As the 2005 PGA Tour season all but concludes this weekend with The Tour Championship, we look back at a year in review. What were the biggest stories this year? Can you remember them all? Have we?
In looking back, we also look forward to a 2006 that will bring us more of the same great stories (and, hopefully, less of the bad ones). We look forward to surprise winners, dominance by a select few (or one), exciting majors, long putts, hole-outs from the sand, Michelle Wie, and much, much more. This year, Eight things stood out to us, and five made the cut into our top 5.
Number Five: Rookies on Tour
Sean O’Hair, Jason Gore, and Ryan Moore each made dramatic impacts on the PGA Tour this year. Ryan Moore is the first player since Tiger Woods to earn his PGA Tour card without going through Q-School. Jason Gore, after playing in the last group Sunday at the U.S. Open and stumbling to a final-round 84, won the 84 Lumber Classic after winning three straight to earn a promotion from the Nationwide Tour. Sean O’Hair, as we all know, overcame an abusive father to win in his rookie year. Sean O’Hair is the only rookie in this year’s Tour Championship, but it’s reasonably safe to suggest that had Moore and Gore had a full year on the PGA Tour, they’d have made it too.
Number Four: The Weather Channel
Normally we’d link to a story that talks about the topic, as we did above, but nobody’s going to click fifty links to read about the weather. Poor weather – rain, wind, rain, fog, rain, and some more rain – plagued PGA Tour events in both California and Florida. The Players Championship was put on hold and played in some of the most brutal conditions the PGA Tour has seen. Will the 2007 PGA Tour season make changes to the orders – and tournaments – of the West Coast and Florida swings to attempt to get better weather, or are they chalking the poor weather up to an anomaly?
Number Three: Nicklaus Loses Grandson, Says Goodbye… Again
Jack Nicklaus lost a grandson in a tragic pool accident, but said his goodbye (again) in the 2005 Masters and British Open. Naturally, the man who will some day surpass Nicklaus as the greatest player of all time won both events, the perfect send-off (one hesitates to say) to the current greatest player of all time.
Jack Nicklaus also found his name used in the distance debate, as told in an article by Lawrence Donegan called “A Quick Nine with ‘The Ball Jack Wants You to Play.’.” Nicklaus, seemingly, forgets that much of what made him the greatest player who ever lived was his distance advantage off the tee. But make no mistake about it: Nicklaus is in favor of a shorter ball. At least, for the time being, his Memorial Tournament appears safe.
Number Two: The Girls
From Paula Creamer’s stand-out rookie season at the ripe old age of 18 to Morgan Pressel’s near-victory at the U.S. Women’s Open, right on through to the announcement that Michelle Wie was turning pro (and her subsequent disqualification from her first tournament as a pro). And then, of course, there’s always Natalie Gulbis to make waves.
Annika Sorenstam may be the top dog for now, but she’s got at least four or five young ladies hot on her trail. How much longer can Annika dominate? Will Creamer, Wie, Pressel, Gulbis, Cristie Kerr, Lorena Ochoa, and the other members of the sub-25 group knock her from her perch? One thing is for sure: the LPGA hasn’t been this exciting in decades.
Number One: The Big Five
The to five players on the PGA Tour had quite a year. Let’s take a look at them idividually. Yes, it’s a top-five list within a top-five list!
Tiger Woods has won six times, finished in the top four of every major this year, winning two, and yet missed more cuts (two) than he had his previous nine years on Tour. With nearly $10M in earnings, Tiger would set a new all-time record with a win at the Tour Championship. At the beginning of the year, there were questions as to whether he was “back” yet or not. Suffice to say, he’s back, and despite losing the #1 ranking earlier to Vijay Singh, he’s gained it back… and then some: at the time of this writing he has a 17.49 to 10.85 point lead over Vijay Singh.- Vijay Singh would have had a better year if he could have putted better than your average 12 handicapper. When his putter was on, so was he, winning four times. Unfortunately, Singh’s superb ballstriking couldn’t overcome his problems with the flat stick, and Vijay’s four missed cuts in 29 events speak to that.
- Phil Mickelson got off to a hot start, winning three tournaments, two back-to-back. Lefty then slumped his way through the majors and was never really a factor until the last of the season, the PGA Championship, where he collected his second career major.
- Retief Goosen won only once on the PGA Tour this year. That win came at the International prior to the PGA Championship. Despite having a three-shot lead going into the final round of the U.S. Open, Retief stumbled home in 81, finishing well down in the pack. The year didn’t begin particularly well for “The Goose,” either, as he partied a bit hard at a party announcing his sponsorship by Grey Goose Vodka, overslept, missed the pro-am, and was disqualified from the Nissan Open.
- Ernie Els missed most of the season because he injured his knee. With one of the top players out of action, the fall didn’t quite have the sizzle it normally does. Ernie didn’t start particularly well in the U.S., but did win several times worldwide, including a victory at the lucrative Dubai Desert Classic.
Just Missed the Cut
International Competition – The Presidents Cup and the Solheim Cup were some of the best drama this summer (despite being some of the worst television of the summer). From Chris DiMarco’s clinching putt and Freddie Couples besting Vijay Singh to Paula Creamer’s promise – and her follow-through on that promise – to bring the Solheim Cup back to the U.S., the international competitions were some of the best golf events of the year.
USGA/R&A Move to Limit Driver MOI, Ball Distance – The USGA not only requested that manufacturers submit shorter balls, but imposed a limit on a driver’s MOI. So much for innovation, right?
Hybrids Make the Big Time – You know it’s true. Whether they’re iron-like or wood-like, hybrids are in. Even the pros use them!
Photo Credits: © AP, AP, Getty Images, LPGA.com, Augusta Chronicle.
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