Author: Jeff Smith

It is hard to understand what life must be like for someone like Morgan Pressel. We’ve watched her successful young career since she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open at age 12 and the media and fan attention have become second nature to her. “You’ve still got to stay a kid as long as you can be a kid,” Pressel said in the days around the 2001 U.S. Women’s Open. “You’ve got to have a golf life, or whatever your sport life is, and you’ve got to have a normal life, too. Time to have friends and stuff.”

Fast foreword to 2005 and Pressel is on the verge of entering the professional golf ranks. Adulthood is approaching at a rapid rate as she moves toward her goal of professional competition.

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Since turning pro in 1988 Billy Mayfair has enjoyed steady success. For his first sixteen years on Tour he finished in the top-125 on the Money List and compiled five wins. 2004 was a disappointment as he finished 140th on the Money List. His “mere” $503,251 in earnings was plenty to live on but not enough to make it back for another year. Unsatisfied with finishing 254th in the World Golf Rankings, Mayfair used his top-50th all time earnings exemption to get back onto tour in 2005 and try to turn things around.

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Somewhere between his successful career and lovable charisma Arnold Palmer became an American legend. He has enjoyed the respect and admiration of several generations of golf fans for his passionate play, sportsmanship, and respect for his admirers.

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Getting to know Vijay Singh is much like cozying up to a porcupine: unless you’re in the family, it’s tough to get close.

While we might not be able to step into Singh’s world, his clubs have done plenty of talking since he joined the Tour in 1993. He won his first ever PGA Tour event in a playoff over Mark Wiebe and subsequently captured the 1993 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award. His winning ways have accelerated during the past several years and he has earned himself a permanent place in golf history.

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Chris DiMarco’s showdown with Tiger Woods in the third and fourth round of the Masters was one of the 2005 season’s defining moments. DiMarco earned the respect of golf fans the world over when he refused to knuckle under and hung with Woods till their playoff ended and Tiger edged him out. That final round pairing of DiMarco and Woods did a lot for DiMarco’s image and proved that he had the heart to win the biggest events.

While proving he could take heat in a Major without shooting a 76, DiMarco’s next few years will prove whether he gets a chapter or a footnote in golf history.

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Kenny Perry looks like he’d be more at home in the front seat of a big rig than he would on the many golf courses he visits on the PGA Tour circuit. Despite his unassuming nature, Perry has made a place for himself in the world of golf. Golf fans have become accustomed to seeing Perry stroll fairways on weekends but Perry remains the same guy who people have come to appreciate in his home town of Franklin, Kentucky.

Perry’s steady work and persistence have secured him a top spot on the PGA Tour. He is currently 10th in the World Golf Rankings (still a whopping 12.8 points behind Tiger Woods) and 6th on the 2005 money list with $3,282,605. His current career earnings total $19,404,890.

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By the end of the 2003 PGA season Phil Mickelson was tired. Tired of facing the media and his own tortured soul over his lack of major championship victories. He was the poster child for underachievers and the unfortunate recipient of a clichéd label the media and masses had become accustomed to associating with all things Mickelson. He was “the best player to have never won a major.” He had been walking around with that pebble in his shoe for a long time and has finally shaken it out. Twice.

It is nearing the end of another season but this time Mickelson will be entering the off-season from an entirely different vantage point. No longer does he have to struggle to explain why he hasn’t been able to close a deal at the majors because he owns not one, but two major championships. Both of them came with what were golf’s equivalent to walk off home runs. Two seasons, two birdies on two final holes, and two majors in the bag. Phil Mickelson isn’t a one hit wonder.

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