Next Big Things

Anujit Hirunratanakorn, who plays under the name of Kiradech Aphibarnrat, slipped from 59th in the world in 2013 to 134th in 2014 but he has way too much talent to lie low for long.

At 25, he is dripping with feel and flair and has one of the strongest minds – a Buddhist mind - in the business.

SSP Chowrasia was the first Indian caddie-turned-player to win on the European Tour and today people are looking to the 23-year-old Rashid Kahn to follow in his footsteps. This young man, who played his first professional tournament with a set of clubs lent to him by a relative who was a caddie-turned-professional, finished third on the Indian Order of Merit in 2011, second in 2012 and first in 2013. In 2014, he won what was his second Asian Tour title.

For Kahn to break through to the next level would be good for rather more than merely the player himself: it would give hope to every would-be golfer among the caddying fraternity out East whilst simultaneously doing something at least to prove that golf is a game for all.

Tommy Fleetwood and Oliver Fisher are two more ready to take the next step in 2015 while, looking at the older fry, such as Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington are both stubbornly intent on showing such as Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods that they can still play a bit.

Westwood won in Thailand over the festive period with Harrington, that three-time major winner, picking up his first official title in four years - the Indonesian Open - in the same period.

Finally, of the newcomers, what of Renato Paratore, the Italian teenager who is set to join Matteo Manassero in the IMG stable?

In many eyes, Paratore probably stands out as much as any of the above. Instead of going about his business at snail’s pace, he plays at a speed redolent of golfers of the 1920s.

Alas, this admirable characteristic, no more than Willett’s old choirboy image, is unlikely to persist.

"As happened to me," said Manassero, with a sad shake of the head, "Renato is going to have to slow down. Playing quickly out here simply doesn’t work."