2019 ended up a funny kind of season, with Brooks Koepka challenging at all four majors but only winning one, and Rory McIlroy not really featuring in any of the majors but winning just about everything else. It would be a relief if 2020 proves a bit more reliable in terms of making predictions so here goes.
The Masters was one of those Koepka could have won but lost to an outsider, some guy called Tiger Woods. No-one's retained the green jacket since Tiger himself in 2002 and I don't think he will do so again. I'm expecting McIlroy to be up for this, and so too Dustin Johnson, who also narrowly missed out last year.
The PGA goes to a course called Harding Park in San Francisco that has never hosted a major before, so as usual I shall say look out for the guys with recent successes on tour. I think Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm will be worth watching. The US Open goes to Winged Foot, in New York, which they normally trick up and set a ridiculously low par score, simply so the winner ends up on +5 or something. It will favour a solid and patient player, and it's quite hard to overlook Koepka, but after Gary Woodland last year and similar recent US Open winners (like say Geoff Ogilvy who won last time it was here) it really could be any of the top 30. Maybe Webb Simpson, to "do a Lee Janzen" and win a second US Open in an otherwise almost barren career.
The Open returns to St George's in Kent where the last two champions were GO's unknown Yank qualifier (Ben Curtis in 2003) and a semi-retired veteran (Darren Clarke in 2011) so it's anyone's guess. I still fancy that Branden Grace and Tommy Fleetwood will win an Open one day, and Tyrell Hatton's now had five top-ten finishes in majors including last year's Open so has been knocking on the door.
After the Open the golfers get the chance to go to Tokyo for the Olympics, and I expect a much stronger field than in Rio, where the Zika virus provided a covenient excuse for a few who clearly couldn't be arsed. Justin Rose getting announced as "Olympic champion" at every tee next year will surely wind enough of them up to fancy the trip to Japan, where a home victory by Matsuyama or someone isn't a bad bet. If Tiger makes the US team that could be a neat swansong for him.
Then it's the Ryder Cup, and I expect that once again Europe will send a relatively inexperienced team - I'm expecting a few new faces to come out of European PGA qualifying- into the pit against a stellar US side, but it will be closer than expected. Padraig Harrington will have, like most European captains, to trust his own judgment about pairings, because the media will be all over him to just send "Moliwood" out together again every day. This year they might be needed to partner some of the rookies out in front of what will doubtless be a hugely partisan "Make America Great Again" crowd whipped up enough by election fever.
The Masters was one of those Koepka could have won but lost to an outsider, some guy called Tiger Woods. No-one's retained the green jacket since Tiger himself in 2002 and I don't think he will do so again. I'm expecting McIlroy to be up for this, and so too Dustin Johnson, who also narrowly missed out last year.
The PGA goes to a course called Harding Park in San Francisco that has never hosted a major before, so as usual I shall say look out for the guys with recent successes on tour. I think Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm will be worth watching. The US Open goes to Winged Foot, in New York, which they normally trick up and set a ridiculously low par score, simply so the winner ends up on +5 or something. It will favour a solid and patient player, and it's quite hard to overlook Koepka, but after Gary Woodland last year and similar recent US Open winners (like say Geoff Ogilvy who won last time it was here) it really could be any of the top 30. Maybe Webb Simpson, to "do a Lee Janzen" and win a second US Open in an otherwise almost barren career.
The Open returns to St George's in Kent where the last two champions were GO's unknown Yank qualifier (Ben Curtis in 2003) and a semi-retired veteran (Darren Clarke in 2011) so it's anyone's guess. I still fancy that Branden Grace and Tommy Fleetwood will win an Open one day, and Tyrell Hatton's now had five top-ten finishes in majors including last year's Open so has been knocking on the door.
After the Open the golfers get the chance to go to Tokyo for the Olympics, and I expect a much stronger field than in Rio, where the Zika virus provided a covenient excuse for a few who clearly couldn't be arsed. Justin Rose getting announced as "Olympic champion" at every tee next year will surely wind enough of them up to fancy the trip to Japan, where a home victory by Matsuyama or someone isn't a bad bet. If Tiger makes the US team that could be a neat swansong for him.
Then it's the Ryder Cup, and I expect that once again Europe will send a relatively inexperienced team - I'm expecting a few new faces to come out of European PGA qualifying- into the pit against a stellar US side, but it will be closer than expected. Padraig Harrington will have, like most European captains, to trust his own judgment about pairings, because the media will be all over him to just send "Moliwood" out together again every day. This year they might be needed to partner some of the rookies out in front of what will doubtless be a hugely partisan "Make America Great Again" crowd whipped up enough by election fever.