Beau Hossler

Hossler landed in the top-50 at the end of the season and in that aspect, it was a great year for him, but a closer look reveals that it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Hossler had just two top-3s this past season, one of which came in the fall and the other at the team event in New Orleans, so he didn't exactly shine when on his own against stiff competition. Hossler struggled in three of the four seasons leading up to this past season, so one good season, most of which accomplished against lesser competition, isn't exactly a good sign going forward. It's hard to imagine that Hossler's numbers will improve this season unless he plays better in the bigger events and that's something you can't expect at this point.

Hossler started off 2022 well with a pair of top-5s in his first nine events but didn't do much thereafter with a best finish of T-21 over his final eight starts. His iron play continues to be a huge detriment as he hasn't finished better than 179th in strokes-gained approach in any of his five seasons on Tour. His upside is limited without improvement in that area, regardless of how good his short game is.

After a poor start to the 2020-21 season that saw Hossler nearly drop outside the top 400 in the OWGR, he managed four top-25s this summer in a five-week stretch. He possesses good length with driver and good feel on the greens, but substandard iron play has always been his Achilles heel. It's likely that Hossler will be mainly relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2021-22.

Hossler is only 25, but he seems to have plateaued - and not in a good place. After making about $2.5 million in 2017-18, he earned about $650,000 the past two seasons. Last season, he made 13 of 22 cuts with five top-25s and one top-10. Expect more of the same.

Hossler relied on a red-hot flat stick throughout his 2018-19 rookie campaign as he ranked 10th in SG: Putting and seventh in putting from inside 10 feet, but his overall play took an evident turn for the worse after cashing nearly $2.5M the season prior. He only collected three top-25s in 27 starts, including zero in his last 17 starts as the former Longhorn standout missed 11 cuts and failed to pick up a single top-10, falling to 145th in the FedEx Cup standings, more than 100 spots off his 2017-18 ranking. He'll retain his card thanks to a T2 at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals' Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. Hossler has always been a strong putter, but his ball striking has to improve if he wants to consistently contend. Last year he was 178th in SG: Tee-to-green. Hossler is still only 24 and has shown talent, so a bounce back season would not be out of the question.

There were a couple rookies who played better than Hossler last season, but it's hard to expect anymore out of rookie than what Hossler did last season. Though he failed to find a win, he did finish runner-up twice and he posted five top-10s. Perhaps most impressive for a rookie, he made the cut in 24 of 28 starts. That's a percentage that even seasoned-vets would love. Hossler gets it done with the putter. He finished 4th on the Web.com Tour in his final season there and he finished 5th on the PGA Tour last season. He'll need to improve on other aspects of his game in order to improve upon what was a great rookie season, but the future certainly looks bright. Unfortunately, Hossler set the bar too high for salary cap purposes this season as it's too much to expect that he could get into the mid-$3 millions.

Many remember Hossler as the 17-year-old sensation who finished T29 at the 2012 U.S. Open and went on to become a standout at the University of Texas. He now has the chance to become a staple on the PGA Tour after securing his card thanks to a top-25 finish on the Web.com's regular season money list in 2017. Hossler also made 4 of 8 cuts at the PGA level during his 2017 campaign, ranging from the Farmers Insurance Open to the Travelers Championship. He missed just 3 of 14 cuts on the Web.com Tour this past season, while also posting two runner-up finishes. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Hossler make some noise as a 22-year-old rookie given his natural talent and experience in the spotlight.