General / Paul Krishnamurty / 21 December 2009 /

Paul Krishnamurty selects a quintet of young talents who can scale the golfing heights in 2010

Five up and coming players to follow in 2010

Martin Kaymer

As he enters his fourth full season on the European Tour, this long-touted German looks on the verge of breaking into the big-time. Kaymer's progress has been steady so far, with four titles to his name and an improved money list position each year. Were it not for breaking a foot at a pivotal stage, he may well have won the inaugural Race to Dubai rather than finishing third.

Currently ranked in 13th place, one good week would propel Kaymer into the world's top-10. More progress in Europe seems inevitable, but the next career target must to be to crack the US. As is to be expected, he struggled to make much of an impact on his first few Stateside visits, but a personal best top-10 in the USPGA shows he's getting there.

Danny Willett

2009 was an excellent rookie season for Willett apart from one respect - 58th place on the Race to Dubai, a position earned largely by eight top-10 finishes, would have been markedly better if only Danny could have landed a first professional title.

But that would appear to only be a matter of time, because the 22 year-old has bags of improvement to come. So far, he has only seemed to thrive on fairly straightforward, low-scoring courses where his power and ability to accumulate frequent birdies were seen to best effect. However, as he learns the game and improves as a strategist, Willett will start to shave several shots off his weekly total. In a golden era for British golf, Willett could prove to be among the best.

Rickie Fowler

It's getting harder and harder to keep track of all the emerging young talent in the game; a point perfectly illustrated by the dramatic emergence of Rickie Fowler. Previously virtually unknown outside the US college scene, Fowler burst into the public imagination with consecutive top-10s during the Fall Series. Had he not lost a play-off at the Frys.com Open, Fowler would have joined Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in winning a PGA Tour event before his 21st birthday.

Few would argue that the PGA Tour has greater strength in depth than its European equivalent, making it much harder for a youngster to break through so quickly. Fowler's achievement therefore should not be underestimated, and the sky would appear to be the limit for his forthcoming rookie season.

Ryo Ishikawa

After decades as a competitive, but ultimately second-class golfing nation, wonderkid Ryo Ishikawa could be about to take Japanese golf to a new level. He's been labelled as the 'next Tiger' almost from the very first moment that pundits set eyes on him, and it's hard to argue with his rapid achievements.

Still just 18, Ishikawa is already inside the world's top-30 and has won seven professional titles. Though his final results were ordinary, the 'Bashful Prince' showed plenty of promise in the majors, especially when playing alongside Woods himself at the Open. It is only a matter of time before he starts making his presence felt in the biggest events. Remember, Ishikawa is still two years younger than Tiger was when first winning.

Edoardo Molinari

Nobody finished the year stronger than the older Molinari brother, who has risen from the Challenge Tour into the world's top-50 in double-quick time. Molinari won four of his last eight events in 2009, including the World Cup alongside brother Francesco, and the fairly prestigious Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan. Were it not for a couple of catastrophic holes in a third place finish at last week's South African Open, he could well have made it five.

There is plenty to like about Edoardo's game, not least the confident manner with which he approaches putts. The last player to dominate the Challenge Tour in this style was Martin Kaymer, and Molinari looks similarly likely to have no trouble settling in at the higher level.

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