New season, new champions, same drama — 2024 promises to be another whirlwind year in the world of golf. Pictured: Rory McIlroy tees off at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January. Scroll through the gallery to re-live the best moments so far.
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Chris Kirk made a dream start to 2024, edging US compatriot Sahith Theegala to win the PGA Tour's season-opener in Hawaii. After going winless across an eight season stretch that saw him wrestle with alcoholism and depression, Kirk's win at The Sentry made it two wins in under a year.
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Just four months after undergoing a craniotomy to remove a lesion on his brain, Gary Woodland made his return to competitive action at the Sony Open in January. The 2019 US Open champion was candid about his struggles leading up to surgery, revealing he suffered partial seizures and feared death every day for months before the operation.
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Grayson Murray let it all out after ending a six-and-a-half-year winless drought to triumph at Sony Open, beating former PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley and South Korea's An Byeong-hun in a dramatic playoff courtesy of a stunning 40 foot birdie putt.
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Tommy Fleetwood closes in on his first win since 2022 at the Dubai Invitational, holding off the challenge of Rory McIlroy — his partner in the 'Fleetwood Mac' duo that dazzled at last year's Ryder Cup — to clinch his seventh DP World Tour title.
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McIlroy won the Dubai Desert Classic for a record fourth time just a week later, toasting the achievement with his parents Rosie and Gerry.
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However, the story of January ultimately belonged to Nick Dunlap, the 20-year-old University of Alabama sophomore who pulled off a sensational victory at the American Express in California to become the first amateur to triumph at a PGA Tour event since 1991, and the youngest amateur winner on Tour since 1910.
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Yet despite besting a field of pro players, Dunlap could not take home the $1.5 million prize due to his amateur status. Instead, the winnings went to South African runner-up Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who finished a stroke behind.
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There was still time for one more magic moment in January, as Matthieu Pavon -- in just his third PGA Tour start -- rolled in a birdie to clinch the Farmers Insurance Open and end an 117-year wait for a French golfer to win on the circuit.
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February began with a historic achievement, as Chile's Cristobal Del Solar carded an opening 13-under 57 at the Astara Golf Championship to set a new record for the lowest round ever shot at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
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Drinks flowed in fitting fashion after Jake Knapp won his first PGA Tour title at the Mexico Open. The 29-year-old had worked as a nightclub bouncer for eight months after losing his Korn Ferry Tour card in 2021, searching for "responsibility", "perspective" and money. Triumph in Vidanta Vallarta secured the latter and then some, as the American took home a winner's cheque worth almost $1.46 million.
