1-Man’s Opinion on Sports–Monday “PGA Golf-What is Happening-What is Next?”
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“Golf-Where Are We Going?”
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The British Open is over, and the end result was really anti-climatic.
The course didn’t play all that tough. The weather, that normally blows in off the North Sea, never arrived.
The stars we are accustomed to seeing dominate, didn’t.
The Who’s Who we are normally used to seeing atop the leader board, were placed by the Who’s That?
Whether they like it or not, it appears a changing of the guard is happening in Pro Golf, and it’s not good. Not good compared to what we have experienced.
Francisco Molinari won the Open going away, the first Italian ever to win a Grand Slam event.
He stood strong as some of the other new names wilted under the pressure.
The kids Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner fell apart in the final round.
But maybe the bigger story is what’s happening to the bigger names we have all come to watch, follow, cheer for on the tour.
Tiger Woods had a rock solid 4-days, and in fact had the lead as he teed off for the 11th hole, but promptly self-destructed with bad iron play. But a 5th place finish is credible considering all he has been thru. He doesn’t seem capable of dominating a tourney ever again. Good player but greatness gone.
Phil Mickelson never got rolling, and you wonder if he will ever, ever win a golf tourney again. Personality counts, but game day play just isn’t the same.
Dustin Johnson may have been ranked number 1-in the world, but his streaky play continues. He didn’t even make the cut.
Jason Day, a former number one ranked star, has battled back problems, and seems a shell of what he was just two years ago.
Jordan Spieth had health injuries, and is not the dominant player many thought he was about to become a year ago.
Rory McIlroy’s wrist injuries seem to limit his dominance, some weeks good, others not so good.
Anybody seen much of Bubba Watson lately?.
It’s just a weird feel.
Look at the leaderboards on the final round of the tourney’s this year, and you need players to present their ID cards at the door.
2018 has given us these winners: Armour…Cook….Steele….Catlay….Kizziri….Kodaira….Wise.
Know any of them? No.
For the sport that gave us Byron Nelson and Sammy Snead…..the Golden Bear and Arnie’s Army…..Sevie and the Shark….plus Phil & Tiger…..this feels and looks like a very different time on the Pro tour.
Maybe another superstar int the sport will emerge before the end of the tour schedule.
Who that is remains to be seen. Because now the fans are not just yelling ‘in the hole’…they are also uttering ‘who’s that?’.
It’s what the PGA Tour is about to become.
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