Who Played the majors the best in 2012?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by MEfree

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Yes, that was really the only part I took issue with. Which stat means "the best"? Luke Donald was once the best golfer in the world, based on the OWGR, but many people never really saw him as being the best player, and now that he's not number 1 and still has no majors, many people see the Luke Donald era as a flaw in the numbers.

or a preference for guys who get hot and win while the average fan is watching on TV, but play inconsistently the rest of the time over a guy who consistently played well (with as many wins as anybody).  Yes, Luke failed to win a major, but who do you think should have been #1 at the end of last fall (2011)?  There was no perfect choice IMO.  Whenever there is no dominant player, there is always going to be a dispute.

I think his showdowns with Webb Simpson during and after the playoffs and his almost capturing the FedEx (people forget how close he came) proved he was the best. Many other people would say otherwise. The numbers don't lie though, do they?!?

[k-troop]

I've made my case for why Luke Donald was the true #1 from 2011 to the first few months of the 2012 season, which was roundly ignored.  He won as much as anyone, and captured both money titles.  He also fought to keep his #1 ranking, and won to get it back when he lost it.  But, alas, Luke gets no love from us.  He'll just have to be content with love from Ralph Lauren, Mizuno, the city of Chicago, the entire United Kingdom, and his smoking hot wife.

[MEfree]

The funny thing about the OWGR is that there have been a number of times that the current #1 player had not won a major championship during the 2 year window that the rankings are based on.  Originally, they looked at 3 years, but people thought this was too long.  Even today, some feel it should be 12 months instead of 24 which would mean that there would only be 4 guys potentially "deserving" of #1.

Nobody is saying today that Tiger didn`t deserve to be #1 in July 1998 or after the PGA in 2004 but the fact is he had gone more than two years without a major win and was ranked #1.  If Luke wins a major or two going forward (or had won in 2005 or 2006 instead of finishing 3rd) is his rein at #1 then legitimized (even if he never becomes #1 again)?

[iacas]

Originally Posted by k-troop

I've made my case for why Luke Donald was the true #1 from 2011 to the first few months of the 2012 season, which was roundly ignored.  He won as much as anyone, and captured both money titles.  He also fought to keep his #1 ranking, and won to get it back when he lost it.  But, alas, Luke gets no love from us.  He'll just have to be content with love from Ralph Lauren, Mizuno, the city of Chicago, the entire United Kingdom, and his smoking hot wife.

I haven't read this thread much at all, but what's that got to do with the topic? Perhaps your opinion was roundly ignored because Luke did not "play the majors the best in 2012"? Nor did he deserve to hold onto the #1 ranking for too long in 2012.

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by iacas

I haven't read this thread much at all, but what's that got to do with the topic? Perhaps your opinion was roundly ignored because Luke did not "play the majors the best in 2012"? Nor did he deserve to hold onto the #1 ranking for too long in 2012.

Well, if you'd read the thread, you'd see how we got there.  And I didn't say he deserved #1 for "too long" in 2012, but it was still his, deservedly, for the first few months--especially when he took it back from Rory by winning the BMW PGA Championship.