Golfers who are poised for a breakout in 2019

Born in Texas and raised in Mexico, Ancer is off to a solid start to the 2018-19 season with two top 10s in six official starts. He's 25th in the FedExCup standings and is showing signs that 2019 might be the year he earns that first victory on the PGA Tour. 

Thailand's Aphibarnrat has been called "Asia's John Daly," due to his size and flair for fun. He plays all over the world and won his fourth event on the Asian Tour last year. He also placed 15th at the U.S. Open in '18, tied for fourth at the HSBC Champions in October and currently is 38th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Set to turn 23 this summer, Burns enjoyed a successful stint on the Web.com Tour and is hoping that carries over to the PGA Tour. A tie for third at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October was a glimpse of his potential, and a T18 at the Desert Classic was a nice rebound after missing the cut at the Sony. At the moment Burns is still a work in progress, but the progression could be swift.

Cantlay sits inside the top 20 of the World Golf Ranking, so he's far from an unknown commodity. However, his only PGA Tour win to date came in 2017 at the Shriners. But he made the cut in the final three majors of 2018 and is 11th in the FedExCup, thanks to three top 10s already on the schedule.

All eyes will be on Champ, who is everybody's pick to elevate his game in 2019. First introduced to the golf world when he made the cut at the 2017 U.S. Open, Champ won the Sanderson Farms in October and tied for 11th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month. Big off the tee, the 23-year-old enters the week eighth on the PGA Tour Money List and ninth in the FedEx standings.

Gooch just finished firing four consecutive rounds under 70 to finish fourth at the Desert Classic, and at the moment he is more of a name to watch than anything else. Promise has surrounded the former Oklahoma State star for some time, and he should be someone to remember this season.

Sitting among the top 50 in the World Golf Ranking, Grillo has caught the fancy of many golf pundits once again. He enjoyed some success in 2016 when he made the cut in all four majors and placed among the top 20 at the Masters and the top 15 at the Open Championship and PGA Championship. Grillo has not been much of a factor since but has four top 25s in six matches on the official '19 schedule, so his game might be going through a resurgence. 

The Canadian just finished tied for second at the Desert Classic, and he recorded a pair of T10s in October. Hadwin is far from an everyday name on the PGA Tour but is intriguing nonetheless. He's 13th in the FedEx and 15th in money, so that warrants reason to pay attention going forward.

Hossler is probably best remembered as qualifying for the U.S. Open twice as a teenager, in 2011 and '12. He nearly earned his first PGA Tour win last season but lost to Ian Poulter in a playoff at the Houston Open. He made 24 of 28 cuts and had five top 10s in 2018. If he can finish the job and earn that first win in '19, the ball might keep rolling. 

The star of the 2018 Web.com Tour, Im hopes to enjoy immediate success on the PGA Tour. Many believe that's possible. The South Korean, who will turn 21 in March, tied for fourth at the Safeway Open in October and made the cut in six of his eight 2018-19 official starts. Along with Cameron Champ, Im should be under the microscope this season.

His 2019 calendar year is not off to a great start with two finishes outside the top 50, but because of his recent major success, Kisner seems like a consistent threat to break out. He tied for second at the Open Championship and was T12 at the PGA Championship in 2018 after tying for seventh a year earlier. Kisner's talent can't be argued, and his near misses in majors only solidify that fact.

He has three wins since mid-March 2017 and placed ninth at the Masters last season. It seems like only a matter of time before Leishman officially breaks out. Could this finally be the year? Things are looking good for the Australian, who is fourth on the Tour Money List after finishing tied for third at the Sony and fourth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions this month.

It's hard not to root for the 34-year-old List. Following a rough 2016 season during which he almost lost his Tour card, List made more than $1.8 million in '17 and over $2.7 million last season while falling short of his first PGA Tour win in a playoff at the Honda Classic. He has a pair of T4s already this season, so List could be even better in '19.

Heading into this season, Long wasn't on the radar for a breakout — or relevance for that matter. That changed last weekend with his victory at the Desert Classic. Now, this could very well be Long's one shining moment, considering he missed his three previous cuts and has not played in a major since 2011. Then again if the good times keep coming for the former Web.com Tour member, he'll be a great story. 

Francesco Molinari was the breakout star across the pond in 2018 — U.S. Ryder Cup fans won't forget. So who has the chance to be that guy in Europe for '19? Lowry is no stranger to success, winning the Bridgestone in 2015 and posting three top 10s in majors. He just won at Abu Dhabi and has the all-around game to finally earn multiple victories in one season.

Mitchell is as under the radar as they come, but he's a name to keep in mind for 2019. He made 21 of 29 cuts on the 2018 campaign and had four top 10s, so that's reason enough to feel good about this year. Another is that Mitchell also has three top 25 finishes in five official starts this season. 

England's Pepperell enjoyed a strong 2018 calendar year with two victories on the European Tour and a T6 at the Open Championship. Pepperell, who turned 28 this week, is 35th in the World Golf Ranking and is seen as someone who has the overall talent to win even more events around the globe in 2019. 

After losing his PGA Tour card following the 2014-15 season, Putnam is poised to stick around with the big boys. His strong 2018 included a victory at the Barracuda Championship and a second at St. Jude. Thanks to some solid putting thus far on the '19 slate, Putnam tied for fourth at HSBC Champions in October and was second at the Sony. 

A collegiate superstar at Stanford (11 career wins). Rodgers has yet to totally transition that success to the pro ranks. Though, he's come close to victory with three second-place finishes. He did win on the Web.com Tour in 2015 and lost in a playoff to Charles Howell III at last year's RSM Classic in November. There might not be another young golfer the game is waiting to see break out more than Rodgers. 

The Floridian surged into the new year in pretty good form with two top-five finishes to start the 2018-19 season. January, however, has not been kind to Ryder, but the 29-year-old is 23rd in the FedExCup standings and another promising talent who has worked hard to get to this point.

Smith begins the week ranked 28th in the world. He's the two-time defending champion of the Australian PGA Championship, edging Marc Leishman last year. Smith, who teamed with Jonas Blixt to capture the Zurich Classic title in 2017, tied for fifth at the Masters last season and has the makeup to remain a major tournament contender.

The son of former Tour staple Bob Tway, Kevin collected his first PGA Tour victory in October at the Safeway Open. He also posted a T11 at the Sentry of Tournament of Champions earlier this month, so Tway seems to be headed in the right direction. Currently among the top 10 money leaders, Tway is someone to keep an eye on in 2019. 

The Englishman was a candidate for a Captain's Pick on Thomas Bjorn's Ryder Cup team in 2018 after winning three times during the season. He's currently 45th in the World Golf Ranking but did finish tied for 16th at Abu Dhabi this month. Wallace also tied for 19th at the PGA Championship last season.

The reigning Byron Nelson champ and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year might technically of had his breakout last season, but we're thinking he has the potential for an even better 2019. Before missing the secondary cut at the Desert Classic, Wise had two top-15 finishes and a top 30 in three official '19 matches.

Many believe this could be the year Woodland enjoys some career-defining success. He finished tied for sixth at the PGA Championship in 2018 and already has four top-10 finishes — second twice — in six starts on the official 2019 season. Consistency is the key to Woodland's game, and if he can control that aspect then he could be in for big things this year.