For the better part of the 21st century, one figure has cast a long shadow over the game of golf: Tiger Woods. And though it might take some time before anyone even approaches the level of notoriety Woods has achieved in his unparalleled career, one thing is for certain — there’s no shortage of stars on the rise.
Chasing Woods’ legacy are Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler, whose passion for the game and reverence for the PGA Tour has inspired a younger generation of players. Then there’s an even fresher wave behind them, with players like Cameron Young and Sahith Theegala who are just beginning to make names for themselves in a crowded field. Full Swing chronicles their performances and much more — all against the backdrop of a sport grappling with a seismic shift in the form of an emerging rival league.
Age: 29
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 16
PGA Tour wins: 13
Episode featured: Episode 1, “Frenemies”
More than a few golfers have been burdened with the label of being the “next Tiger Woods,” but few have ascended to that mantle as quickly as Spieth, who won both the Masters and US Open in a two-month span in 2015, just shy of his 22nd birthday. He added an Open Championship in 2017, but remains in pursuit of his fourth major to complete the career Grand Slam.
Spieth is among the most talkative players on the course, though most of his comments are either directed at his ball in midair or to his caddie, Michael Greller. He often cites his younger sister, Ellie, as his inspiration and part of the reason for his foundation, the Jordan Spieth Charitable Fund. The charity helps benefit, among other groups, youth with cognitive and neurological disabilities.
You can follow Spieth on Instagram.
Age: 29
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 9
PGA Tour wins: 15
Episode featured: Episode 1, “Frenemies”
Thomas had the misfortune of growing up in Spieth’s shadow. The pair first met at a youth tournament when they were 13 and quickly became friends and eventually friendly rivals. They clashed in college — Thomas at Alabama, Spieth at Texas — and turned pro within a year of each other.
While Spieth might have taken up more of the spotlight in their younger years, Thomas is by no means just “the other guy.” He’s won the PGA Championship twice — most recently at Southern Hills in 2022 — and has pulled even with Spieth in terms of career victories. Thomas comes from a golfing family, as both his father and grandfather are former pros, with his dad serving the role of his son’s swing coach. And as much as Thomas and Spieth butt heads on the course, it hasn’t impacted their friendship: When Thomas got engaged, he chose Spieth to be his best man.
You can follow Thomas on Instagram.
Age: 32
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 66
PGA Tour wins: 8
Episode featured: Episode 2, “Win or Go Home”
Athletes are often criticized for giving bland responses to interview questions that mask their true feelings. Not Koepka. The former world No. 1 and four-time major champion has repeatedly discussed how he doesn’t love the game and finds it “boring” — an odd descriptor for someone who was once the world’s No. 1 player.
If Koepka can be apathetic at times about his feelings toward the sport, he’s far more fiery about his competitiveness. “Winning is an addiction, man,” Koepka says in Full Swing. “Let’s just say it’s life and death — that’s how I think of it.” The series picks up with Koepka as he strives to rediscover his past form after years of dealing with injuries. In the middle of the action, Koepka made headlines by becoming one of the higher-profile players to defect from the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf. Koepka is married to actor Jena Sims. His brother, Chase, is also a professional golfer.
You can follow Koepka on Instagram.
Age: 26
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 2
PGA Tour wins: 4
Episode featured: Episode 2, “Win or Go Home”
About a year ago at this time, Scheffler was a relative no-name who’d never won on the PGA Tour. That all changed over a 57-day period in which he rattled off four wins in six events, culminating with a Masters championship. Scheffler’s rise to the top was rapid for most of the golf-viewing world, but for him the road was long. He starred in college for four years at Texas, then climbed through the ranks of the Korn Ferry Tour (the PGA’s developmental tour) — before making his rookie debut on the PGA Tour during the 2019–20 season.
Perhaps the most eye-catching part of Scheffler’s game is his footwork. His feet can often be seen sliding around on his drives, an unusual characteristic he told TaylorMade Golf helps him “stay athletic” while swinging. However much his feet move, it’s safe to assume that Scheffler won’t be shuffling out of the top of the tour rankings anytime soon.
You can follow Scheffler on Instagram.
