Most improved golfers on the PGA Tour in 2019

During his first full season on the PGA Tour in 2018, Ancer won almost $1.7 million. After finishing tied for 49th at the U.S. Open, Ancer has already earned more than $1.4 million through 21 events. The Mexican-American golfer has made the cut in each of his last five starts and finished tied for 12th at THE PLAYERS earlier this season.

In the case of Cantlay, it's more about progression than major improvement. He went from just over $2 million in Tour earnings in 2017 to almost $4 million last season. This year Cantlay has already made more than $4.6 million and has top-10 finishes in two of the three majors in 2019. Looks like the sky might be the limit.

The Canadian earned his first professional victory at the Texas Open in April — which came after Monday qualifying. Now, his best finish since then is a tie for 30th at New Orleans, so Connors hasn't totally been able to build on that victory, However, the way in which he made it to his win is enough to warrant a place on this list. Believe more good times are ahead for Connors.

To the average golf fan, Every's name probably does not ring a bell. Maybe it should, considering the Florida native has two top-five finishes in the last three cuts he's made and finished T17 in the other. Every, who's made more than $1.3 million, has the game to possibly stay on the radar after improving his play enough in 2019 from recording just one top 10 in 30 starts last season.

Here's another veteran gracing this list. But Furyk, who turned 49 in May and was coming off a disappointing Ryder Cup captaincy, enters the post-U.S. Open slate 10th on Tour in scoring average (69.729), 30th in the FedEx Cup standings and inside the top 50 in the world rankings. His $2.5-plus million in earnings are the most for the 2003 U.S. Open winner since 2015.

Really? One of the most successful golfers in the game is on a most improved list? That's right. Garcia did not win the U.S. Open, but his T52 at Pebble Beach was significant because it ended his skid of missing the cut at seven consecutive majors. Through his first 12 PGA Tour events, Garcia has five top 10s, was second at New Orleans and earned nearly $1.7 million after failing to make $900,000 in 2018.

A year ago, Lucas Glover failed to make $800,000 on the PGA Tour while dealing with some hefty personal issues. His life seems to be more in order these days, and it's shown on the course. The 2009 U.S. Open champion is nearing the $2 million mark in earnings, and through Father's Day he has 12 top-25 finishes in 18 starts, including four top 10s.

Homa has made a splash in his return to the PGA Tour this season. Following a disappointing 2017 (only two cuts made) that caused him to lose his Tour card, Homa regrouped on the Web.com Tour and got himself back up to the show. He posted his first Tour victory at the Wells Fargo in May and has made just shy of $2 million during his most successful campaign.

Though his game has not been sharp of late, Howell has still made $2.6 million, which is more than he made all of last season. Howell is 20th in the money after the U.S. Open, and even if things continue to stay on the downtrend the rest of the season, he's made enough of an improvement from last year to somewhat feel good about things.

After falling short of the $2 million earnings mark the past two seasons, Kang is well above that number midway through the month of June. A victory at the Byron Nelson gave his bank account a boost, and his seventh-place finish at the PGA Championship was a nice reinforcement that he might be taking the next step. 

It might be hard to figure that Kuchar, in his 40s, can fit the "most improved" moniker. But after finishing 71st on the money list last season and going four years without a victory, Kuchar is more of a resurgent story in 2019. He's won twice on the 2018-19 slate, is first in the FedEx Cup rankings, third on the money list (more than $6.1 million earned) and 13th in the World Golf Ranking. He's also placed within the top 16 in each major this season. 

It might seem hard to figure a Tour rookie among this group, but considering Long has been a professional playing on smaller tours since 2010, what he's done in 2019 is quite impressive. After earning his PGA Tour card out of the Web.com Tour in 2018, Long won January's Desert Classic in his sixth Tour event and has made more than $1.4 million this season.

The former Web.com star is amid a nice early progression on his young PGA Tour career. After making more than $1.6 million in 2018, Mitchell is over $2.2 million. He won the Honda Classic in March, edging Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka to do so. Not bad company. Mitchell failed to make the cut at the last two majors, but all and all it's been a good year for the former Georgia Bulldog.

Following the U.S. Open, Palmer was 18th in the FedExCup standings and has cleared the $2 million mark for the first time since 2014. Palmer teamed with Jon Rahm to win at New Orleans and tied for fourth at the Honda and sixth at the Schwab. It's been a nice year of improvement for the veteran, who is trying to remain relevant on Tour.

Another young golfer who is showing some solid progression, Pan, 27, went from $1.2 million on Tour in 2017 to $1.8 last season and is over $2.1 in 2019. He earned his first Tour victory at Hilton Head in April and was third at the Schwab. Pan failed to make the cut at the U.S. Open, but we like where he's headed overall.

Through the U.S. Open, Piercy has made almost $2.5 million. He didn't even reach $2 million over 26 events last season. Piercy, who made noise early at the U.S. Open, had six top-10 finishes as of the U.S. Open, including a second and third. We're not sure if Piercy will hold a champion's trophy at some point in 2019, but he should still remain a factor.

It took Reavie 28 tournaments last season to make $2.7 million. In 20 events on the 2018-19 campaign, Reavie has already made $2.2 million. He's placed inside the top 20 in four of the last five tournaments he's started, highlighted by that impressive tie for third at the U.S. Open. Reavie's lone PGA Tour win came back in 2008, but his four top 10s overall and two top 15s in majors this season make Reavie a factor going forward.

We saw signs of a potential breakout from Woodland after his T6 at the 2018 PGA Championship. Then the 2018 Phoenix Open winner tied for eighth at the same event in its move to May of this year. But Woodland's U. S. Open victory at Pebble Beach for his first major victory is obviously a career-defining moment and probably won't be the last we hear about one of the most respected golfers on the Tour.