This 20-Year-Old LIV Star Admits He Hasn't 'Got As Much Publicity' As Other Golfing Prodigies... But He Might Just Be One Of The Game's Brightest Talents

LIV Golf is home to some of the sport's biggest names like Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka to name a few as well as a number of young, up-and-coming future stars.

One of those is 20-year-old Caleb Surratt, who joined Jon Rahm's Legion XIII team last year as a sophomore at the University of Tennessee.

Surratt, who now describes Jon Rahm as "a great mentor", won the SEC Championship by six strokes while playing for the Vols and became the SEC Freshman of the Year and the first in program history to become a First Team All-American.

He also set the Vols' lowest ever single-season stroke average and was on the winning US Walker Cup side.

Surratt's first season as a pro showed plenty of signs that he has the potential to be one of the game's top players, with the Legion XIII player twice finishing 2nd on the Asian Tour, including at December's Saudi International. He also had a 3rd-place on the Asian Tour and managed four top-20s in LIV with a best finish of T12.

The North Carolina native admits he is one of the best talents in the sport despite not getting as much publicity as some of the game's more well-known young stars.

"For sure I think so [on whether he believes he is one of the best young players in the world] I mean, I was definitely one of the best junior amateur golfers," he told Golf Monthly.

"I think, although maybe I haven't got as much publicity as some of the other guys have gotten around my age that have been doing well recently, I don't think there's any reason to think that I'm not worthy of competing with those guys at all.

"I've learned a lot this year. I know I'm a better player than I was when I was in college because I've just learned so much and I think one day this is all going to come full circle and I'm gonna be seeing some of those same guys again in Majors, hopefully soon and and I'm excited to see how I stack up.

"I know I used to stack up pretty great, so I think I can do that again."

Despite being just 20, Surratt has the goal of winning twice this year and is determined to get inside the world's top 100 to make his Major debut at the PGA Championship in May - which takes place in his hometown of Charlotte at Quail Hollow.

"I have a few goals. One goal is to get in the PGA Championship. I've played four events this year [2024] that were Official World Golf-ranked, and I went up like 2200 spots, just from those four, and I've gotten to around the 280-310 number.

"I think if I can play well at the start of this year, I can potentially get my name in the conversation for hopefully maybe a sponsor exemption or potentially get into that top 100 and have a chance because it's in my hometown so that's probably my biggest goal.

"Another goal it to win twice I’d say, I think if I play well it's definitely possible. Definitely I want to win an Asian Tour International Series event and I want to be competing at the top of these LIV events a lot more often than I did last year so I know I'll get there eventually."

While Surratt can only earn OWGR points on the Asian Tour, he is not one of the high profile LIV Golfers calling for the circuit to gain Major pathways. The 20-year-old, who would likely still be in college had LIV Golf not come calling, will play in both US Open and The Open qualifying and says he is looing at the Majors as if he is still a collegiate golfer.

"I think right now I'm looking at it from the perspective of like, okay, if I'm 20 years old in college, how am I going to get into the Majors? And the answer is to qualify for them," he said.

"So nothing's changed on that perspective, and until I play my way into a more complete professional golfer like a lot of the guys I'm competing with every week then I could maybe try and say I'm trying to get exempt into them.

"But for now I'm just putting my head down and trying to qualify for them the way that it should be and the way that I should be in college regardless, and the way that's probably rightfully so.

"I don't really expect a pedestal into the Majors at all. I want to work just as hard as anybody else and give myself the same opportunity. So at some point I have heard, you know, potential routes as pathways, it's pretty exciting.

"But I know that that's not going to be something for me this year, so I just need to put my head where I'm gonna be and try at that my hardest."

Surratt also has high praise for fellow former college star David Puig, who joined LIV Golf straight from school and has managed to win multiple times on the Asian Tour and play his way into four Majors over the past two years as well as the Olympics.

While Eugenio Chacarra recently spoke of why he wanted to leave LIV Golf to pursue Major championships and the PGA Tour, Puig is somewhat of a role model and an example to young LIV players of how to climb the world rankings and qualify for golf's biggest tournaments.

"100%," Surratt said on whether he sees Puig as an inspiration.

"I mean it just goes to show you that like it can be done for sure. He's a good friend and a great player and he's kind of showed myself that there's clearly a pathway on the International Series events, and yeah that's what I've been trying to do.

"I'm gonna try and play every event at the start of this year that I really can that is an International Series or LIV or anything I can get into the same way he did last year.

"And I know that I can play at the level he did to to get in. He sure did play some spectacular golf at that time of the year, that doesn't really come around a lot, and he did amazing. But yeah, he showed us all that it is absolutely possible.

"I think he's right around that 100 in the world, and that's pretty impressive to not be playing a ton of other big tour events, unbelievable."

Surratt is set to make his first start of 2025 at the International Series India later this month before the LIV Golf opener in Riyadh.