You often hear that age-old adage about history repeating itself. If one is to review the world of professional golf in 2010, perhaps we are repeating history, specifically a time period in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Europeans ruled the world of golf.
It was during that time frame that the two top linksters in the golfing world were Englishman Nick Faldo, winner of six major titles, and Spain”s godfather of golf, Seve Ballesteros, who captured five grand slam events. Alongside this dynamic and very different duo were such major champions as Ian Woosnam of Wales, Sandy Lyle of Scotland, Bernhard Langer of Germany and Spain”s Jose Maria Olazabal. Interestingly enough, while these men combined to win 18 major titles, not a one of them won the United States Open or the PGA Championship.
During this time, there were a number of talented European golfers, who while majorless, were impact players on golf”s center stage. I am referring to Scot Colin Montgomerie, who historically led the European Tour”s Order of Merit, Irishman Christy O”Connor, who had a major hand in winning the 1989 Ryder Cup, and Italian Constantino Rocco, who came within a whisper of winning the British Open at St. Andrews. Speaking of Ryder Cups, this was the time when the Europeans suddenly became the equals of the Americans in this biennial team competition, winning the Cup in 1985, ”87, ”89, ”95 and ”97.
Fast-forward to 2010, and we”ve begun what very well may be the next decade of European golf dominance on the worldwide stage. The world”s top golfer is a European, the world”s top senior golfer is a European, the European team reclaimed the Ryder Cup this past October, and two of the four major champions in 2010 are Europeans.
Bernhard Langer played a major role in the surge of golf on the continent in the middle 1980s with a pair of wins in the Masters. Now, some 25 years later, he is the dominant player on the PGA Champions Tour for golfers ages 50 and older. In a season when he battled the top American senior, Fred Couples, Langer came out on top in wins, major titles, money and the Charles Schwab Cup, the senior version of the Fed Ex Cup.
Langer started early on the American senior tour with wins at the Allianz and the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. During a two-week period in late July and early August, Langer won the Senior British Open and then crossed the pond the following week to capture the United States Senior Open. His U.S. Senior Open win was especially dynamic in that he won it over Couples at Sahalee Country Club in the Seattle area. Couples grew up playing municipal golf courses in Seattle and had the loud and vocal backing of the galleries, but Langer nonetheless played stellar golf to take home the Open title. He won his fifth tourney of the year at the Boeing Classic and topped off his season with the $1 million bonus check from Charles Schwab at Harding Park.
The second generation of Ballesteros-Faldo-Langer had great campaigns during 2010. Martin Kaymer of Germany, the world”s No. 3-ranked golfer, won three times on the European Tour at Abu Dhabi, Holland and the Dunhill Links at St. Andrews. Most importantly, he won a playoff to take home the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in August. He was the first Euro to win the PGA since Tommy Armour did so in 1930.
Of equal import was the season of Graeme McDowell, the first European to win a U.S. Open title since Tony Jacklin turned the trick in 1970. McDowell also won the Celtic Manor Open and the Andalucia Masters. He was the anchor for the European team in the Ryder Cup and came through, winning the final match against American Hunter Mahan to reclaim the Cup for the continentals. Interesting to note is the fact that all of McDowell”s wins this year cane at championship venues, specifically Celtic Manor, Pebble Beach and Valderrama.
While he didn”t have the same caliber of year that Kaymer and McDowell had, Lee Westwood sits atop the World Golf Rankings, a point system that extends over a two-year period of time. Westwood won the St. Jude Memphis Open on the PGA Tour in June and took over the top ranking last month when Tiger Woods gave up the No. 1 spot following a very subpar year. Westwood was runner-up in the Masters and the British Open.
Speaking of the World Rankings, a contingent of Europeans is very much a part of the top 25 in world professional golf. European Tour regulars Paul Casey and Luke Donald are ranked No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, right behind Americans Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk. Ian Poulter is another experienced European golfer who won the World Match Play this past February, beating Casey in the finals. Another longtime European linkster, Irishman Padraig Harrington, is no longer his tour”s top player, but he does own three major championships and still has game.
There is also a growing contingent of 20-somethings who have made an impact on the worldwide golf scene during the past two years. Among them are the threesome of Eduardo Molinari, his brother, Francesco Molinari, and perhaps the one golfer who could dominate the game in the way that Tiger Woods once did, namely Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.
Eduardo Molinari wont he Scottish Open and the Johnny Walker at Gleneagles this summer. Francesco Molinari won the big HSBC tourney in China earlier this month, beating out Westwood by one stroke. The Molinari brothers teamed up to in the World Cup for Italy last year. McIlroy shot 62 to capture the Quail Hollow tournament on the PGA Tour this past May and he finished third in the British Open and the PGA. While he has been a professional for four years, he is just 21 years old and the future appears to be very bright for him.
This has been a very dynamic year for more than one dozen European golfers and we haven”t even mentioned Justin Rose, a two-time PGA Tour winner, or Miguel Angel Jiminez, a three-time European Tour winner this year. Yes indeed, 2010 can definitely be considered the year of the Euros.
