2011 could be the year golf comes back to being interesting again. It also could be the year we say bye-bye to Tiger Woods as the dominate force in Golf…or will we? Needless to say, but I will, Golf is going to be…AGAIN… worth watching in 2011. It starts in only two weeks, so get out the sunscreen and lets image we are in Hawaii.
Here are my favorites for 2011
You can put these players in whatever order you want… I have placed them in random order to who comes to mind first.
Ian Poulter will take center stage year if for nothing else but for him finally getting his designer golf apparel worth me wearing. However, he has the golf game to match the sharp looking slacks he wears. Now if he would just take his online act to Facebook instead of Twitter he would become the all time number one social mediaist golfer in my book.
Dustin Johnson would be someone you would think would have the name Bubba. His laid back attitude towards golf reminds me of the younger Fred Couples. Humm, could you image that Skins Game? Funny how history repeats itself. Dustin has the game to go to the top..keep your eye on him.
Graeme McDowell..a force to be reckoned with for sure. Will he hold up for a long stretch of wins? Answer: With that short compact swing..Yes! We have not heard the last of Mr McDowell. (VERY Classy web-site, bravo!)
Bubba Watson will move up in the rankings just because he has a name..Bubba. He also has a golf game that is unbelievable good at times. Him swinging from the wrong side will not be held against him since hitting 400 yd drives from the southpaw position is something to see. Bubba will win again.
Lee Westwood..the Real Deal? Westie seems to have come out with a well needed ‘Kickass and Take a Few Names’ attitude. His game has evolved to actually match the attitude…all he needs is a Good hat to wear to keep from burning out.
Rickie Fowler..the Justin Bieber of golf..can someone find him a barber please. Seriously though, Fowler can play and if he keeps his head on square we maybe seeing a lot of Orange this year…I mean a lot of Orange, on Sunday. Yes, make sure you check the color setting on your flatscreen..orange is not a good color to pick up, but we will be seeing a lot of Fowler on Sundays.
Hunter Mahan ..as far as unsung heroes go, Hunter is just that. It seems Hunter is growing up quiet nicely and is moving on from the White Belt and and matching sunglasses to hitting fairways and greens. His Ryder Cup standoff with Mr McDowell flushed out all the butterflies and proved to himself he can go up against the big dogs. I feel strongly we will see Hunter a few times this year.
Tiger Woods..Of course we will see the new king of golf..TV and his sponsors will make sure of that even if he misses the cut they will still have the highlights of his Friday three putts running during the Sunday round. However, Tiger is Tiger and he has the strength, knowledge and fearlessness in him to ‘Bring It’ at any given moment. I think we still will be hearing from The King for few more years now. Lets just hope what we hear about is what he is doing on the golf course.
Paul Casey..I don’t think we have seen the last of Paul. We are talking BullDog mentality here and it seems with how he was treated with the 2010 Ryder Cup selection he is out to prove someone (if not everyone) wrong. I know Paul’s smiling face will be seen a lot this year.
Anthony Kim ..speaking of smiling. What an attitude AK has for golf and life. I am not sure if it can be done, but if Tony could bottle that smile of his and hand it out around the PGA (and LPGA) Tour, I know watching golf would be a much more uplifting experience for the fans. It is very fortunate he has the golf game to make his smile. Being one of the more exciting players on tour who, if his recent injury to his thumb can be repaired, I am sure will return to the limelight of contending on Sunday.
These are just a few of the stars of golf that are shining brightly for me. As I have said many times before, the best golfer to me is the golfer that is left standing at the end of the round on Sunday (or whatever day the tournament ends). Professional Golf is a tough enough game to play that a true golf fan cheers for the winner as much for the losers. Golf..what an outstanding experience it presents to a person’s life. No OTHER sport can match it. If you don’t play golf I invite you to join us to find out what I am talking about.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Ian Poulter still my favorite golfer. But I watch another player too.