One area of improvement for each top 25 golfer

Relax. It's been an interesting past few months for Fowler. Back in the fall, he teamed up with a new swing coach (John Tillery). He also got married near the end of 2019 and dealt with a bacterial infection later in the year. While the pressure of winning a major continues to mount, the 31-year-old Fowler is also at a place in his life where priorities and perspective can change. If Fowler is no longer pressing, maybe that major monkey will go away.

Accuracy. There is no doubt Fitzpatrick, at age 25, is one of finest young golfers in the world. Yet he ranked outside the top 50 last season for PGA Tour events in driving accuracy. He also struggled with hitting greens in regulation, converting at just 64 percent. If Fitzpatrick tightens those two areas, and it's early, he could be a serious major contender in 2020.

Short putts. Matsuyama is rightfully among the top golfers in the world, but he can use some help when it comes to making those putts from inside 10 feet. Last season, Matsuyama tied for 131st on the PGA Tour while making 87 percent of his putts from that distance. Now, there are others on this list who are in the same neighborhood as Matsuyama in terms of this statistic, but for somebody still searching for his first major title, that seems like a glaring weakness at the moment.

Complacency. Not that one of the European Tour's budding stars is suffering from that at age 34. But the Austrian is a seven-time European Tour winner and after a paying his dues and dealing with injuries, Wiesberger is someone to keep an eye on. And as long as he stays humble and grateful for his current success, Wiesberger could be ready to take the next step. 

Mental approach. The 2018 Open Championship winner won the Arnold Palmer last March; however, it was his blown lead at last year's Masters that still might be lingering on Molinari's mind. He led by two strokes on the final back nine at Augusta but collapsed and finished in a tie for fifth. Molinari admitted to playing some head games with himself after the Masters, that being a possible reason he has not won since the Palmer. Perhaps a fresh start, a new season, will help him refocus and find that confidence he enjoyed in 2018.

Beating the clock. Kuchar just won at Singapore, and he has nine victories on the PGA Tour. The 41-year-old is still at the top of his game, but the question begs: Is time running out on Kuchar to finally win a major? He's finished top 10 in majors in each of the last three seasons, but close is not good enough — not when Father Time could be the biggest obstacle he has to face at this point in his career.

Personal pressure. For some golfers, winning a major offers the chance to breathe a little easier, relax a bit. Not Lowry. He's looking for even more after winning last season's Open Championship. For starters, Lowry wants to compete at the Olympics this summer in Tokyo and earn a spot on Europe's Ryder Cup team. Ambition is one thing, but let's hope that Lowry does not put so much pressure on himself that it hinders his play and ability to reach his goals.

Make more birdies. First off, at age 42 Casey is arguably playing the best golf of his career. He remains someone to watch when it comes to potential major winners and is filled with confidence. If we're going to find a flaw in his game, it's that Casey doesn't make a lot of birdies. In 2019 he ranked 67th with a 3.87 birdie average. He's over 4.0 so far in 2020, so perhaps the improvement is in place.

Pick up the pace. No surprise here, but it's also not fair to think a competitor can change his ways overnight. DeChambeau is Mr. Methodical, and though a lot of focus has turned to his increased body strength, the underlying X-factor might still be his penchant for playing slow. The PGA is making strides to remedy that issue among Tour players, so we'll see if DeChambeau will speed things up and truly take his game to an elite level.

Learn to win. Finau has done pretty well for himself as a pro golfer — five top 10-finishes at majors over the last two seasons and a Ryder Cup appearance. He's on a lot of lists to win his first major this season, but a second PGA Tour victory might be a more realistic next step. Finau's only other victory came in Puerto Rico in 2016.

Approach shots. Woodland's breakout 2019 opened the door for a new, confident golfer who has already looked good in 2020. If we're going to pinpoint one area where the Kansas native needs to improve, it's on his approach to the greens. Woodland ranks 101st in SG: Approach-The-Green, so there is some work to be done. At the end of the day, Woodland could still be in store for another strong campaign in '20.

Greens in regulation. Oosthuizen is off to a solid 2020 start on the international scene, and we know he has one of the smoothest swings in all of golf. However, there is work to be done when it comes to getting to the green. Last season, the veteran South African ranked 93rd in greens in regulation. Getting there is half the battle, and Oosthuizen should be better in doing so. 

