2008 PGA Tour Season - An Early Review and Outlook
Posted by Coach on February 20, 2008
Through seven tournaments, things look promising. Which means, of course, Tiger and Mickelson appear to be on form. The season, as usual, started off in a boring fashion. The first three winners - Chopra, Choi, and Trahan - don’t exactly stir the drink. The fields were weak. But the big boys were resting. As evidenced in Tiger’s annual steamroll at Torrey Pines and come from behind victory at Dubai and Mickelson’s runner up at the FBR and win at Riviera.
The match play begins today, with storylines aplenty. Unfortunately, there’s almost no chance of Tiger and Phil facing each other Sunday. It’s entirely possibly this tournament won’t be worth watching come Friday afternoon. To quote Curtis Strange, “That’s just the nature of match play.”
Anyway, with Phil’s victory last week, we’ve got some nice separation in the world rankings.
Tiger 19.71
Phil 10.18
Stricker 6.48
Is Phil going to catch Tiger? Of course not. But if they can both remain healthy (bigger if for Phil, of course), we’ve got a potentially epic season on hand. The idea of a Sunday pairing in the last group at Augusta makes me downright giddy.
That’s a lot about Tiger and Phil. They deserve the ink. But can someone else leave a mark this year? In order, these are the guys that could win a big one or at least have a big season…
1. Adam Scott - Officially taken Sergio’s spot as the best young player and best player to have never won a major. The knock, and it’s a big knock, is his pathetic performance in majors to date. Four top tens in 27 majors played - never sniffed a victory. Nine missed cuts. Granted, many of the MCs came early in his career. Recently, in an interview with ESPN’s Jason Sobel, Scott addressed the topic:
Q: You have never finished closer than six strokes to the winner in 27 career majors. How come?
A: Well, I really haven’t taken my best stuff into a major yet. It’s been something that I’ve struggled with, peaking on those four weeks of the year. I’m working really hard to change that.
Q: What are your feelings going into a major championship week? Excitement? Nerves? Some combination of the two?
A: It’s a combination of the two, but I’d certainly like to see the excitement level going up. I think there’s more and more excitement now. I’m feeling more and more comfortable in my abilities to win one, so excitement should take over.
He’s already notched a victory in Europe this season - with a final round 61, no less. I see a big year.
2. Boo Weekely - Is he ready to win a major? Part of me thinks it’s crazy to even ask that question. But another part of me likes his aw shucks attitude. All he ever wanted was to make a living playing golf - and retire young. I think he might find himself in the last group at the US Open or PGA this year - he’s one of the best ballstrikers on tour. It won’t mean as much to him to win a major as it would someone else - which, oddly enough, could help him. He’ll win at least one regular event and finish in the top ten on the money list and be a star at the Ryder Cup.
The camouflage should help Boo sneak up major leaderboards.
3. Justin Rose - A lot of people have him on their list. He’s been popping up on leaderboards in majors. He’s got a ton of experience (good and bad) for someone his age. Plus, the British Open is returning to Birkdale, the site of his incredible fourth place finish in 1998 as a 17 year old amateur - including the hole out from 80 yards for birdie on 18 in the final round. Talk about good vibes. He might win a major before he wins a regular PGA Tour event.
These guys are going the wrong way…
1. Sergio Garcia - The loss to Paddy Harrington at the British last year is going to sting for a long, long time. Much has been made of his tantrum after the play off. Deservedly so. If he thinks having a well struck putt not fall is bad luck, I wonder what he makes of Greg Norman’s entire career. I’ve said it before, only one truly great modern player had a crummy attitude - Seve Ballesteros. He blamed everyone but himself and managed to win five majors and be the world’s dominant player for several years. And he absolutely ruled the Ryder Cup, singlehandedly making the event what it is today. By the time Seve was 28, he’d won four majors and 22 European events, overall. Sergio is 28. Sergio is not Seve.
Sergio doesn’t have Seve’s unibrow or green jacket(s).
2. Davis Love - Good night, sweet princess. He had a decent run, but ultimately will be known for his shortcomings in majors and by the nickname I gave him: Softy McSoftchest. Loads of talent coupled with the guts of a mob informant gets you one major - the PGA - just like Rich Beem and Shaun Micheel. I want him also to be remembered for having a fan kicked out of a tournament for saying, “No Love.” Seriously. People used to throw hot dogs at Nicklaus on his downswing and shout, “Hungry, fat boy!?” I will not miss DLIII or his homosexual fist pump.
Yippee, I just won another MCI Heritage Classic.
3. Retief Goosen - Just a miserable 2007, outside of his final round at Augusta which gave him a backdoor runner up. What’s wrong with the Goose? Well, you could start with his ballstriking and putting. He finished 194th in GIR and 111th in putting average. Couple that with wayward, short drives and, well, he sucked. This year hasn’t started any better, as he missed the cut in his only start in the US this season. I can admit Goose is the kind of guy who can miss ten straight cuts and shoot up a leaderboard at a major on Sunday. But unless he goes in for a major mental/swing overhaul, his best days might be behind him.
Posted in Golf, Sports | 2 Comments »
