Prior to hydrant-gate, golf had a certain predictability to it. Tiger would dominate, a few other side players would jump in to win the occasional major, and we would likely have a young player have a big flash and a few feel-good stories to talk about. The story was almost always the same.
Yet the 2013 season had very little predictability. The FedExCup winner is not an unfamiliar face. My best memory of Henrik Stenson is at the 2009 Players Championship. He ran away with the tournament and looked destined to win a major in the very near future. From that point on we didn’t hear much from Henrik. There were times when it would be easy to think that he might not recover from one of the deepest slumps. But here he is, ten million dollars richer, and will be a favorite of many going into the Masters next year, a full recovery back to where he was in 2009, maybe this time just a bit wiser.
Tiger was nothing if not totally unpredictable. He was at times as dominant as ever. He found himself winning at places that he had struggled in the past, like the Players Championship, and also winning at places where he was very comfortable, like Doral and Akron. But the majors still remained very elusive for him. He has been close, but even the most ardent of Tiger fans must admit there is some magic missing at the majors. His all-around game is very good. He is driving the ball better, still not as well as 2000, but better than 2007. His putting at times was stellar as well. In fact he led the PGA Tour in putting at numerous points during the season. He was almost as big a favorite as he has ever been at the PGA Championship and he failed to even be in contention. One has to wonder if there is a mental block for him, like he is trying too hard at the majors. I still think there is time for him to pass Jack, but each passing year will make it tougher.
I was discussing with a friend what kinds of odds he would have had to give me to predict that if we made a bet in the summer of 2008, right after Tiger had won the US Open at Torrey Pines, that Tiger would not win a major through the 2013 season. He told me he would have mortgaged his house that in those five years Tiger would have won at least one. Tiger’s future is going to depend much on how good a shape he can stay in for the next few years. Tiger’s knees are very suspect and he each season seems to pick up a nagging shoulder, back, elbow, or wrist injury. Some of these injuries he plays through, and some sideline him for months. One thing for sure, when booking his hotels he needs to look for a hotel with a hard bed.
Rory McIlroy on the other hand, was dominating at times, mostly dominating the bottom of leaderboards. Rory needs to wash out all memory of 2013. While the swing may have been the main problem, the equipment change seemed to have some effect on his game as well. Many golfers before him have switched equipment and struggled before completely returning to form. The most recent example of this is Graeme McDowell. His switch to Srixon took about a year before we saw him back in his previous form. Rory will need this offseason to practice get his swing right and get rid of many of the distractions of 2013. His high profile relationship with the Danish tennis star may not be affecting his play, but it may at times distract him from what he is trying to do. He needs to focus. Get rid of the distractions like the equipment change and the girlfriend and get back to being in the headlines for his golf. My worry for McIlroy is there is any trouble in his relationship it will be all over the headlines and again a massive distraction from golf. I do not expect a fast recover in 2014 for him; in fact I would predict another winless season with him starting to play better towards the end of the year.
All in all, 2013 was a wild year, pretty much as unpredictable as they come. Nobody would have expected Henrik Stenson would be the Fed Ex Cup champion, Tiger would win five times a couple of them being big tournaments and none of them majors, and Rory would be completely lost cause. Or for that matter that Phil Mickelson won a British Open. Just a wild and crazy year. It really makes you think about what we can expect for 2014, probably more unpredictability.
Photo credits: © Kevin C. Cox.