2017's going to feel like a slow year, after the hectic schedule in 2016. Only the four majors? How will we possibly cope?
Still, first things first. 2016 saw none of the "new triumvirate" of Spieth, McIlroy or Day win majors, although all did enough to remain in the world's top five, and Day begins the year as world number one. Rory McIlroy will have an important 2017, I feel. Does he really retain the drive to get back to number one, or is he starting to coast? This year could determine if he goes on to become one of the all-time greats, or just another Crenshaw or Couples.
That all begins at Augusta, of course, where for the third time Rory arrives knowing that a victory would automatically elevate him into "all-time" status by completing his career grand slam. He's proven already in the past that he's got the game to conquer Augusta (and the rest of the field), but can he cope with that added weight of expectation? If McIlroy wins at Augusta, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to enjoy an extraordinary season. Two, possibly three majors.
Jordan Spieth would be foolish to rule out at Augusta (he's yet to finish lower than second there) but the player I'll be rooting for is Japan's Hideki Matsuyama. He's finished 5th and 7th the last two Masters, and ended 2016 on a blaze of form that's taken him up to 6th in the world. Japan's first major winner would be long overdue, too.
The US Open is going to a new course, Erin Hills, so no pointers from past events there as to who might do well. So I'll stick to my perennial favourites Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Branden Grace, with a nod towards anyone who wins the Memorial Tournament, and Phil Mickelson. Will THIS be the year that Lefty finally completes a career Grand Slam of his own?
The Open returns to Birkdale, where Padraig Harrington won in 2008. Harrington is ... unlikely to feature next year, but defending champion Henrik Stenson might just be worth a punt - he was third in 2008. If not McIlroy, I have a gut feeling one of the young English lads - Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick, or Chris Wood - might have a breakthrough moment next year. It's been a long time since we had an English Open champion (Faldo in 1992 - and that was in ~Scotland) and it just feels about time the home crowd was cheering someone on again.
The PGA Championship will be played at Quail Hollow, the course that hosts the Wells Fargo event on the PGA tour. Rory McIlroy's won there twice, and been second (in a playoff) to Rickie Fowler. Another recent winner there was J.B. Holmes. The course is famous for its "Green Mile" finish of 3 very long finishing holes so in August will be as much a test of stamina as skill. Very hard to predict. Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer will both be in with a shout, it's their sort of test.
One of the big off-course battles in 2017 will be around ball technology. Almost everyone now agrees privately that it's got out of hand, when rank amateurs are hitting the thing 320 yards off the tee, and that for the sake of the game's integrity - not to mention for reasons like being able to shorten courses again, saving on land and watering, amongst other things - we should go back to the core designs of the 1980s, where even Jack Nicklaus was only smiting the thing about 270 yards. We'll see where that debate goes. Golf's rules change at about the same speed as oil tankers (it took them four years to ban "anchored" putting) but here's hoping.
Still, first things first. 2016 saw none of the "new triumvirate" of Spieth, McIlroy or Day win majors, although all did enough to remain in the world's top five, and Day begins the year as world number one. Rory McIlroy will have an important 2017, I feel. Does he really retain the drive to get back to number one, or is he starting to coast? This year could determine if he goes on to become one of the all-time greats, or just another Crenshaw or Couples.
That all begins at Augusta, of course, where for the third time Rory arrives knowing that a victory would automatically elevate him into "all-time" status by completing his career grand slam. He's proven already in the past that he's got the game to conquer Augusta (and the rest of the field), but can he cope with that added weight of expectation? If McIlroy wins at Augusta, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to enjoy an extraordinary season. Two, possibly three majors.
Jordan Spieth would be foolish to rule out at Augusta (he's yet to finish lower than second there) but the player I'll be rooting for is Japan's Hideki Matsuyama. He's finished 5th and 7th the last two Masters, and ended 2016 on a blaze of form that's taken him up to 6th in the world. Japan's first major winner would be long overdue, too.
The US Open is going to a new course, Erin Hills, so no pointers from past events there as to who might do well. So I'll stick to my perennial favourites Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Branden Grace, with a nod towards anyone who wins the Memorial Tournament, and Phil Mickelson. Will THIS be the year that Lefty finally completes a career Grand Slam of his own?
The Open returns to Birkdale, where Padraig Harrington won in 2008. Harrington is ... unlikely to feature next year, but defending champion Henrik Stenson might just be worth a punt - he was third in 2008. If not McIlroy, I have a gut feeling one of the young English lads - Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick, or Chris Wood - might have a breakthrough moment next year. It's been a long time since we had an English Open champion (Faldo in 1992 - and that was in ~Scotland) and it just feels about time the home crowd was cheering someone on again.
The PGA Championship will be played at Quail Hollow, the course that hosts the Wells Fargo event on the PGA tour. Rory McIlroy's won there twice, and been second (in a playoff) to Rickie Fowler. Another recent winner there was J.B. Holmes. The course is famous for its "Green Mile" finish of 3 very long finishing holes so in August will be as much a test of stamina as skill. Very hard to predict. Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer will both be in with a shout, it's their sort of test.
One of the big off-course battles in 2017 will be around ball technology. Almost everyone now agrees privately that it's got out of hand, when rank amateurs are hitting the thing 320 yards off the tee, and that for the sake of the game's integrity - not to mention for reasons like being able to shorten courses again, saving on land and watering, amongst other things - we should go back to the core designs of the 1980s, where even Jack Nicklaus was only smiting the thing about 270 yards. We'll see where that debate goes. Golf's rules change at about the same speed as oil tankers (it took them four years to ban "anchored" putting) but here's hoping.
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