First Time Major Winners

I am very proud to present the first edition of “Thrash Talk,” my new weekly column about anything PGA Tour. I will be talking about a lot of different topics, and my opinions aren’t always going to be the same as the general public. Feel free to contact me – whether you agree or disagree – and maybe I’ll mention your name in next week’s piece. Without further ado, here goes everything!

The Masters is right around the corner, and it is once again shaping up to be a great golf tournament. We all know the “Big Four” are all playing great golf right now. We also know there is a great chance that at least one of them will win a major this year, if not a couple more. They are the players everyone will be keeping an eye on, so I will try my best not to mention them too many times this week. Everyone knows they will be in contention all year long.

That being said, I started thinking about the great Tour players who have never won a major. I think this is the group everyone needs to keep an eye on in the 2005 major championsips. This week, I take a look at the group of guys I think have a great chance of breaking through this year and winning their first big tournament.

The Masters is coming to us from the wonderful Augusta National as always. The U.S. Open will be held this year at Pinehurst #2, the site of the awesome 1999 U.S. Open duel between Phil Mickelson and the late great Payne Stewart. The British Open will be played at a course that really needs no introduction: the Old Course at St. Andrews. Finally, the PGA Championship will be played this year at Baltusrol. These four courses have played host to some of the best major championships in modern history. This year should be no exception.

I have a feeling that two majors in 2005 will be won by players who have never tasted “major championship” victory. I have picked out five guys in their 20s and five guys over 30 that I think will make a huge impact on the four big tournaments this year. So sit back, grab a beverage and a snack, and be prepared to go for a wild ride!

The Young Guns

Sergio Garcia
There are many who believe this guy is currently the best golfer never to have won a major. He has come close so many times in the past five years, but there is one thing that seems to let Sergio down in the final round: his putter. He has had too many three-putt bogeys and double bogeys on Sunday in major championships. However, when a golfer puts himself in contention so many times over the years, they are bound to win a big one here and there. He definitely has the game to win any of the four majors, but I am putting my money on him to contend greatly in this year’s British Open. That will be his best chance to win his first major this year.

Adam Scott
Any golfer who has a win at The Players Championship has a shot at winning a major. Adam Scott won at Sawgrass at age 24 last year, and he has a couple other PGA Tour victories to his name as well. I honestly think he could have the most talent out of any golfer in the world, with the possible exception of Mr. Woods. I think Scott’s game fits all four majors, but I really look for him to have his best shot at the PGA Championship in August. I could also see him finishing in the top ten or fifteen in all four major championships this season.

Luke Donald
Luke comes into The Masters playing very well as of late. He is also coming into the week a little banged up. He pulled out of the BellSouth Classic with a sore shoulder after rain delayed the opening round last Thursday. [Ed: yeah, and if you believe that, I’ve got some oceanfront property in North Dakota to sell you.] I still think he has all the tools to win a major championship, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up in the final few groups this weekend in Augusta. I also think he will play very well at St. Andrews in July.

Paul Casey
The Masters last year may have been the coming out party for this guy. He hung in there until shooting a final-round 74 but still recorded a top ten finish. He is a very calm player and never seems to get very rattled. Those are good ingredients in winning a major. I honestly feel he could follow up his Masters from last year with another solid showing this year. His best chance to win his first major is either at Augusta or at St. Andrews in the summer. I am going to go with the British Open since he openly criticized Americans late last year. I have a feeling the American public will not treat him too royally in the states this year.

Charles Howell III
I had to slip an American onto the list. Honestly, Howell probably has the best chance of winning a major out of all the young American players. He worked very hard on his short game in the winter and has had some strong finishes in strong tournaments so far in 2005. He had a strong finish at Augusta in 2004, finishing in a tie for 13th. He made the cut in all four major championships last year, but he has had problems finishing strong on the weekend. If he can put a couple of solid rounds together on the weekend, he could definitely contend at The Masters. The other possibility for him to win would be at the PGA Championship at Baltusrol. But then again, he just needs to start winning other tournaments first.

Just Missed: Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter, and Geoff Ogilvy

The Oldies but Goodies

Padraig Harrington
This guy finally got his first win on the PGA Tour earlier this year at the The Honda Classic, and now the sky is the limit. He has the most talent of any European-born player on the PGA Tour in my opinion, and I think there is more than one major championship in his future. Now that the pressure of winning on American soil is out of the way, he should really settle down and play well in the majors. He finished in a tie for 13th at The Masters last year, and he could definitely do better than that this year. I won’t be surprised if he puts on the green jacket at Augusta this Sunday. I think The Masters fits him just as good as any major course in 2005, but he should also play very well at Pinehurst.

Chris DiMarco
Chris played in the final group at The Masters last April, and he lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He also had a top ten finish in the U.S. Open last year and made the cut at the British Open. He has been in contention in majors before, and he is ready to break out with a victory in one. He has the game for Augusta National and just about any other tight little course. He also has the fire and intensity that some guys don’t have. If he gets on a roll, he could carry that to a win. He is my personal pick to win the first major of 2005, and I am sticking with it. He also has a solid chance at contending in the other three majors this year.

Stewart Cink
He missed a heartbreaking putt on the 18th hole in my home state at the 2001 U.S. Open. That missed putt ended up leaving him out of the playoff by one stroke. I didn’t think he would recover, but he had a breakout year last year. He had three top-20 finishes in the four majors last season, and he definitely will look to make those top tens this year. He really has the game to compete at any major, and he honestly has the talent to contend in any big tournament. Any time a player wins the Tour Championship, especially in near-runaway fashion, they should be looked upon as major championship contenders. I think his best chance to breakthrough with a big win this year will be at the U.S. Open or the PGA Championship.

Darren Clarke
He has lost a lot of weight in the past couple years, and he is still obviously having just as much fun playing the game of golf. Why has this talented golfer not won a major yet? He has a couple victories at World Golf Championship events in the past few years, and he has had some very low rounds in the big tournaments. He had two top-13 finishes last year at the British Open and PGA Championship. He had a very good first round at Augusta in 2004 but missed the cut after an awful second-round 79. He should be finishing in the top ten there every year it seems, but golf doesn’t always work out like we think it should. With that being said, I think Clarke will contend this year in at least two majors, and he is my pick to win the British Open at the famed St. Andrews.

Kenny Perry
He won the Bay Hill less than a month ago, so he will be ready to go this weekend when The Masters rolls around. He has also won at The Memorial and Colonial, so he is very capable of winning the big events. He played so great in 2003 before having a sub-par year in 2004. He didn’t have a good record in the majors last year, but his game fits the tight courses better than most. He is shorter off the tee, but he is one of the straightest guys on tour when he is on. I have a feeling that the players who can keep it in the fairway at the four majors this year are going to be right contention until the very end. Perry won at Bay Hill when the rough was up, so you can bet he will be ready to go once the U.S. Open comes calling in June. He should also be in contention at Baltusrol later in the year.

Just missed the top five: Shigeki Maruyama, Scott Verplank, KJ Choi, Stuart Appleby, and Chad Campbell

There are a couple guys who are either 50 or just a little under that are still capable of winning one of the four major championships. I am talking about Jay Haas and Fred Funk. Haas has played arguably the best golf of his career in the last two or three years, and Funk is coming off a win at The Players Championship. These other guys are the ones I am really keeping an eye on to win their first major, but Haas and Funk can make it interesting for the young guns at any given time in any given tournament.