
Rico Hoey is The Philippines’ best golfer by quite some distance and he’s already making waves on the PGA Tour.
Hoey, 30, turned pro in 2017 but he had to wait until 2024 before gaining fully exempt status on the PGA Tour. yone be able to stop Scottie Scheffler at La Quinta?
Hoey is an incredibly long driver of the golf ball, and he averaged just under 308 yards off the tee in 2025.
The Filipino was ranked third in strokes gained off the tee last year, gaining 0.678 shots on the field every round with his driver.
Rico Hoey is one step away from winning regularly on the PGA Tour
His iron play was on point last year as well, and he ended the season ranked eighth in strokes gained approach on the PGA Tour, gaining 0.667 shots on the field with his irons every time he took to the golf course.
In total, he was ranked second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained tee-to-green in 2025, behind only world number one Scottie Scheffler.
Hoey is a joy to watch when he’s on song and his hopes of winning will simply be a case of him putting everything together in the same week.
It will surely only be a matter of time before he gets over the line and wins on the PGA Tour.
And when he does secure that first victory, it may well open the floodgates to many more wins.
He is currently the highest ranked golfer in the world from the Philippines.
However, the sky is the limit for Hoey, and here’s why…
Rico Hoey’s one weakness is stopping him from reaching PGA Tour superstardom
Incredibly, Hoey ranked 180th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting during the 2025 season.
In 2024, he ranked 14th on the greens.
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It’s clear and obvious to see that he needs to address his putting woes urgently and if he manages to do just that, he could become a serious force on the world stage overnight.
Hoey is in the field this week at the American Express in La Quinta, California.
It will be very interesting to keep an eye on the man from The Philippines over the coming weeks, to see if he has made any significant strides on the greens during the off-season.
The good news for Rico Hoey fans is that he was ranked 43rd in strokes gained putting at the Sony Open in Hawaii last week.
If he manages to remain around that kind of ranking for the entire season, and maintains his almost unrivalled ball-striking, Hoey will win multiple times on the PGA Tour in 2026.
The 30-year-old could well be the PGA Tour’s next superstar.

