He may only be at the beginning of his golfing career, but Jack Buchanan is quickly becoming one of those names in golf you hear once and don’t forget. The young golfer has been lighting up the leaderboards across Australia, and his rapid rise has everyone taking notice of him.

Jack Buchanan was born on January 20, 2005, to Nadya and Giles Buchanan in Cape Town, Western Province, South Africa. He attended Rondebosch Boys’ High School, one of Cape Town’s oldest schools. While his roots remain proudly South African, Buchanan spent much of his developing golf years in Australia and competing on the local tours there. Now, Buchanan is continuing his academic journey at the University of Southern California (USC), where he competes as part of the USC Men’s Golf Team while majoring in economics.

Buchanan first fell in love with the game when he was riding around in the cart with his dad. Those simple moments planted the seed for everything that followed.

“When I got bored watching him, my mum would take me around the course and let me hit a few shots. Between my parents, they got me started on my golfing journey,” he told Golf RSA.

He had a successful career as an amateur, building a reputation as one of South Africa’s brightest young prospects. In 2019, he set himself a list of goals: to make cuts, win junior events, and finish high in the Western Province Junior Order of Merit. And he checked nearly all of them off. He won on the national junior circuit at Fancourt, made the cut at the Western Province Amateur, and ended the 2019 season inside the top five of the provincial junior standings.

From there, Jack Buchanan’s transition into the next stages of his career looked effortless. As a freshman at USC, he made the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, competing in 10 tournaments and delivering a steady 72.20 stroke average. He stacked up four top-25 finishes, a top-10, 14 rounds of par or better, and nine rounds under par.

At the 2024 Trinity Forest Invitational, he fired a USC-freshman-record total of 12-under 204. That record tied him for second place and earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors. He later posted USC’s second-best score at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional, finishing one under and tied for 19th. In October this year, his college team, USC Men’s Golf, finished third at the Georgia Collegiate Invitational, where Buchanan finished 40th, shooting 5-over over 3 days.

While juggling college golf, Jack Buchanan also broke through professionally on Australian soil. His 2024 season saw him earn two wins in the same month on the PGA Tour of Australasia. He first won the CKB WA PGA in October last year and then, just weeks later, stormed from 10 shots behind to claim the Webex Players Series South Australia with a course-record eight-under 62 at the Willunga Golf Club.

Buchanan has played on other tours, including the Asian Tour and the DP World Tour. In fact, since 2023, he has played in five DP World Tour events, with his best finish coming at the 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open, where he placed tied for 23rd. Now, he is currently ranked 29th in the Race to Dubai rankings and 740th in the OWGR.

While this is what his professional life looks like, Buchanan’s personal side is just as fascinating.

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What does Jack Buchanan’s life look like off the course?

Outside of golf, Jack Buchanan is as spirited and relatable as any 20-year-old navigating life. He describes himself in one word, “dedicated,” but there’s a fun, slightly quirky side to him that fans rarely get to see.

For starters, he plays every sport right-handed except football, where he swings with his left foot. He claims to “play pretty much every sport that there is,” a trait that probably explains his spectacular golf swing. But his biggest contradiction? He hates flying, especially over water. “I can’t stop thinking that something will go wrong and we will go down,” he admitted to Golf RSA. And that’s not the only thing he dislikes.

His dislikes are very specific, and he hates all vegetables. But he loves every fruit, especially the blueberries, which he says he’d take with him if he were stranded on an island, along with Nutella and his phone. And his favorite home-cooked meal? His mom’s macaroni and cheese—no competition.

When it comes to inspiration for the game, Buchanan’s role model is Tiger Woods. “He has the best mental game of anyone I’ve ever watched. The way he came back and won the Masters again was just unbelievable,” he said. But when asked whom he would dream of playing with? It wasn’t Woods. It was Rory McIlroy.

For youngsters who want to follow in his footsteps, Buchanan’s advice is simple and sincere—”Practice, practice, practice. Don’t mess around on the golf course with our friends. Practice with purpose. And be patient with yourself, because it’ll pay off one day…”

While Jack Buchanan has a long way to go, it’s becoming clear he’s someone worth looking out for.