Disappearing Act

This week’s Thrash Talk unveils a few golfers who are going to struggle in 2006.

Thrash TalkLast week’s Thrash Talk was on the positive side, but I won’t write something positive two weeks in a row. Last week, I talked about a few golfers who will make great comebacks next year, including David Duval, Mike Weir, and Paul Casey. This week I’m covering the opposite. There are golfers every year that fall out of the spotlight and struggle, and 2006 will be no different.

Just take a look at last week’s list. Those guys had to struggle in order to make my “comeback” list. Duval fell off the golfing planet in 2003, just as Weir did this year. There are a handful of golfers ranked in the top 40 in the world bound for a slump next season. I don’t wish for anyone to go into a slump, but it happens every year. It’s just the nature of the beast.

After looking at the world rankings from the beginning of 2005 along with the current rankings, I noticed a few things. At the beginning of 2005, Todd Hamilton and Stephen Ames were ranked 16th and 17th, respectively. Currently, Hamilton and Ames are ranked 93rd and 48th, respectively. That is a crazy statistic, but I could go on all day with ranking changes like that.

But it’s time to move on to 2006, and I’m ready for it! Who is going to struggle next year and fall way down the world rankings list? That is the question I plan on answering in this article. I don’t have anything against any of the following golfers, I’m just calling like I see it. Without further ado, here is the list.

David Toms
When I look at the top 15 in the world, I just can’t see any of those guys struggling next season. They are all on the rise it seems, and that trend will continue in 2006. The next guy in line, ranked 17th, is David Toms. Toms definitely has the talent to do very well every year on the PGA Tour, but I can’t help but think he is going to fall into a slump next season.

David TomsDavid Toms is one of the nicest guys on the PGA Tour, and I hope he plays awesome in 2006. However, he has had too many ups-and-downs lately to get things going next year. Toms won the WGC-Match Play Championship in early-2005, but he was very inconsistent the rest of the year. He had the heart problem at the 84 Lumber Classic and then struggled at the Presidents Cup.

Toms bounced back and played well at the WGC-American Express Championship, but he missed the cut at the Chrysler Championship and finished in a tie for 22nd at the Tour Championship. Only 29 golfers teed it up at the Tour Championship, so the finish obviously wasn’t very strong.

Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t want any of these golfers to go in a slump, but someone had to make the list. David Toms will have an off-year in 2006 because he will be getting things right in his life. The heart problems may already be solved, but they are still on his mind. Next year will be a rebuilding year for Toms, and hopefully he will be back better than ever in 2007. He won’t completely disappear next year like David Duval did a few years back, but he will end up in the 50-60 area in the world rankings.

Darren Clarke
I really don’t like putting Darren Clarke on the list because he is one of my favorite European golfers. That being said, I just have a gut feeling on this one. Clarke finished 20th on the European Tour Order of Merit in 2005 and 52nd on the PGA Tour money list. Those are pretty high finishes for most golfers, but they aren’t good enough for Clarke.

Darren Clarke played pretty well in 2005, but he struggled with inconsistency most of the year. He started off well for the first half of 2005, but he faded down the stretch and couldn’t seal the deal at a few tournaments, including the MCI Heritage. Clarke did win the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters on the Australasian Tour last month, but I’ve honestly never heard of that tournament. No disrespect to the Australasian Tour, but I’m not basing my Thrash Talk off its results.

Darren Clarke is currently ranked 19th in the world, and he will continue to slide down the list in 2006. I’m sure he will have a handful of top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour and European Tour, but he won’t be the same Darren Clarke we all know and love. Clarke will struggle to find his game next year and will finish in the 50-60 area in the world rankings along with David Toms.

John Daly
I know there will be a lot of negative comments about John Daly being on the list, but I just had to do it. Daly has played too well for two straight years, and he is due for one of his patented slumps. I’m not a huge John Daly fan like a lot of others at The Sand Trap, but I have enjoyed watching his success the past two seasons. The galleries love him, and it’s great for golf when he is playing well.

John DalyThat being said, Daly will struggle pretty badly in 2006. And when Daly struggles, he doesn’t just fall out of the top-50 in the world rankings. He usually plunges into the hundreds on the world rankings list, and that will be the case in 2006 as well. In 2005, Daly lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh at the Houston Open and to Tiger Woods at the WGC-American Express Championship.

Looking at those results, you might think I’m crazy putting John Daly on this list. However, Daly is struggling with a hand injury right now, and he won’t bounce back very well from the playoff loss to Tiger. That loss hurt Daly in a big way, whether he showed it or not. He had plenty of chances to win the tournament or at least continue the playoff, and his putter let him down big time. John Daly won’t recover from that loss for quite awhile. 2006 won’t be a good season for “Big John.”

Other Possible Slumps in 2006
There are a couple other golfers I almost put on the list, but they barely missed the cut. Mark Hensby and Fred Funk are currently ranked 34th and 39th in the world, respectively. Also, both have recently made headlines in the golf world, albeit under a little different circumstances.

Mark Hensby recently sounded off on fellow countryman, Greg Norman, much to the chagrin of many golf fans worldwide. Hensby’s record in the major championships in 2005 speaks for itself, but I’m afraid these statements may have the “Paul Casey” effect on the Australian. Hensby won’t be received very well by golf fans in 2006, and it could very possibly hurt his chances of having another good year. Look for Hensby to fall down the world rankings about 20-30 spots.

