Predicting major championship winners at any point can be a fool's errand. It's a difficult task on Sunday morning before final rounds begin let alone at the start of tournament week. Forget attempting to do so months in advance. So with three months until the first major of 2024, we recognize that is completely foolish to try and predict who will win the four major championships ... which is exactly why we're going to attempt it!
Perhaps we will look back on this in seven months and laugh at the absurdity of our choices. Perhaps we look back on it and consider our prognostication tremendous. Regardless of the outcome, it's always fun and interesting to discuss the major championships. Who's going to win them? How will they play out?
In light of what has happened with regular-season golf and the PGA Tour-LIV Golf scuffle over the last two years, the majors have only accumulated more importance and greater stature within the game. We cannot discuss them too much, and today, we're going to talk about why the following players are (probably) going to collect these four trophies over the next half year.
2024 Masters
Cameron Young (35-1): Is Young who we thought Bryson DeChambeau was going to be at Augusta National? His T7 in 2023 is a better result than Bryson has ever enjoyed, and his extraordinarily high ball flight should lend itself well to the contours of that place. There is the matter of, you know, winning his first PGA Tour event, but Young's struggles in 2023 were grossly exaggerated. In fact, his approach play was far better than it was in 2022 when he nearly won two major championships, and overall, he only slipped 0.2 strokes per round against the field. I'm picking all first-time champs to win the majors in 2024, which has not happened since 2016. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but I'm confident that Young will contend at Augusta for the second year in a row with another chance at capturing a major championship. -- Kyle Porter
Scottie Scheffler (8-1): The world No. 1 is a batting 1.000 in terms of top 20s at Augusta National as he's connected on four since his debut in 2020. Donning the green jacket two years later, Scheffler proved his game is tailor made for the year's first major championship. The scary part? He's better than he was two years ago -- at least from tee to green -- and the putter looks to be back on an upward trajectory. Scheffler put together a nice defense effort with a T10 in 2023, ranking second in strokes gained tee to green and first in strokes gained approach. He is firmly in his major championship window, and at least one more will be coming in 2024. -- Patrick McDonald
2024 PGA Championship
Viktor Hovland (14-1): Hovland changed my mind about his game than any other golfer in 2023. He figured out the major championships, could have won two of them and now has the fifth-shortest odds to do so at this PGA Championship. We saw a different big-hitting, high-ball flight European Ryder Cup hero take the trophy last time Valhalla hosted the PGA. There are no sure things in professional golf (or sports), but I would be quite surprised if Hovland -- improved in the areas of short game, mental fortitude and course management -- did not win a major championship over the next few years. Valhalla is as good a place as any for that to happen. -- Porter
Bryson DeChambeau (30-1): The 2020 U.S. Open champion enjoyed a resurgent 2023 with a top-five finish at the PGA Championship, a top 20 at the U.S. Open and a pair of victories on the LIV Golf circuit. Looking much healthier after slimming down from the height of his bulk, DeChambeau is well on his way to returning to his previous form. A championship which caters to longer hitters, strong drivers of the golf ball and typically has a winning score anywhere from 5 under to 10 under, the PGA Championship sets up perfectly for DeChambeau. Combine the historical setup with a beefy golf course like Valhalla, and DeChambeau should once again find himself with a chance to raise the Wanamaker Trophy. -- McDonald
2024 U.S. Open
Will Zalatoris (40-1): Is his back healthy? Will he be able to bounce all the way back post-surgery? Will he maintain the same swing in light of this injury? All good questions, but if your answers to them are optimistic, getting Zalatoris at 40-1 is a steal. He has proven that he is an elite major championship golfer, and he has two top-six showings at the U.S. Open in just three starts as a professional. There is a lot to work out between now and when the best in the world tee it up at Pinehurst in June, but Zalatoris is a dog and exactly the type of player I want to ride down the stretch with a major championship on the line. -- Porter
Viktor Hovland (12-1): If there is one golfer visibly building towards his major breakthrough, it's Hovland. The Norwegian played in the penultimate group at the Masters before going toe-to-toe with Koepka in the final pair at the 2023 PGA Championship. Ultimately falling short, Hovland used the heartache from Oak Hill to fuel a sensational summer that included three victories and a FedEx Cup crown. It's only a matter of time before he wins one, and while the PGA Championship plays to his strengths, the U.S. Open should be the championship he grabs first. -- McDonald
2024 Open Championship
Min Woo Lee (65-1): Lee is the ultimate salesman, and I'm buying everything in sight. He quietly had two top 20s at majors in 2023 (including a T5 at the U.S. Open) and ended the year by winning two of his last five events worldwide. There are approach play concerns, for sure, but Lee's statistical profile tracks quite nicely with Wyndham Clark, who enters 2024 as the reigning U.S. Open champ because he turned around his iron game and became one of the best players in the world. Min Woo doesn't have as far to go as Clark, and a place like The Open should highlight his creativity and ball-striking, which will be a perfect stovetop on which he can cook. -- Porter
Brooks Koepka (18-1): Let's add another name to the grand slam conversation. Koepka had a chance at the 2023 Masters to claim a missing major trophy from his mantle, and while it may not be the green jacket, the Claret Jug will do just fine. Possessing plenty of experience in Europe and on links golf courses, Koepka has a sneaky good Open résumé with four top 10s since 2015. He started fast and finished slow in 2023. The opposite will be true in 2024, leaving The Open for his taking. -- McDonald