Age: 47
Representing: England
World ranking: No. 135
PGA Tour wins: 3
Episode featured: Episode 3, “Money or Legacy”
The most seasoned of Full Swing’s featured players, Poulter is hard to miss on the golf course. That’s because of his wardrobe style, which frequently consists of loud plaid patterns that stand out among his mostly khaki-clad tour mates. (His daughter, charitably, describes her father’s look as “funky.”) Poulter has never won a major, coming the closest with a runner-up finish at The Open Championship in 2008.
Poulter was one of the first golfers to join LIV Golf, playing in the tour’s inaugural event in June of last year. Poulter said of his choice to leave the PGA for the new upstart league, “It’s a business decision.”
You can follow Poulter on Instagram.
Age: 35
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 89
PGA Tour wins: 1
Episode featured: Episode 4, “Imposter Syndrome”
If there are two defining qualities to Dahmen, it’s these: a relatable personality and a bucket hat.
The 35-year-old can be relied upon to don his standard headgear each time he takes the course. He’s also, as his peers will note, quick to toss out self-deprecating jokes that make himself the punch line. While some might interpret that as a sign he lacks confidence, Dahmen’s general good-natured vibe often comes as a breath of fresh air in an environment that’s all about ego.
“He’s just your friendly neighbor,” says caddie Geno Bonnalie. “Who’s really fucking good at hitting a golf ball.”
It’s that positive outlook that’s helped Dahmen endure considerable hardships throughout his life. He lost his mother to pancreatic cancer as a teen, and at 23, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer himself. A new dad, Dahmen credits those experiences with granting him his one-day-at-a-time perspective on life — and golf.
You can follow Dahmen on Instagram.
Age: 28
Representing: England
World ranking: No. 10
PGA Tour wins: 1
Episode featured: Episode 5, “American Dreams”
Despite his young age, the baby-faced Fitzpatrick has been on the scene for quite some time after winning the US Amateur Championship at 18 years old. A fastidious notetaker, he’s kept a log of all of his shots since he was 15 — an obsessive quality to which he attributes his success.
Fitzpatrick’s diminutive frame belies his colossal abilities, as he’s added considerable distance to his tee shots in recent years. The gains have drawn amazed reactions from his peers, with Fitzpatrick noting that the change does more than simply get him closer to the green.
“There’s a bit of a mentality thing when you’re hitting it past people,” he told the Golf Channel. “It’s quite nice.”
You can follow Fitzpatrick on Instagram.
Age: 38
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 46
PGA Tour wins: 24
Episode featured: Episode 5, “American Dreams”
For a time, Johnson was golf’s most dominant force. He rose to the No. 1 ranking in February 2017 and remained there for a whopping 64 consecutive weeks. Renowned as one of the longest drivers on the tour, Johnson has won just twice in the last four years — though one of them came recently at the 2021 Masters.
Despite being one of the most accomplished players in his field, Johnson has stiff competition on the other side of his family: His wife, Paulina, is the daughter of Wayne Gretzky, widely heralded as the greatest hockey player of all time. The couple has two young sons, and though it’s too soon to speculate on their athletic futures, the odds are favorable that they’ll include a club or a stick.
You can follow Johnson on Instagram.
Age: 33
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 12
PGA Tour wins: 5
Episode featured: Episode 6, “Don’t Get Bitter, Get Better”
Finau is another player who’s hard to miss on the course. Outfitted with the newest releases from Nike every weekend, his #FinauFresh attire always sticks out — both on the green and off.
Upon earning his PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season, Finau became the first player of Tongan or American Samoan descent to play regularly on the PGA Tour. Golf was an unusual route to take for his family — his cousin (Haloti Ngata) starred in the NFL, while another (Jabari Parker) played in the NBA — but he blazed his own trail growing up as one of seven siblings in Salt Lake City. Though the family didn’t have much money to fit golf into the budget, Finau’s father taught him and his brother how to play by having them hit balls into a propped-up mattress inside their home.
You can follow Finau on Instagram.