Don't stop now. Scott won his first tournament in nearly four years when he took the title at the Australian PGA in December. Now the focus for Scott is to build on that victory and prove that he can again be a serious threat when it comes to the majors and other important international tournaments and remain among golf's elite.

Attitude. Nobody is denying that Reed has talent. But whether it's his whining at the 2018 Ryder Cup or his "cheating" saga, Reed might want to take a long look at the way he handles himself. Being outspoken and opinionated is one thing, but it seems Reed enjoys playing the role of an agitator. And even when he messes up, he still has problems owning up to his mistakes. Maybe an attitude adjustment in 2020 is needed. 

Late-round putting. With three top 10s in three tournaments on the 2019-20 schedule, it's hard to find something glaring that Simpson is doing wrong. But one statistic that stands out is that entering this weekend's play at the Farmers Insurance Open, Simpson ranks 192nd while averaging 30.3 putts during the fourth round of tournaments. If Simpson wants to truly have a successful season that's highlighted with one or more victories, that number likely needs to go down.

Mental toughness. We're talking about in terms of closing the deal in major tournaments. Fleetwood has two second-place finishes at majors (2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Open Championship). He missed a putt to force a playoff in '18 and fell short of Shane Lowry at the Open Championship last year. Now, Fleetwood just turned 29, so it's not like he's on the clock to learn how to win the big ones. But it's something he might want to work on. 

Finish. Schauffele admitted ill-timed 3-putts on the final hole of regulation and in the playoff essentially kept him from winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month. He has three top-five finishes in majors over the past two seasons. So while Schauffele has won his share of titles, a good chunk from the come-from-behind variety, he knows he still needs to be better at closing the deal when it gets tight.

Find the fire. We're not saying that Rose is lazy or any less motivated at this point in his career. Rose is a rather positive person, but we'd like to see a little more passion and perhaps a sense of urgency to his game. This was a guy not long ago who was a fixture among the top two or three golfers in the world rankings. He has not won a tournament in exactly one year, and it was 2013 when Rose won his only major. Perhaps now is the time to refind that next gear.

Major preparation. Healthy and focused more than any time during his pro career, the 27-year-old Cantlay is on a lot of lists this season to claim his first major. To accomplish that, he plans to devote more to preparing both his body and mind on those events, whether it is heading to the sites early or doing some research or a little extra specific training during his down time.

Health. At this point in his career, Woods' body is a bigger issue than any tight fairway, long par-3 or 20-foot putt. Tiger's health, the back, knees, etc, did not always cooperate in 2019, thus leading to an inconsistent campaign. He's smart enough to listen to his body these days but also still has the out-of-this-world competitive drive that sometimes asks for more than he's physically capable of giving.

Off the tee. Now DJ is still one of the best drivers in the game, but he took a bit of a step back in 2019. According to PGA Tour.com, Johnson failed to rank Nos. 1 or 2 in SG: Off-the-Tee for the first time since 2014. Perhaps that was part of the reason Johnson won onlyi once in 2019, and that came in late February. For him to again challenge for the world's No. 1 ranking, Johnson must show his former self on the tee.

Around the green. It's early in the 2020 season, but Thomas can use a little work on his play around the green after struggling around and on it while missing the cut at this month's Sony Open. Through 18 rounds, Thomas sits tied for 34th in SG: Around-The-Green. Last season, Thomas tied for eighth in that department, so at least early on we know what he needs to work on.

Golf maturity. While Rahm has toned down his temper on the course (no more club smashing or throwing), he believes his overall game still needs some seasoning: the way he maneuvers the course, his strategy or, yes, still being able to balance his physical talent with the mental toughness that it takes to consistently be among the world's best golfers. 

Wedge play. McIlroy improved in several significant categories (SG: Approach-The-Green, SG:Putting for example) during his strong 2019 season. However, he failed to fall among the top 50 in approach shots from 50-75 yards, 75-100 (where he was well outside the top 100) and 100-125. While his all-around game is better than 95 percent of the world's best golfers, there's room for some fine-tuning.

Three-putts. At this point, we're kind of nitpicking. This is a guy who made history repeating as both U.S. Open and PGA Championship winner. However, Koepka still can use some work on the greens. In 2019 Koepka ranked 123rd in 3-putt avoidance, marking the third time in the last four seasons that he finished a season 100th or worse in that category. Any significant improvement in that area could result in another victory or two — perhaps in a major.