Most years, one of the main questions heading into the PGA Tour season is “how many tournaments will Tiger Woods win?”
This year, that question has changed a bit to “will he win a tournament?”
Coming off the worst year of his life both on and off the golf course, Woods is again a focal point of attention going into the 2011 season, but for different reasons than in previous years.
After a winless 2010, Woods is looking to re-establish himself as the game’s dominant player, having yielded the top two spots in the world rankings to Europeans Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, with Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell closing fast on third place.
Most golf analysts, both in print and on the air, expect Woods to regain a significant portion of his dwindling status, which is to be expected. The golf media always expects Tiger to lead the pack, even when the evidence does not support their observations.
After managing just two top 10s in 12 PGA Tour starts (a pair of T4s in the Masters and U.S. Open), Woods closed out the year with a trio of strong showings in China, Australia and his season-ending invitational in southern California, but was unable to close the deal in the latter event and was beaten in a playoff by McDowell.
Between the tabloid headlines and dissolution of his marriage, Woods had to battle some serious personal distractions, and his game suffered as well. His stats were uncharacteristically all over the map, and as a result, he was never a serious challenger for a victory before his last gasp shot at Sherwood CC.
The likelihood that Woods will ever be as dominant as he was in his most successful seasons is a long shot at best, and it’s not nearly a sure thing that he will reclaim his No. 1 ranking. His aura of invincibility has been shattered, and he’s going to have to prove to both his competition and himself that he can still be the game’s best player.
In the absence of a dominant Tiger, the balance of power in golf shifted overseas last year, with two Europeans and a South African claiming the last three majors of 2010. Kaymer and McDowell are part of a European takeover of golf at its top level, with six Euros in the top 10 and 10 in the top 20.
The hand wringing in some parts about the decisions by Westwood and Rory McIlroy to give up their PGA Tour membership and by Kaymer to remain primarily in Europe was a bit much. After all, they are Europeans.
McDowell and Dubai World Championship winner Robert Karlsson have both taken PGA Tour membership for 2011, along with rising South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Of the 13 Euros in the top 30, seven are PGA Tour members, and every elite player from either Australia or South Africa plays primarily in the U.S., which says a lot more about the relative merits of the two tours.
Because of some restrictive PGA Tour rules, Westwood and McIlroy will not be able to play as frequently in the U.S. as they would like, and along with Kaymer will not be part of the FedExCup. But Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington and Justin Rose will be PGA Tour members this year, providing a healthy European presence along with McDowell.
Golf has become more international in nature in recent years, with a large group of talented young players from almost every corner of the globe. McIlroy and American Rickie Fowler are barely into their 20s, and three budding stars – Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, Italy’s Matteo Manassero and Korea’s Seung-yul Noh – are still teenagers.
Kaymer, Oosthuizen, Schwartzel and Dustin Johnson are still years away from reaching 30, with the current crop of standout 20-somethings not especially America-centric. Fowler, Johnson and Anthony Kim are the lone marquee names under the age of 28.
Among the large crop of rookies looking to make a mark on tour this year is Woodstock’s Chris Kirk, who finished T7 in the Bob Hope Classic after leading briefly on Saturday. Kirk, who was second on the Nationwide Tour last year, has a solid all-around game, and should be a contender for Rookie of the Year honors, although Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas has a quick leg up in that chase.
There will be just as much attention paid to the tour’s growing number of star players in their 40s, beginning with the most recent addition to that list – Phil Mickelson. After capturing his third Masters title last April, Mickelson had only a handful of strong efforts the rest of the year, and began 2011 with a so-so showing in a first ever appearance in the Middle East.
With health concerns for both himself and wife Amy, there is a question about how much Mickelson still has left both physically and mentally, and the erratic nature of his overall game has not shown any signs of changing. Mickelson is still capable of the occasional exceptional effort, and his strong 2011 indicate that maybe his hopes of eventually attaining a No. 1 world ranking are still within reach.
Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker, America’s two other elite 40-somethings, showed no signs of slowing down last year, and began 2011 with three top 10s in their first four starts. On the other hand, Ernie Els started slowly in Hawaii, not a good sign for the three-time major champion, who seems stuck on that number.
Els won the last time (1997) the U.S. Open was played at Congressional, which will be the site of the this year’s championship. The British Open is scheduled for one of its less heralded sites (St. George’s), which produced an odd finish eight years ago. Little known American rookie Ben Curtis emerged with the Claret Jug after several far more recognizable names (Singh, Bjorn, Woods, Love, Perry, Garcia) let it slip from their hands.
Other than the departure of the Turning Stone Resort Classic, there are no changes of note to the PGA Tour schedule, with a few minor shifts in dates. The Heritage Classic, which is still looking for a title sponsor, will now be played two weeks after the Masters, which may cost the event an international player or two, but still should draw a strong field.
The Texas Open takes over the week after the Masters spot on the schedule, and may draw an even weaker field than it has previously, if that’s possible.
The off week during the FedExCup playoffs will now be after the Deutsche Bank Championship, which concludes Labor Day. There will now be two playoffs events, followed by an off week, with the Tour Championship at East Lake immediately after the BMW Championship in Chicago. The open date has come the week before the Tour Championship since the playoffs began in 2008, with this year’s event set for Sept. 22-25.
The McGladrey Classic at Sea Island GC will be played one week later than its inaugural appearance on the PGA Tour, and will be the third of four Fall Series events. The dates are Oct. 13-16, with the official tour schedule concluding the following week with the Disney Classic.
Something else to keep an eye on in 2011 is the recurring problem resulting from golf’s out-of-date book of rules and the annoying habit of wannabe rules officials to rat out players from the comfort of their couches. The various rules making bodies and pro tours need to act quickly to restore some common sense to a sport burdened by too many nitpicky rules and some overzealous viewers who erroneously think they’re protecting the integrity of the game.
As anathema as it may be some of golf’s purists, the sport’s decision makers need to learn the meaning of the NBA phrase “no harm, no foul.”