Matt NeSmith

NeSmith quietly had his best season on Tour, as the third-year player ranked 62nd in strokes-gained total and made a career-high 71 percent of cuts. He's consistently proven himself as a strong iron player (top-30 in strokes-gained approach every season) but has been held back by a below average short-game. He'll need to improve that area to turn his made cuts into more top-10 results.

NeSmith looked like he was in for a solid season in 2020-21 after a strong fall season and three top-20s over the West Coast swing, but his momentum quickly curtailed. His final nine events included six missed cuts and zero top-25 finishes. His iron play has been stellar during his two seasons on tour (top 25 in strokes-gained approach each season), but he's going to need to improve on and around-the-green to find more consistent results.

NeSmith was the No. 5 rookie on Tour last season. He was faring well until the break from play in March and perhaps with some more consistency, NeSmith can show what he's capable of. Look for NeSmith to find a little more consistency this season and perhaps a couple top-10s.

A pair of 63s to open the Ellie Mae Classic in early August foreshadowed what was to come for NeSmith during the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, as he went on to fire a seven-under 64 during the final round of the Albertsons Boise Open and win the event by one stroke while locking up a PGA Tour card for the first time. NeSmith has made five career starts at the PGA Tour level, though he's missed the cut in each attempt and was unable to break 70 in all 10 rounds. He led the entire KFT in GIR percentage throughout the 2019 season, however, and NeSmith also ranked 11th in total driving.