Going to be hectic year, with a Ryder Cup and the Olympics thrown into the usual mix of majors. With Rory McIlroy apparently fit again, it could be the year where the new triumvirate cement their positions in that respect. However recent history has shown that stringing two good seasons together has proven very difficult for a lot of the players who have made it to the top - Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer, Adam Scott - so it would not be a surprise if one of the current top three has an off-year.
The Masters was won with a record score by Jordan Spieth last year, although Justin Rose shot four rounds of 70 or under and would have won almost any other year. McIlroy, under the intense pressure of trying to complete a career Grand Slam, was fourth, and may be more relaxed about his attempt this year. As it's an even year, Bubba Watson will also be worth a bet, having won in 2012 and 2014.
The US Open goes back to Oakmont, where in 2007 Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Justin Rose all pushed too hard and were overtaken by Angel Cabrera. This year, Dustin Johnson will be desperate to erase the memory of three-putting from ten feet to lose to Spieth on the final green last year.
The Open will go back to Royal Troon, and has proven to be such a lottery in recent years that it's quite fitting to remember the last one held there was won by Todd Hamilton, then ranked 56th in the world. Five of the last seven Open champions went into the event ranked outside the top twenty, so we could be looking further down the rankings again (although Spieth and Day tied fourth last year, a shot off the playoff). Danny Willett favours links courses, and was a further shot back last year, so watch his form going into it.
The PGA Championship has been brought forward to accommodate the Olympics, and so in July, two majors will be played in the space of three weeks. Baltusrol has produced some great shootouts in the past, with low scoring, and despite being lengthened by 300 yards, if conditions are benign will be a good bet to produce the first 62 in a major. You'd expect one of the big hitters like Dustin Johnson to have an immediate advantage.
Then it will be off to Rio, where golf returns to the Olympics for the first time in a century. The last champion was a Canadian, so watch out for Graeme DeLaet and David Hearn. Only around half of the world's top 50 can qualify for the Olympics because of nationality restrictions, so the competition will not be as fierce as a major, but all the current top eight would be invited, and if they all take it seriously it could still produce some drama. We will see if Rory McIlroy's choice to represent the Republic of Ireland and not the UK creates more noise for him (in the British media) as the Olympics approaches.
The Ryder Cup will hopefully be as hard but fairly fought as ever; the USA really ought to be favourites again next year, and I think they might regain the trophy. It would probably be for the good of the competition as a whole if they could. It will be interesting to see how Davis Love III, returning as US captain, does anything differently compared to Medinah, where his players were, after all, 10-6 up before losing.
The Masters was won with a record score by Jordan Spieth last year, although Justin Rose shot four rounds of 70 or under and would have won almost any other year. McIlroy, under the intense pressure of trying to complete a career Grand Slam, was fourth, and may be more relaxed about his attempt this year. As it's an even year, Bubba Watson will also be worth a bet, having won in 2012 and 2014.
The US Open goes back to Oakmont, where in 2007 Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Justin Rose all pushed too hard and were overtaken by Angel Cabrera. This year, Dustin Johnson will be desperate to erase the memory of three-putting from ten feet to lose to Spieth on the final green last year.
The Open will go back to Royal Troon, and has proven to be such a lottery in recent years that it's quite fitting to remember the last one held there was won by Todd Hamilton, then ranked 56th in the world. Five of the last seven Open champions went into the event ranked outside the top twenty, so we could be looking further down the rankings again (although Spieth and Day tied fourth last year, a shot off the playoff). Danny Willett favours links courses, and was a further shot back last year, so watch his form going into it.
The PGA Championship has been brought forward to accommodate the Olympics, and so in July, two majors will be played in the space of three weeks. Baltusrol has produced some great shootouts in the past, with low scoring, and despite being lengthened by 300 yards, if conditions are benign will be a good bet to produce the first 62 in a major. You'd expect one of the big hitters like Dustin Johnson to have an immediate advantage.
Then it will be off to Rio, where golf returns to the Olympics for the first time in a century. The last champion was a Canadian, so watch out for Graeme DeLaet and David Hearn. Only around half of the world's top 50 can qualify for the Olympics because of nationality restrictions, so the competition will not be as fierce as a major, but all the current top eight would be invited, and if they all take it seriously it could still produce some drama. We will see if Rory McIlroy's choice to represent the Republic of Ireland and not the UK creates more noise for him (in the British media) as the Olympics approaches.
The Ryder Cup will hopefully be as hard but fairly fought as ever; the USA really ought to be favourites again next year, and I think they might regain the trophy. It would probably be for the good of the competition as a whole if they could. It will be interesting to see how Davis Love III, returning as US captain, does anything differently compared to Medinah, where his players were, after all, 10-6 up before losing.
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