A watershed year in golf saw the emergence of a new “Big Three,” filling the vacuum left by the fast-fading Tiger Woods.
Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy ended the year on the world rankings podium, in that order, and their rivalry is set to shine brightly in the new year.
Spieth, at 22 years old, is the youngest of the three and, for much of the year gone by, he was the story.
Photo: AFP
He won the US Masters for his first major title in April and followed up by taking the US Open two months later. He then set sail for St Andrews with talk of the never-before achieved calendar-year Grand Slam starting to dominate sporting pages. He came agonizingly close to becoming just the second player — after Ben Hogan in 1953 — to win the first three majors of the year, but a bogey at the 17th, the Road Hole, saw him miss out by one stroke on a three-man playoff, which was won by Zach Johnson.
Spieth then lost the world No. 1 spot he had taken from McIlroy in June to the then 27-year-old Australian Day, who won four tournaments from late July to mid-September, including his first major at the PGA Championship.
The Texan, though, regained the No. 1 spot with his win in the closing Tour Championship, clinching the FedEx Cup into the bargain.
McIlroy, by contrast, had a mixed bag of a year, failing to add to his haul of major titles, which remains at four.
He only had himself to blame after being forced to miss the defense of his British Open crown because of an ankle ligament injury picked up during an impromptu soccer game with friends.
However, the 26-year-old from Northern Ireland finished the year strongly, a superb showing in Dubai last month giving him the DP World Tour Championship title and the Race to Dubai European Tour crown.
Spieth said he fully expects himself to win at least one major championship next year, but he believes it might be too early to put himself and Day up on a pedestal with McIlroy.
“I think, for Rory, it is a bit different, because he has been consistent for a number of years now,” he said.
“It is still so early in my career, so it is hard for me to compare to others, but what an exciting year it was for golf, with so many young players playing so well. If Rory was healthy for the whole year, he would have made a bigger impact than he was able to make in a shorter season. Then, with what Rickie Fowler did this season, breaking through with three wins, and Jason and myself, it was exciting,” he added.
McIlroy said that he has learned a lesson from the soccer injury mishap and that he is energized by the challenge presented by players such as Spieth and Day.
However, his current focus is on the US Masters at Augusta National in April, where he is to attempt, for the second straight year, to become just the sixth man to win all four of golf’s majors.
“It is always going to be there, until I get to put a green jacket on my back,” he said. “It is obviously the first real goal of the year, to try and get ready for the Masters and be in as good a shape as possible going in there.”
“Golf is in a great place. Guys are playing better than ever it seems like, at least for me, the last couple of years,” he added.
As for Woods, the 14-time major winner turns 40 years old on Dec. 30, at a time when his future in the game is up in the air.
Asked early this month if it was possible he might not play at all next year, as he recovers from two operations on his back in September and October, Woods said: “You know, I have been asked this quite a bit lately and the answer is I do not know.”
“For my 20 years out here, I think I have achieved a lot, and if that is all it entails, then I have had a pretty good run, but I am hoping that is not it. I am hoping that I can get back out here and compete against these guys, but if that is not the case anymore, then I will find other avenues, that being growing my foundation, golf course design or other projects I have going on right now that will certainly take up more of my time,” Woods added.
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