1. Viktor Hovland will rise to world No. 1

Although he’s yet to turn his enormous potential into a major championship as of yet, Viktor Hovland has all of the tools to become the best golfer in the world. Since his win at the 2018 U.S. Amateur, the Norwegian has been racking up the accomplishments. Since 2020, he’s had three PGA Tour wins, two DP World Tour wins, and two wins at the Hero World Challenge.

Hovland’s biggest weakness remains his around the green game. However, he’s shown some signs of improvement and there have been plenty of courses that he’s been able to excel at when it comes to chipping. I have no doubt that he will eventually figure that aspect of the game out, and when he does, it will be a dangerous total package. At still only 23-years-old, Hovland is an elite player off the tee and with his iron play. If he’s able to reel off a few big wins in 2023 he undoubtedly can grab the top spot in the OWGR.

2. The European Team will win the 2023 Ryder Cup

After the last Ryder Cup blowout at Whistling Straits and last year’s Presiden’s Cup at Quail Hollow, the United States team looks almost unbeatable. The depth and star power on the team will make them pretty sizable favorites by the time we get to Italy.

With past European Cup players like Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Bernd Weisberger now with LIV and most likely ineligible to compete, the Europeans will need to depend on young and inexperienced players to step up.  Rasmus Hojgaard, Nicolai Hojgaard and Thomas Pieters will likely find their way onto the team, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Italians Guido Migliozzi and Francesco Molinari played their way onto the roster to compete in their home country. No matter how you slice it, the depth on the European Team pales in comparison to the United States Roster.

However, let’s not forget how difficult it is for the U.S. to win a Ryder Cup on European soil. The European team has won the past six Ryder Cups on their home turf and will be able to set the course up to their liking. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are still two of the best players on either team and can do much of the heavy lifting with help from Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick who should all be good course fits for Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

3. Dustin Johnson will win a major championship

Dustin Johnson will turn 39 in June and will inevitably put his best golf behind him at some point in the near future. His decision to join LIV Golf have lefty plenty of people wondering how much competitive drive he has left at this point in his career now that he’s really cashed in.

I believe he has another elite season of golf left in him. The insistence that he only cares about money and not about legacy will drive him to be in peak form come major championship season. At this point, the only thing that can really impact DJ’s on-course legacy is majors, and I’m of the opinion that he needs one more for his career to not be viewed as a slight underachievement.

The major championship venues should suit Johnson very well this year. Los Angeles Country Club for the U.S. Open should be a favorable layout for the former U.S. Open Champion, as he still hits it far and straight which is always the recipe for success on a tough track. His U.S. Open history speaks for itself as he’s had five top-six finishes in his past nine tries. Augusta National is always a great fit for DJ and the PGA Championship will be in the Northeast (New York) where he already has a handful of wins.

If Johnson is able to win another major championship, he’d join notable golfers such as Payne Stewart, Padraig Harrington, Jordan Spieth and Vijay Singh as players who’ve captured three majors in their career.

4. The Masters will see a drastic uptick in TV ratings

In 2020, The Masters had the least number of viewers since 1993. In 2021, much more people tuned in, but it still fell 13% short of the 2019 Masters where Tiger Woods emerged as the surprise winner. Even then, ratings from the final round were a good deal less than they were back in 2010-2013.

While the emergence of LIV Golf has seemingly fractured golf fans as a whole, I believe it will make the Masters (and to an extent the other majors) appointment television. With Masters Chairman Fred Ridley saying that LIV players with already existing exemptions have gotten their invites compete at The Masters, there’s a good chance that we get a prominent PGA Tour member going head-to-head with a LIV golf representative down the stretch on Sunday.

The addition of LIV to the golf landscape has had a negative impact on the depth of the PGA Tour, but it should make Sunday at Augusta National even better.

5 Rory McIlroy will remain stuck at 4 major championships

We head into 2023 with Rory McIlroy once again the favorite at The Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship and sits behind only Jon Rahm on the odds board of the PGA Championship. He won’t win any of them.

The common theme for those who’ve followed McIlroy since his last major championship victory in 2014 is: “this is the year”. He’s such a dynamic all-around golfer that it’s almost shocking he’s come up empty in his past 30 attempts at the four majors. There appears to be a mental hurdle for the 33-year-old, as he’s either started slow or finished shaky in all of the majors where he’s had high finishes.

He enters the season in arguably the best form we’ve seen him in in three plus years and is the current number one player in the world. The major venues will once again be favorable to the Northern Irishman, and the Open Championship will be at Royal Liverpool, where he won in 2014.

As each year passes, the pressure for McIlroy to win another major championship continues to increase. That intense pressure is precisely the reason why he’ll come up short for the 9th consecutive season.