberg-rbc-canadian-open/?amp=1
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