The World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won six times on the PGA Tour in 2025 and the Masters champion Rory McIlroy registered three victories.
That didn’t leave much for the rest of the tour membership to fight for and yet no less than 17 winners lifted a trophy for the very first time.
How do they rank and what prospect is there of any of them shining again in 2026 and beyond? Let’s take a look.
1. Tommy Fleetwood
Achievements pre-2025: A seven-time DP World Tour winner, a regular major championship contender and a Ryder Cup star.
2025 performance: The Englishman landed six top five finishes on the PGA Tour up to the last week in August but the win remained elusive. Then he broke his duck for the year (and his career) with the Tour Championship, starred in the Ryder Cup again and later won on the DP World Tour.
Potential for the future: Bursting with confidence, major championship triumph is the only thing lacking on the CV and he is well capable of adding it.
2. Cameron Young
Achievements pre-2025: An 11-time top three finisher on the PGA and DP World Tour – but not one of them was a win.
2025 performance: Victory in the Wyndham Championship, a fine performance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and a stunning Ryder Cup debut (he was joint top scorer for Team USA).
Potential for the future: He’s a six-timer top 10 finisher in the majors – expect that number to rise.
3. Ben Griffin
Achievements pre-2025: A winner on the third tier Canadian circuit in 2018, he briefly gave up pro golf before a sponsor urged him to reconsider.
2025 performance: Won the Zurich Classic pairs event with Andrew Novak in April, the Charles Schwab Challenge on his own in May, added the WWT Championship in November and, in-between, had two major championship top 10s and a Ryder Cup debut.
Potential for the future: Popular, talented and now free to express himself. Expect more wins.
4. Min Woo Lee
Achievements pre-2025: A three-time winner on the DP World Tour.
2025 performance: The Aussie blew a halfway lead in the Players Championship and then won the Houston Open in his next start.
Potential for the future: More wins are likely, especially if he improves his approach work.
5. Ryan Fox
Achievements pre-2025: A four-time winner on the DP World Tour including the 2023 BMW PGA Championship.
2025 performance: Won May’s Myrtle Beach Classic and June’s Canadian Open in play-offs.
Potential for the future: Everyone in golf hopes the popular Kiwi makes the 2026 Presidents Cup team.
6. Thomas Detry
Achievements pre-2025: The Belgian was an eight-time runner-up on the DP World and PGA Tours.
2025 performance: Broke the duck in spectacular fashion with a seven shot victory in February’s Phoenix Open.
Potential for the future: Solid but unspectacular after the win yet four top 15 finishes in the majors and Olympics in late 2023 and 2024 was impressive.
7. Sami Valimaki
Achievements pre-2025: A two-time winner on the DP World Tour.
2025 performance: The Finn needed a big Fall and got it with second in the WWT Championship and victory at the RSM Classic.
Potential for the future: His best PGA Tour golf has come in free-scoring events.
8. Aldrich Potgieter
Achievements pre-2025: The 2022 British Amateur champion and opened 2024 with a win (and also a 59) on the Korn Ferry Tour.
2025 performance: Second in the Mexico Open and won the Rocket Classic in June.
Potential for the future: A massive hitter (he topped Driving Distance for the year) and South Africa’s big hope, but he blows very cold when he’s not hot.
9. Michael Brennan
Achievements pre-2025: A series of near-misses on the third tier Americas Tour.
2025 performance: A three-time winner on the Americas Tour then thrashed his way to victory on invitation at the Bank of Utah Championship.
Potential for the future: Another huge-hitter, many have high hopes for him.
10. Andrew Novak
Achievements pre-2025: Before November 2024 he had no top three on the PGA Tour.
2025 performance: Between late November 2024 and the end of April 2025 he was top three five times ending with victory alongside Ben Griffin in the Zurich Classic pairs event.
Potential for the future: A poor final round record when in contention holds him back.
11. Ryan Gerard
Achievements pre-2025: A winner on the KFT in 2024.
2025 performance: Second in the Texas Open then won the Barracuda Championship.
Potential for the future: A ranking of 28th for Strokes Gained Tee to Green suggests he could kick on.
12. Brian Campbell
Achievements pre-2025: A five-time runner-up on the KFT.
2025 performance: Play-odd victories in both the Mexico Open and John Deere Classic.
Potential for the future: He’s a short hitter who struggles on big courses.
13. Karl Vilips
Achievements pre-2025: Won in his fourth pro start on the KFT in mid-2024.
2025 performance: Landed the Puerto Rico Open in just his third start of the year.
Potential for the future: The Aussie’s A game is excellent, his B game poor.
14. Adam Schenk
Achievements pre-2025: A two-time runner-up on the PGA Tour in 2023.
2025 performance: Mostly poor and then he won the Bermuda Championship putting one-handed!
Potential for the future: Those gremlins on the green need dealing with.
15. Joe Highsmith
Achievements pre-2025: A lost play-off on the third tier Canadian Tour in 2022.
2025 performance: A fine winner of the Cognizant Classic in March but closed the year with 11 failures to crack the top 60.
Potential for the future: Misses far too many cuts at PGA Tour level.
16. William Mouw
Achievements pre-2025: Three-time runner-up on the 2024 KFT.
2025 performance: A stunning final round of 61 landed the ISCO Championship in July out of the blue.
Potential for the future: Yet to compete against elite company – TBD in 2026.
17. Steven Fisk
Achievements pre-2025: Winner on the KFT in 2024.
2025 performance: Broke through in the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Potential for the future: Another who ranked top 30 for the important SG Tee to Green.
Read next: Ranked: The seven best stand-out stars from the 2025 season
The post Ranking all 17 first-time PGA winners in 2025 – and their chances of 2026 success appeared first on Golf365.
Article Link: PGA Tour: Tommy Fleetwood tops new 2025 ranking ahead of 16 other golfers