The PGA TOUR has a very large and diverse rookie class of 35, with players hailing from Brazil, Korea, South Africa, Argentina, Sweden and Venezuela, as well as the United States.
The oldest is 41-year-old Robert Karlsson; the youngest is 20-year-old Bio Kim.
Twelve have never played in a TOUR event since turning pro -- but 10 of those players are making their debuts this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. In fact, 27 of the 35 rookies will be teeing it up at Waialae.
Here's one thing you should know about each of the 35 rookies.
|
| Joe Affrunti |
29 |
0-6 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Says he has a shoe fetish and never travels without flip-flops |
| Chris Baryla |
28 |
4-11 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Rookie year in 2010 cut short by surgery on torn hip labrum |
| Keegan Bradley |
24 |
0-0 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Nephew of World Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley |
| Joseph Bramlett |
22 |
0-1 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| First African-American to make it through q-school in 25 years |
| Kevin Chappell |
24 |
2-7 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Is the only UCLA player to ever win the NCAA individual crown |
| Bobby Gates |
25 |
2-3 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Was a teammate of fellow rookie Martin Piller at Texas A&M |
| Fabian Gomez |
32 |
0-0 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Argentine has six victories worldwide, including one last year on Nationwide Tour |
| Andres Gonzales |
27 |
3-3 |
Q-school grad |
No |
| Earned a degree in journalism from UNLV in 2006 |
| Scott Gordon |
29 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
No |
| Bucket list includes learning to fly a plane |
| Jim Herman |
33 |
1-1 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| His father, brother and former boss, Donald Trump, would be in his dream foursome |
| Justin Hicks |
36 |
1-3 |
Q-school grad |
No |
| Michigan grad won his second career Nationwide Tour event in 2010 |
| Billy Horschel |
24 |
0-6 |
Q-school grad |
No |
| Carries four tees and a 1936 quarter in his right front pocket |
| Sunghoon Kang |
23 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Rookie of the Year on the Asian Tour last season is a Los Angeles Lakers fan |
| Robert Karlsson |
41 |
47-68 |
Non-member money list |
No |
| Made his 11th European Tour win a big one last year at the Dubai World Championship |
| Bio Kim |
20 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| South Korean is the youngest player on the PGA TOUR this year |
| Chris Kirk |
25 |
5-8 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Georgia grad won the 2007 Ben Hogan Award given to the nation's top collegian |
| Kevin Kisner |
26 |
0-0 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Four-time All-American at Georgia always uses the head side of a coin to mark his ball |
| Jamie Lovemark |
22 |
4-9 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Former NCAA champ at USC and youngest-ever leading money winner on the Nationwide Tour |
| Ben Martin |
23 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Never travels without a GPS and always marks his ball with quarters dated prior to 1987 |
| William McGirt |
31 |
0-2 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Once made two aces in a single round and received scholarship offers in golf and baseball |
| Matt McQuillan |
29 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Lists favorite vacation spot as Hawaii so Honolulu is a great place to start TOUR career |
| Zack Miller |
26 |
0-1 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Captained the 2007 NCAA title team at Stanford, where he was the senior athlete of the year |
| Louis Oosthuizen |
28 |
9-18 |
Non-member money list |
No |
| Had missed the cut in seven of eight previous majors but won last year's British Open at St. Andrews |
| Martin Piller |
25 |
1-1 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Texas A&M grad married LPGA rookie Gerina Mendoza last Saturday |
| Jim Renner |
27 |
0-1 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Born on Halloween in 1983, Renner lists "Jaws" as his favorite movie. |
| Alex Rocha |
33 |
1-4 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Brazilian, who graduated from Mississippi State, has won nine times around the world |
| Charl Schwartzel |
26 |
25-37 |
Non-member money list |
No |
| Close friend of Oosthuizen, he nearly beat his mentor, Ernie Els, at Doral last year |
| Nate Smith |
27 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Duke grad finished 27th on the Nationwide Tour money list and tied for 11th at q-school |
| Scott Stallings |
25 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Always travels with a pillow from home and iPod; is involved with the Wounded Warrior Project |
| Kyle Stanley |
23 |
5-8 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Two-time NCAA individual runner-up, Clemson product's superstition involves wearing blue |
| Brendan Steele |
27 |
0-0 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| His uncle, Anthony Geary, plays Luke on "General Hospital" but Steele enjoys "Seinfield" |
| Will Strickler |
24 |
0-0 |
Q-school grad |
No |
| Must-have on trips are his headphones and he enjoys reading Dan Brown novels |
| Daniel Summerhays |
27 |
0-1 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Did a two-year Mormon mission in Santiago, Chile and is fluent in Spanish |
| Michael Thompson |
25 |
0-2 |
Q-school grad |
Yes |
| Former Alabama standoout was second to Rickie Fowler for the 2008 Ben Hogan Award |
| Jhonattan Vegas |
26 |
2-3 |
Nationwide Tour grad |
Yes |
| Venezuelan knew little English when he came to U.S.; graduated in 2008 with degree in kinesiology |
|
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