Fred Funk, on the other hand, is coming off a wonderful experience in the Merril Lynch Skins Game. Funk walked away with 15 out of the 18 skins and nearly $1 million in prize money. However, Funk will turn 50 next June, and 2006 may be his last shot at glory on the PGA Tour.

Funk won The Players Championship earlier this season, and he left us with great memories at the Skins Game. Unfortunately for golf fans, that will be the last time we see Funk play great golf until he tees it up on the Champions Tour in 2007. I hope Fred Funk plays awesome in 2006, and I would love to see him win a major championship. That being said, he didn’t finish that strong in 2005, and he won’t be a factor next season either.

The Final Say
There is a pretty good chance I’ll be wrong on some of these predictions. Otherwise, I would be looked at as a golf genius, and that sounds kind of spooky. I stand by my predictions that these guys will struggle in 2006, but it would suit me just fine if all of them won big tournaments and had “player of the year” campaigns next year.

Like I mentioned earlier, there are always golfers that struggle throughout years, and that’s the way it’s always going to be. David Duval possibly had the biggest collapse ever witnessed on the PGA Tour, but hopefully he will be back better than ever next season. That’s what is so great about these guys. They are really good, and they usually bounce back after having awful seasons. I’m sure that the golfers on my list will bounce back in 2007 as well. If they don’t, I hope I wasn’t the one that jinxed them.

That’s all I have to say this week, and I’m sure there is going to be some feedback this time around. Do you think any of these golfers are due for a slump in 2006? If not,which top golfers do you think will struggle next season? If you have anything to add, please feel free to comment below or discuss it in our forum. Thanks for reading Thrash Talk this week and dream about playing golf somewhere warm!

Photo Credits: © David Toms Foundation, AP Photo/David J. Phillip.

9 thoughts on “Disappearing Act”

  1. As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with John Daly’s possible, impending, lack luster season. I don’t know what the status is of his wrist, but who knows what can happen. Toms? Clarke? I think they’ll do O.K., not great, but O.K. Hensby can take a flying leap but Funk will prevail, and have another memorable season with at least one “W”.

  2. I’m sorry, you can have any opinion you like about everyone on that list, but what you said about Darren Clarke lacks all class and puts you right below scom on the list of things that turn your stomache.

    I want to see how consistent you could be knowing your wife is fighting for her life, I want to see how you would do under the already high pressure of a PGA tournament knowing what she’s going through.

    He in no way belongs on that list, that truly lacks all class and decentcy

    I have no problem with opinions, but I do when you make assinine comments about a person before you consider all the information.

    Last time I check, only ignorant people do that…

    Guess that now includes you

  3. First off, thanks for reading the article.

    Second, I didn’t say the guy played like crap or will completely suck next year. I said he will struggle and fall down the world rankings list. That’s not an awful thing to say. Falling down to 50th on the world rankings list isn’t anything to cry about. I just said he would struggle a little next year, and that’s understandable with his situation.

    I’m sorry you feel the way you do, but I don’t intend on pleasing everyone. That’s the point of my article.

    And FYI, I know his situation. As I stated, he is one of my favorite European golfers. It’s not easy making a list like that, but someone has to do it.

  4. Greg, lighten up. Cody stated his opinion, but in the end, that’s all it is – an opinion.

    His heart (and mine) go out to Darren’s wife. But it’d be rather foolish to say “Darren Clarke will have a great year next year!” Instead, Cody looked at the signs (Daly’s wrist and loss to Tiger, Toms’ heart surgery, Clarke’s wife’s illness) and predicted a fall-off. I’d actually wonder what he was smoking if he didn’t predict things that way.

    But in the end, Greg, it’s still just an opinion. Chill out.

  5. I’ll admit, I was a bit harsh, I just felt that Tom’s and Daly’s situations are normal things that happen and can lead to a bad year.

    But Darren CLarke’s wife’s cicumstances are a little more extreme.

    I’m not saying he’s going to have a bang up 2006, I also don’t think he’ll fall off the face of the planet.

    None the less, I do appologize for being a bit harsh

  6. And by the by, you do have a great site here and I have actually added it to my favorites.

    You guys do a great job reviewing equipment, and just reenforced my deciding to purchase a set of RAC LT’s next week.

    And as I said earlier, I do apologize for being harsh, I stand by my opinion as you stand by yours, but should of worded it in a far more diplomatic manner.

    Thanks again

  7. Golf is a game of focus and concentration, even for those who don’t obsess with mechanics or care for tedious practice.

    Daly has always had a personal turbulence to deal with that may have denied him greatness because had he been able to put it aside. But, when his wife and her family got tangled up in drug and money laundering problems, golf may have been his fortress of solitude – a way for him to escape and find comfort in something that rewarded his attention.

    A good year and a great year were the results. As his life settles down again and he starts sharing his concentration with his golf channel TV show his game is likely to suffer. That’s just my opinion.

    I also think he took it harder than most people think when he was riding high and Sutton didn’t make him a pick for the Ryder Cup team. With the commonality of 7 or 8 divorces between them and up and down careers, some of us thought Hal would see picking him as a way to ignite something really special. -…also, just my opinion

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