1. Dustin Johnson is either cursed or is the owner of a major karmic credit. It will be the ruling that people will be talking about for years and there may be no more polarizing event in all of sports, let alone golf. After a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a bunker that looked like anything but cost Dustin Johnson a spot in a playoff to determine a winner of the PGA Championship, there will be those that believe Johnson was flat-out robbed. Others will say that it was the right ruling and the PGA rules officials upheld the integrity of the game, even if it was at the most inopportune time.
While that specific issue may be a matter of personal opinion and preference, one thing is without debate: Johnson handled himself with grace and class in defeat. It was certainly unfortunate to see it happen to a guy whose wounds over a previous major championship meltdown were barely healed. Johnson slept on a three-stroke 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open in June, only to shoot an 11-over par 82 and finish in a tie for eighth.
The good news is he bounced back from that to finish in a tie for fourteenth at The Open Championship in July and then, of course, found himself poised to claim victory this weekend. With his game—prodigious length of the tee, good, soft touch around the greens and a solid putter—it may not be long before he finds himself in the same position again.
2. Rory McIlroy may one day become the game’s top player, but right now he isn’t even the top player from Europe. Given his performance in the last two major championships (both third place ties), combined with his thrilling come-from-behind victory earlier this year at the Quail Hollow Championship, there’s been much chatter recently that Rory McIlroy—still just 21 years of age—is the heir apparent to Tiger Woods’ throne as golf’s top player. Even EA Sports put him on the cover of Tiger's game—the first time the cover has ever been shared.
But at this point, as sharp as his game may be, he probably isn’t even the best European player under 30 years of age. That mantle should belong to Martin Kaymer. In addition to claiming his first major title at the PGA Championship—and take nothing away from the German because of Johnson’s lack of playoff participation—Kaymer had top-10 finishes at the U.S. Open and Open Championships this season. He has five European Tour titles and has won at least two tournaments in each of the past three seasons. And of all the putts that were attempted in the pressure cooker that is a major championship on a Sunday, his par saving putt on he 72nd hole that ultimately put him in the playoff may have been the best.
3. Tiger Woods can still be a factor in 2010 and should be a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. It’s been a rough year for Tiger Woods. He said that in about as many words at his press conference after he shot a final round 77 on his way to a second-last place finish at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week. There’s a lot of negativity about his game right. For example: he sits in 108th place in the FedEx Cup Standings, while U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin is in front of Woods, despite playing in only eight tournaments to Woods’ nine. He has just two top-tens and has finished outside the top-25 five times this year—in the previous four seasons he finished outside the top-25 just four times. His scoring average of 71.48 is nearly three strokes higher than his average of 68.84 last year. And if you’ve watched him at all in recent weeks, you have a better idea of where his ball is going than he does when he hits driver off the tee.
Having said all that, he needs to be a part of the U.S. contingent that travels to Wales in the fall looking to defend their Ryder Cup. Consider: the idea that someone (Phil Mickelson or Lee Westwood) could overtake Woods as the number one player in the world has been a major storyline for nearly two months now. The problem is, it hasn’t happened yet. And as awful as his performance has been overall, he has managed to scrape out a pretty good record in the major championships. That is, if his name wasn’t Tiger Woods. Of his five best results this season, four have been in the majors and of all the players that made the cut in all four majors (there were only 12 of them) only Phil Mickelson has a better cumulative score.
It’s just 45 days until the Ryder Cup kicks off. That gives Woods more than six weeks to work on his game (whether it’s with Sean Foley as his new swing coach or not). Assuming Pavin will pick him for the team, it could be an important turning point for Woods in his career. America loves a redemption story and for Tiger Woods the chance to be a key part of a winning U.S. Ryder Cup team would be a Redeem Dream.
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