Coming Back for More

Last week in Thrash Talk, I mentioned a few young guns who have yet to live up to their potential on the PGA Tour. It was a bit of a negative story. This week, I am turning things around to the positive. There are always golfers that have success certain years and then dissapear for a period of time. Some make a resurgence, and some never make it back to the spotlight. A couple examples from last year are John Daly and Carlos Franco.

John Daly had a horrendous 2003, finishing 171st on the money list. Daly not only won an event on the PGA Tour last year, he also finished 21st on the season-ending money list. Carlos Franco has always been a little inconsistent, but he finished 94th on the 2003 money list. Last year, Franco won the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee and finished 29th on the season-ending money list. These kinds of stories are always great in my opinion, especially when the golfers are fan favorites like Daly.

This brings me to my main question of the week. What PGA Tour golfers have made a resurgence in 2005? When I thought of this topic, a few names instantly popped into my head, so I will focus on those guys.

Steve Elkington, Billy Mayfair, and José Maria Olazabal have all stepped up their golf games in 2005 and once again find themselves back in the thick of things on the PGA Tour. These three veterans have not won on the PGA Tour in quite some time and are not dominant by any means. However, they have all worked very hard on their golf games and have made significant moves up the PGA Tour money list.

Elk
Steve Elkington was one of the best golfers of the 90s. He won ten times on the PGA Tour and twice internationally. One of Elk’s ten wins one was a PGA Championship and two were at The Players Championship at Sawgrass. In 1995, also the year he won the PGA Championship, “Elk” finished fifth on the PGA Tour money list in what was definitely his “career” year. He never finished lower than 62nd on the money list in the 90s, but his last win was way back in 1999 at Doral.

The 21st century hasn’t been so kind to Elkington. He had a good year in 2002, finishing 59th on the money list, but the last couple years have been horrendous. In 2003, Elkington only carded one top-20 finish on his way to finishing 187th on the money list. It didn’t get much better last year, as “Elk” once again had just one top-20 finish. He ended up 181st on the money list.

It’s well known that “Elk” has had many injury problems, and he is also allergic to different kinds of grass. That is definitely not the ailment to have as a professional golfer. For him to even be playing at the PGA Tour level is amazing! Elkington hasn’t dominated on the PGA Tour this season by any means, but he is currently 68th on the money list and has two top-ten finishes already. Elkington finished in a tie for sixth at The Players Championship and tied for fifth last week at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. I know I am very happy to see him playing decent again because he has always been one of the most talented golfers in the world.

Mayfair
Like Elkington, Billy Mayfair was a very solid golfer in the 90s. He was a little more up-and-down than Elkington was, but he still had his great years. Mayfair won four tournaments on the PGA Tour in the 90s and has yet to win since. 1995 was definitely Mayfair’s breakout year. He finished second on the PGA Tour money list and won the year-end Tour Championship. Mayfair also had a very good year in 1998, winning both the Nissan Open and Buick Open.

The 21st century hasn’t been kind to Mayfair either. He did manage to finish 25th on the money list in 2001, finishing with five top-ten finishes for the year. Since then, Mayfair hasn’t really been consistent. Last year, he did something he hasn’t done in his entire 16-year career. Mayfair finished outside the top 125 on the money list, ending the year in 140th.

After the awful 2004 season, Mayfair set out to improve his golf game and has done that quite well. He ranks eighth on the PGA Tour in top-ten finishes in 2005 with five overall. Mayfair’s best finishes include a tie for second at Colonial and a tie for fourth at the Western Open a few weeks ago. He is currently ranked 17th on the money list and looks like he will be attending the year-end Tour Championship for the first time since 2001. When I think of Mayfair, his unique putting style comes to mind. That being said, it’s just nice to have one of the good guys of the PGA Tour playing well again.

The Spaniard
José Maria Olazabal also had his fair share of good times in the 90s. Olazabal has won six times on the PGA Tour, five of which came in the 90s. He also has won 22 international tournaments outside of the PGA Tour. In 1994, Olazabal won The Masters for the first time and added the World Series of Golf to his resume’ that year as well. He went on to win The Masters again in 1999 after most people had given up on his career. Olazabal proved he still had some game left for the 21st century, winning the Buick Invitational in 2002.

Since that win in 2002, it has been downhill for the Spaniard. Olazabal finished 132nd and 144th the last two seasons, respectively. Olazabal has always been plagued by injuries, including a terrible back injury a few years ago. The doctors struggled to find the problem, but they finally came to the conclusion that the problem stemmed from a nerve in José’s foot. It’s amazing José Maria is even playing on the PGA Tour these days. The back injury could have easily put him into an early retirement.

José Maria Olazabal has come rumbling back on the scene in 2005, once again contending after most critics thought he was finished. Like Mayfair, Olazabal already has five top-ten finishes on the PGA Tour, including a tie for third at last month’s British Open. Olazabal lost in a playoff at the BellSouth Classic in early April and finished in third at the Houston Open. All in all, I would say Olazabal’s comeback has been a very positive story for golf.

Final Thought
Golf is a game of good times and bad times for most, and it’s no different for golfers on the PGA Tour. These three I have mentioned have played at the highest level with the best players in the game, and they have also struggled mightily at times. Elkington and Olazabal are truly two of the most talented golfers of their era, but the injury bug has really put a damper on two solid careers. If it weren’t for the injuries, each of these guys could have four or five major championships to their credit. In Mayfair’s situation, inconsistency has really plagued him. I have seen Mayfair go head-to-head with Tiger Woods and pull out a win. Unfortunately, he has also had times where he struggled to keep his PGA Tour card.

It’s easy to talk about what might have been for these three veterans, but it’s honestly just great to have them playing well currently. They all could have given up hope and went into early retirement, but they fought it out and are contending in big tournaments again. I still hold out hope for guys like Lee Janzen and Mark O’Meara. I am a big fan of Janzen, and I really hope he makes his way into the top 25 or 30 on the money list again. The same goes with O’Meara. He is a two-time major championship winner, and it’s always great to see those guys continue to succeed.

I know the season is only about 60 percent complete, but I can’t write an article about comebacks without picking my comeback player of the year. I am glad to see Elkington return and contend in a few tournaments, but he honestly hasn’t played to the level that Mayfair and Olazabal have. When it comes down to it, my pick for comeback player of the year is José Maria Olazabal. I would have picked Mayfair, but Olazabal played very well at the British Open a few weeks ago. He gets the nod from me at this point in the season.

What golfers did I forget? Also, which golfers do you wish would make a return to prominence? And finally, isn’t it great to see some of the veterans make such big impacts after seemingly falling off the golfing planet? Thanks for reading this week’s Thrash Talk, and I hope there are a lot of opinions on the subject. If you have anything to add to this article, please feel free to comment below or discuss it in our forum. Have a great golf week, and start getting primed for the PGA’s final major championship of the year!

Photo Credit: © Jeff Gross/Getty Images, Getty Images.