The 2009 PGA TOUR season started with the big question of when Tiger Woods will return from season-ending knee surgery and how good will he be? Unfortunately, the 2009 season ends with a similar question but under different circumstances. When will Woods return from a self-imposed hiatus to repair his marriage stemming from news of multiple extramarital affairs?
In between the PGA TOUR had a great season. Woods returned from knee surgery and seemed to be on the top of his game. He won six times but did not capture a major championship. He did manage a first, of sorts, when Y. E. Yang became the first player to come-from-behind to beat Woods in a major championship. Yang erased a two-shot deficit to beat Woods in the PGA Championship, the year’s final major.
Yang was one of three first-time major winners. Angel Cabrera won his second at the Masters Tournament to don the green jacket for the first time. But, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Yang all captured their first major titles in 2009. Glover won a rain-soaked U. S. Open at Bethpage Black. Cink beat Tom Watson in a playoff to win the Open Championship.
Phil Mickelson had a bit of a come back year in 2009. He started out the season missing the cut at the FBR Open in Arizona. After a 42nd and 55th place showing at the Buick Invitational and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson rebounded with his first win of the season at the Northern Trust Open. He would go on to win three more times in 2009, including two World Golf Championship events. Mickelson also won the season-ending TOUR Championship, erasing a five-shot hole in the final round.
We did miss Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh in 2009. Harrington went through a swing change prior to the 2009 season and struggled through much of the summer. He did show signs of greatness in the FedEx Cup playoffs and he should return to his major-winning ways in 2010. Garcia entered the 2009 season as one of the favorites after an impressive run in the 2008 Playoffs. But, off-course distractions led Garcia to one of his worst season on TOUR with only three top-10s and earnings dropping from almost $5 million to $1.2 million. Can you say Comeback Player of the Year? Singh underwent knee surgery after the second week of the 2009 season and never really got into a groove. Singh finished the year with three top 10s in 15 events.
Looking towards 2010
It would have been nice to start the PGA TOUR season dreaming of a Woods-Mickelson rivalry but, 2010 will start quietly with the renamed SBS Championship, the season-opening event for the previous year’s winners. Things will start to heat up as the Buick Invitational comes near at the end of January with talk of a potential Woods return. But, in reality, the 2010 season will be more about players like Anthony Kim, Zach Johnson, Sean O’Hair, Hunter Mahan and 2009 Rookie of the Year Marc Leishman. These young players should push their way into the upper eschelon of TOUR players. Also, Rickie Fowler will try and prove to the world that the Fall Series was not a fluke and that he is a force on the TOUR. Golf fans will also see more of Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa on the PGA TOUR this season.
With a new crop of young players that seem ready to take on the veterans like Woods, Mickelson and Harrington, the PGA TOUR should have a tremendous 2010 season.
2 Comments
With out Tiger you have no PGA,what you have is a bunch of Duffers who seldom make
the cut,seldom if ever win a match,they are just Praying that they can finish in the Money
crying for a endorsements–any endorsement–there golf skills are pathetic at worst,of
the 35 or so PGA matches played each year Tiger will,can and does win on the average
since he went Pro Seven matches a year,so where are who are these players that are going
to fill the gap on the PGA–Mickelson,come on Mickelson couldn’t fill a bucket with water
let along carry the PGA tour,the rest of them are ‘fill ins’-nope face it Tiger is the PGA
and WE all better hope is return or the PGA will be just another game we don’t need to watch:
You are correct in that the PGA TOUR is not the same without Tiger – there is less money and interest when he is not there. But, when he was out two years ago players like Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan took the spotlight and this year we will see that again as they look to rebound from tough 2009 seasons and newcomers like Rickie Fowler look to make their mark on the game.