The characteristics of a wraparound season mean golf is never really absent. However, the arrival of so many leading lights in Hawaii last week plus the appearance of the European Tour’s marquee Abu Dhabi event on the horizon triggers thoughts of this sport starting all over again. Here are some hopes and ambitions – with varying confidence – for the year ahead:
Woods wins again
Let us be blunt; there really is no value in watching a struggling Tiger Woods. Likewise it cannot be denied that his presence in high-level events adds value. Given the fitness and form woes which looked like ending Woods’s career not so long ago, it would be fantastic to watch him roar back to prominence. In a competitive sense, golf has indeed moved on from the era of Tiger with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and others far more likely to prevail in major championships. But it would be superb to see Woods return to the winners’ circle, thereby continuing an era of fascination – and occasional domination – which began 20 years ago at Augusta National. The alternative Woods career denouement would be grim viewing.
McIlroy claims the Masters
The logic here is twofold. McIlroy is surely far too talented for supposed inevitability regarding the claiming of a Green Jacket to play out the way as transpired for Ernie Els and Davis Love III. The longer this McIlroy wait goes on, naturally, the more questions arise as to whether the Northern Irishman will actually reach his holy grail. McIlroy’s sport would benefit from the completion of this career grand slam and at such a formative age, just 27. This can bring a fresh narrative, alongside confirming McIlroy as one of the UK’s greatest sportsmen of all time. He should already be fancied to restore himself as the best player in the game during 2017 and as the favourite for the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow; Augusta would raise matters to another, exciting, platform entirely.
A short queue to praise Muirfield
If, and it still can only be if, the members of the (dis) Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers make the decision in the early part of this year to admit female members then attention will turn immediately towards the R&A. The latter body insisted Muirfield would not host another Open Championship while a discriminatory membership position, as endorsed by vote last year, is in place. Should Muirfield’s stance change, proper analysis of context should be offered. That 2016 scenario brought golf into disrepute at a time when the sport faces a tough enough time in attracting fresh interest. The R&A should not rush to welcome Muirfield back, just as these members should be afforded no congratulations at all for applying basic standards of decency. The HCEG seriously damaged golf, to the point of laughing stock. They should be made to pay for that.
Solheim Cup needle
Sometimes competitive golf can appear too chummy. The opposite was in evidence at the 2015 Solheim Cup, when an almighty Sunday row broke out over the hard-nosed antics of Europe’s Suzann Pettersen in response to a rules breach by Alison Lee. This incident seemed sufficient to halt Europe’s charge towards retaining the cup, just as the USA team was inspired by a sense of grievance. When the pair meet again, in Iowa in August, one is to hope at least a little bit of needle is still in the air. For all the episode in Germany was pathetic, with Pettersen emerging extremely poorly from it, instances like this supply useful theatre. Less of “We all want to move on” and some more “This still fuels us”, please.
Jin rediscovers his best, or at least some, form
It became a bit of a gruesome habit last season, checking what two scores Jin Jeong had returned on the European Tour on any given week when missing the cut. He regularly did not break 80. Jin’s stroke average on Tour in 2015 was more than 81, in 2016 it had marginally improved to 77, amid which he did not make a single standard tournament cut (he did survive until 54-hole elimination at the Dunhill Links Championship). This is not some two-bit hacker. He won the 2010 Amateur Championship, collecting the silver medal for leading amateur at the same year’s Open at St Andrews. He won on the European Tour in 2013. At 26, time is hardly running out for Jin but this horrendous run has to end soon. He has endured injury troubles but the most serious by now, surely, are in relation to his mindset. This has been an extraordinary tumble.
Turnberry’s Open position is clarified
The R&A tip-toed through tulips with regards to Turnberry’s place on the Open Championship rota after a series of controversial and discriminatory comments by Donald Trump when on the election trail. Not only has Trump subsequently won the race to become US president, he has played golf with Tiger Woods, who was complimentary about the state of the 70-year-old’s game. Now is the time for the R&A to declare Turnberry’s standing. If the Open will go back there, say when. If that is not palatable, say why. Both positions would create epic attention but golf’s governing body would have offered useful decisiveness. The longer this matter remains open‑ended, the more the R&A can be cited for shirking a key issue.
Ko is afforded the credit she deserves
What if she was a tennis player? Lydia Ko’s propensity for making a mockery of her age – still only 19 – continued during 2016. She won one major, finished no worse than third in two others, claimed a couple of LPGA wins and extended her total professional victory figure to 19. Ko understandably begins 2017 with a healthy lead at the summit of the world rankings. The second-placed Ariya Jutanugarn, the holder of the Women’s British Open, looks a relative veteran at 21. Ko’s value to golf has not been properly utilised, just as her ability to build on stunning amateur success with similar ease when a professional is not nearly as heralded as should be the case.
Willett enjoys golf once more
It may seem nonsensical to suggest the Masters champion fell out of love with his sport but that looked the reality during the closing half of 2016. Danny Willett clearly found it difficult to maintain the levels of Augusta National, meaning a dramatic loss of form and miserable Ryder Cup experience, also not helped by the needless actions of his wannabe writer brother. Willett’s glory in Georgia should not be a one‑off. He had competed at the highest levels before capitalising on Spieth’s meltdown and inevitably will do again. Hopefully the festive break allowed the Yorkshireman to regroup, refocus and return to the brilliantly consistent touch which – when analysed closely – meant his Masters victory was not really a huge surprise.
Knox makes an early Ryder Cup bid
Europe would probably still have fallen to defeat at Hazeltine with Russell Knox as part of the team but the Scotsman’s absence still resonates. Knox had won a World Golf Championship event and competed regularly on the PGA Tour before winning the Travelers Championship in early August. And still, he was overlooked by Darren Clarke. Knox’s best response would be to take himself out of the wildcard equation for Paris in 2018 by qualifying automatically. This time the stars might properly align; the Europe team which fell to defeat last time around is likely to be much-changed by the time Thomas Bjorn gathers them together. As the 19th-ranked player in the world, Knox has little to prove to anyone. Still, he should grace the Ryder Cup next year thereby proving that concerns over his appearance last time, owing to character or otherwise, were ill-founded.
Augusta National’s new media centre doesn’t disappoint
Please allow some self-indulgence. The event which keeps golf writers motivated throughout long winter nights has been afforded even more appeal, with construction of a brand new media centre at the home of the Masters. Building work began the day after the 2016 tournament ended, the only associated negative being that our old working environment was perfectly placed alongside the 1st fairway. Now, it has been suggested a buggy route through a newly constructed tunnel under the driving range may be required. The hardships, indeed. Given the nature of the venue, detail on what to expect is sketchy. A gym? Canapes? Shoe shining service? Some photographs appeared on social media late last year but were swiftly removed. Two things are a sports writer’s best friends; power points and working wifi. Here, surely we can expect something akin to a six-star hotel. Can’t we?
