The Golf World Mourns, Can an Old Face Save the Future?

With yet another season of golf majors gone by, another season that saw 4 different winners (and none the same as any of the nine previous major winners), I think it is time to reflect on the most recent champion and what his win means for the game of golf and the PGA Tour.

To the untrained eye, or for the person who flicked their television on way too late, the finish to the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club may have seemed good, even thrilling.  It was, however, not that at all.  Sure a three-hole playoff is exciting, but Keegan Bradley’s win was yet another page in the recent dark history of major golf championships.  I don’t dislike Keegan Bradley, I am happy for the youngster that he was able to shake off a collapse that had occurred only a week prior and win the PGA Championship, but I merely question if his win was good for the game of golf or not.

The clear answer to this question is that his win is NOT good for the game, but it is not just his victory, it is his victory in combination with the previous 12 victors of major championships.  I had previously written a blog about the seemingly bleak future for American golf, but this instead is about the future of golf—period.

Why you ask is Bradley’s win so bad for the game?  Well, there are a couple of reasons.

The first is simply something that is found in his bag.  While some know, but others may not, golf purists across the globe cringed or rolled over in their graves when Keegan Bradley raised his belly putter in triumph on the 18^th green.  The 93^rd PGA Championship marked the first time that a major championship was captured using either a belly or long putter.  The golf world mourns because this is yet another display of the smash-and-grab style of play that has become indicative of so many young players on the Tour.  The true touch of a champion can now be imitated by jabbing one’s putter into their stomach or holding it at their chest, as opposed to the necessary skill of their hands.

The second is the manner in which Keegan Bradley won the tournament.  The golf world was excited when Charl Schwartzel became the first man to win a major by making birdies on the final four holes at Augusta in the year’s first major.  In the 93^rd PGA Championship, the golf world had to endure Keegan Bradley triple bogeying the 15^th hole and Jason Dufner limping home hauling a bag full of bogeys.  There was no one charging after golf balls with dramatic fist pumps, instead their were people watching golf balls with agony trying their best to give the championship to the other.  The two putt from 18 feet for Keegan Bradley’s victory seemed like nothing but defeat for the golf world.  The Tour thirsts for the days of Tiger Woods electrifying fans with chips that sit on the edge of the cup before dropping, or following putts in the growing darkness as they drop into the center of the cup.

Finally, and most obviously, the golf world needs someone to take charge and separate himself from the pack.  While I believe Rory McIlroy will become an increasingly great golfer, the fact remains that he has blown the lead in more majors than he has won.  Dustin Johnson chokes so often that Greg Norman feels bad for him.  Darren Clarke’s victory at the 2011 Open Championship was his first top 10 finish in a major in 10 years, and he would then miss the cut at the PGA Championship just weeks later.  None of the previous 13 major champions have the charisma that captured the attention of the golf world as Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and so many other major champions did.

This is not intended to take away from the victory that Keegan Bradley had at the Atlanta Athletic Club in the 93^rd PGA Championship.  It is also not intended to paint a bleak picture of the future of golf.  Instead, it is intended to point to the depth of bleakness that faces the current state of golf.  We need someone, and I will mention the name of golfer who, while they are notoriously not a major winner, initially captured the world with energy and charisma and if they could find the top of the leader board may be good for the game—Sergio Garcia.  Do you have any more jumps from behind trees left in your Sergio?  I know it is a long shot, but think about it?

The Future of American Golf: The Story Told By the Last 6 Majors

At the ripe age of 42 this past weekend, Darren Clarke won his first major championship.  His win was interesting for several different reasons.  For the first time since 1910 two different men from the same country, excluding the United States, won back-to-back major championships in golf.  Clarke joined his Northern Irish countryman and U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy in securing this milestone.  Secondly, it marked the sixth straight major in which a man from the United States has been crowned champion, the longest such drought for America in the modern construction of the major championships in golf.  So who will finally end this drought?

With the precipitous fall of Tiger Woods and uncertainty surrounding his return, America is searching for the next golf prodigy to get excited about.  Currently the top 2 Americans in the world golf rankings, Steve Stricker (No. 5) and Phil Mickelson (No. 6), are 44 and 41 years-of-age respectively.  The average age of the 4 Europeans ahead of them in the rankings is under 30.  So what do the results of the last six majors, yielding 0 American champions, tell us about the future of American golf?

The 2010 U.S. Open 

            Captured by Graeme McDowell, from Northern Ireland, the U.S. Open, in hindsight now, is an odd snapshot of what the golf world was becoming.

McDowell became the first of three Northern Irishman to capture a major title over the next six; Clarke and McIlroy would join him.  Woods, Mickelson, and Davis Love III would place in the top 10, representing the ever-aging stars of American golf.  Dustin Johnson, then 25, started the final round 3 shots clear of the field, but would shot an 11-over par, 82, to finish in a tie for 8^th—the first breakdown in a major he would suffer.  Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker were relatively young Americans who would flash in a major and stick around for the year, but regress in 2011 culminating in missed cuts at the most recent British Open.

One word describing the future of American golf at the time:  Comfortable.

