Golf health check for 2021: Which stars are waning, who is on the rise and what is the...

[ASFN Admin]

After disrupted 2020 that saw golf lose the Open Championship from the calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, James Corrigan assesses the state of play across the sport. Which stars are waning? Dare one mention Tiger Woods? He began the year as world No 7, finishes it as No 40 and posted one top 10 all year, with that coming in his first event, way back in February. Starting 2020 as the reigning Masters champion, Woods’s best placing in a major was a tie for 37th at the US PGA. And that was only one three top-40 displays in the last 10 months of the year. Admittedly, the season was truncated and Woods, now 45, played just 10 tournaments all year, but even before coronavirus sounded the hooter to suspend play, there were worrying signs. Injury saw him pull out of a couple of events on the Florida Swing in March, including the Players. On his return from lockdown, Woods missed the cut at the US Open in September and later admitted to feeling discomfort. All of this suggests a superstar on the wane and, even allowing for the fact that he has been written off before, on so many occasions, with the charge of the new generation it is looking bleak for a 16th major. In the women’s game, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn slipped down the rankings. She was world No 1 in February 2019, but is now 21st. Only 25, she still has time on her side, but as 23-year-old Lydia Ko will confirm – treading water at world No 29 – it is a tough climb back to the top. Which stars are rising? If the 2020 golfing year will be remembered for anything other than the obvious, then it is for the youngsters who fearlessly stormed the elite. Collin Morikawa, 23, became the third youngest player ever to win the US PGA Championship and Matt Wollf (21) and Viktor Hovland (23), also charged their way into the world’s top 15, making that one-man revolution called Bryson DeChambeau feel positively old at 27. DeChambeau has emerged as the most intriguing player in golf, winning the US Open and making so many grand pronouncements.

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