Age: 26
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 7
PGA Tour wins: 5
Episode featured: Episode 6, “Don’t Get Bitter, Get Better”
Morikawa burst onto the scene, winning three times in his first 13 months on the tour and capping that run with a PGA Championship win in 2020. That start made him perhaps the most heralded young player in the game, a distinction he takes very seriously — from his practice time to training and recovery, and even his outfit selection.
“People take being selfish as a bad thing. It’s a good thing. Thinking about what’s best for me, that’s always hard to do because we care about so many other people we have around us,” Morikawa explains in Full Swing. “You have to be selfish about making sure you’re managing your time, and making sure you’re managing your health and everything about it, to come out and perform the best.”
You can follow Morikawa on Instagram.
Age: 25
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 34
PGA Tour wins: 0
Episode featured: Episode 7, “Golf is Hard”
Theegala was virtually a complete unknown before last season. But after a strong rookie campaign, he’s now firmly on the map. Though he didn’t see any wins during his first full season, Theegala notched five top-10 finishes and made over $3 million — which was enough to allow him to finally move out of his parents’ house.
Known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, Theegala credits his father for teaching him to not keep his feelings bottled up.
“A lot of people just temper [their] own emotions. My dad’s always been like, ‘Why?’ ” Theegala says in Full Swing. “ ‘Why would you? You should show when you’re angry, you should show when you’re sad, and that makes the happy moments that much better.’ So I just try to be more like my father.”
The added freedom from moving out of his childhood home does have its drawbacks, though, particularly on the household chores front. “I used to be very picky about my laundry and stuff, but now I have so many clothes that I need to wash all the time that I just kind of throw it all in and hope for the best.”
You can follow Theegala on Instagram.
Age: 33
Representing: Northern Ireland
World ranking: No. 1
PGA Tour wins: 23
Episode featured: Episode 8, “Everything Has Led to This”
Of this current generation of young golfers, McIlroy is the one who’s come the closest to replicating the dominance of Woods. McIlroy’s been compared to Woods essentially since his professional debut in 2007, and the pair — along with Jack Nicklaus — are the only players to win four majors by age 25.
McIlroy hasn’t won a major since 2014, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost his form. He won three tournaments in 2022 and is back atop the world rankings yet again. He’s become the most outspoken current player to publicly decry the Saudi-backed LIV Golf league and push for players to stay with the PGA as a matter of principle. “Other than Tiger,” says fellow PGA Tour member Rickie Fowler, “Rory is probably the most influential guy in our sport.”
It’s a fitting label for the player who once idolized Woods while growing up half a world away.
“He still is my hero,” McIlroy says about Woods in Full Swing. “To a lot of people, he is golf… All I wanted to do was try to be like him.”
You can follow McIlroy on Instagram.
Age: 25
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 17
PGA Tour wins: 0
Episode featured: Episode 8, “Everything Has Led to This”
Another newcomer to the PGA Tour, Young was last season’s Rookie of the Year after scoring a whopping seven top-10 finishes, with five runner-up results. One of those came at The Open Championship, and he added a third-place finish at the PGA Championship to demonstrate his ability to deliver on the game’s biggest stages.
Despite such early success, Young is known to be among the most introverted players on the tour, though he’s not without friends. Max Homa told the New York Post that Young had a “great personality,” while Justin Thomas marveled at his ability to handle adversity in the middle of a Sunday round: “I think he’s going to have an unbelievable career.”
Not too shabby for a guy still looking for his first win.
Age: 34
Representing: United States
World ranking: No. 99
PGA Tour wins: 5
Episode featured: Throughout
Given how Fowler debuted back in 2009, it’s hard to believe that he’s still only 34 years old. The young veteran is easy to spot on the course with his flat-billed hats and penchant for loud, monochrome outfits. (He’s particularly partial to orange.) Fowler has had plenty of success and won a lot of money throughout his career, but he’s yet to win any of golf’s four majors. He’s come in second place three times and has 12 top-10 finishes, most recently at the 2021 PGA Championship.
Fowler’s wife, Allison, was an all-American track and field star in college, and the couple welcomed their first daughter in November 2021.
You can follow Fowler on Instagram.
Full Swing will be available to stream on Netflix on Feb. 15.