The 2010 British Open 

            Louis Oosthuizen, a 27-year old South African, lapped the rest of the field on his way to a 7-stroke victory at St. Andrews.  Two of those men that he lapped were Sean O’Hair and Nick Watney, the only Americans to place in the top 10.  O’Hair, who had placed in the top 15 of 6 of the previous 18 majors he had appeared in, walked away in a tie for 7^th place.  What has O’Hair done in majors since?  Missed the cut in all three of his starts.  Nick Watney, who had had a top 10 finish in the 2010 Masters, was one of the three men to tie with O’Hair.  While he would finish in a tie for 18^th in the final major of 2010, he has a 46^th place finish and two missed cuts in the three majors of 2011.

One word describing the future of American golf at the time:  Fine.

The 2010 PGA Championship 

            A 3-hole playoff was needed to crown the 25-year old from Germany, Martin Kaymer.  He would beat out fan favorite and American Bubba Watson by a single stroke on the final playoff hole.

Watson headed a group of 5 Americans that finished in the top 10; he has finished no higher than a tie for 30^th in three majors in 2011.  Zach Johnson, 2007 Masters champion, found his second top 10 finish in 15 major appearances since that title, he had missed 5 cuts in that same time period.  In 2011, one missed cut and one top 25 in the three majors.  Jason Dufner, 33 at the time, found his first top 10 at a major, tying for 5^th.  He has missed the cut at the two majors he has appeared in since making it 5 missed cuts at majors in 10 career appearances.  Matt Kuchar showed his face in the top 10 of another 2010 major, but has yet to do so again.  The final American in the top 10 was Dustin Johnson.  Johnson actually finished higher than Kuchar, but I saved him for last because this is the second breakdown he would suffer in the year.  On the final hole he needed a par to grab the title, he would bogey.  Even worse, after the hole was completed it was brought to his attention that he had grounded his club in a bunker that had been walked in all week by spectators, a now infamous ruling, so a two-stroke penalty was assessed and he failed to qualify for the playoff.

One word describing the future of American golf at the time:  Exciting.

The 2011 Masters

The Masters, the first major of the year, was a completely lackluster performance for young American golfers.  A South African, Charl Schwartzel who had an unprecedented run on the final 4 holes, captured the tournament.

The tournament saw 3 Americans finish in the top 10, one of which was Tiger Woods.  The others:  Bo Van Pelt and Ryan Palmer.  Van Pelt, 36, who has one other top 15 finish in 17 career starts at majors, has missed the cut in 5 majors.  Palmer, 34, found his only top 20 finish in 11 career majors at Augusta; he has missed the cut 4 times in a major.  Neither of these golfers, however, has missed the cut in the other two majors in 2011.

One word describing the future of American golf:  Questionable.

The 2011 U.S. Open 

            The clear storyline of this major was the wire-to-wire, Tiger-esque dominance displayed by the 22-year old Rory McIlroy on his way to an 8-stroke victory.

As for the Americans in the tournament, two finished in the top 10:  Kevin Chappell and Robert Garrigus.  Chappell, 25, played his way into the top 10 on the final day with a 5-under, 66.  To date it is his only major appearance.  He tied for 3^rd place with three other golfers, including Robert Garrigus.  Garrigus, 33, has appeared in 4 majors spread out over 8 years; this was the only time he made the cut.

One word describing the future of American golf at the time:  Disappearing.

The 2011 British Open

            Darren Clarke, a fan favorite at Royal St. George’s, triumphed by three strokes in a tournament that saw scores fluctuate in windy weather conditions.  This tournament, however, was not free of its fair share of American influence.

Six Americans would place in the top 10.  Three of them (Mickelson, Love III, and Chad Campbell), however, are passed their prime and once again do not represent the future of American golf.  Some other familiar American names were spotted in the top 10.  Finishing in a tie for 5^th, the 22-year old Rickie Fowler claimed his first top 10 finish in his 7^th career major, but his play has been inconsistent.  Anthony Kim (26), also tying for 5^th, broke into the top 10 for the first time since the 2010 Masters; his finishes in three other majors since then, two missed cuts and a tie for 54^th.  The American name highest on the leader board was none other than Dustin Johnson.  Johnson started the final round 1-stroke behind Clarke, and, playing in the final group would blast a two-iron out of bounds on the 14^th hole on his way to a double bogey and a final round 72 (+2).

One word describing the future of American golf at the time:  Unknown.

The most promising names are:  Anthony Kim, Nick Watney, Matt Kuchar, and Dustin Johnson.  Kim, and Fowler, although not mentioned, need to become consistent players on tour every single week to be comfortable.  Watney and Kuchar need to make a move at the PGA Championship this year to regain some confidence.  Dustin Johnson’s most desperate need?  A really good sports psychologist.  He needs to not become Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson of old, or end up Colin Montgomerie.

Overall the future of American golf, while boasting some young guns, is not even close to being certain.  And the biggest challengers to the young Europeans seem to be coming from South Africa, Asia, and the annals of U.S. golf.  We need a new Tiger, but they are an endangered species here in the United States.