American Young-uns

It may seem as if every rising young golfer comes from somewhere else—particularly Australia or South Africa—but Uncle Sam's cupboard isn't bare. In addition to the promising young Americans who have already emerged ( Anthony Kim , Kevin Na ), there are some serious up-and-comers waiting to break through. Here are five you may not have heard of yet but almost certainly will in the future.

1. JAMIE LOVEMARK, 19
Stats: the tall (6' 4") Californian who plays at Southern Cal had a breakout June, winning the NCAA title as a freshman and then losing in a playoff as an amateur at the Nationwide tour's Rochester Area Charities Showdown. He's 3 for 3 in making cuts on the PGA Tour , with his best finish a 39th at the Buick Invitational, at which he had a first-round 66.

Skinny: Could've easily turned pro after a hot run this year but will stay in school until at least next summer.

2. RICKIE FOWLER, 18
Stats: A freshman at Oklahoma State , Fowler was the youngest player on this year's victorious Walker Cup team (3--1 individual record) and won two prestigious amateur titles (Sunnehanna and players). He has a win and a fourth in his first two collegiate starts and shot a seven-under 63 at olympia Fields, which tied Vijay Singh 's course record.

Skinny: Fowler says he'll spend four years at Oklahoma State and graduate. If he keeps winning, we'll see.

3. JEFF OVERTON, 24
Stats: the '05 Indiana grad is one of only six players to make it through all three stages of Q school and earn a PGA Tour card in the same year he graduated. A late surge last year helped him keep his card, and now he's 108th on the money list, with a tie for second at the Wyndham Championship.

Skinny: Cut from the Zach Johnson mold, Overton's been on a slow but steady upward curve since high school.

4. COLT KNOST, 22
Stats: after wrapping up his career at SMU last spring, Knost, the 2007 Conference USA player of the year and winner of three collegiate titles, won the U.S. Publinks and the U.S. Amateur and turned pro. He finished 49th in his first Tour start, at the Texas Open, and since then was 38th at the Frys.com open and missed the cut at the Fry's Electronics .

Skinny: Solid, but can he handle the sky-high expectations?

5. PHILLIP FRANCIS, 18
Stats: Now a freshman at UCLA , Francis was the most accomplished junior player since Tiger Woods , winning the first of his 147 titles at age four. In addition to winning the 2006 U.S. Junior, he also won the Junior Worlds four straight times, which broke Woods 's record of three. Francis made his PGA Tour debut this summer, at the John Deere and U.S. Bank , but missed both cuts.