It’s the final weekend of 2019, and on top of that, it’s the final weekend of the decade. This week we’re going to take a look at the world of professional golf and all the highlights of the last 12 months. It was the year of Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, and Tiger Woods when it came to headlines, but it was also the year of the increasing youth movement, a whole new set of rules, and a British Open on Irish soil won by an Irishman.
Tiger Woods started off the major championship season with a stunning victory at the Masters. It was Tiger’s fifth green jacket and it marked the 15th major title of his illustrious career, putting him just three major championships behind all-time leader Jack Nicklaus. Woods played rock solid golf all week, and when Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Xander Schauffele, and Tony Finau faltered over the course of the final nine, Tiger avoided mistakes at Augusta National for the victory. It marked the second greatest comeback in golf history.
One month later, the PGA Championship not only moved to the month of May, but also visited the Bethpage Black Golf Course on Long, a former U.S. Open site. Brooks Koepka showed zero signs of a Masters hangover, took a big lead through 54 holes, demonstrated a few kinks in his armor on final round Sunday, and still prevailed over Dustin Johnson to win. It was Koepka’s fourth major triumph. More amazingly, at that moment Koepka had won back to back PGAs as well as back to back U.S. Opens. It’s impressive that Brooks seems to rise to the occasion when the lights shine brightest on center stage. He was a factor in all four majors this year and he has the requisite combination of power and short game to find the top of the leader board in the game’s most important tournaments.
Gary Woodland, a 30-something journeyman who looks physically similar to Brooks Koepka, parlayed his newly found short game into victory at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. It was the 100th anniversary of America’s greatest public access golf course and Woodland held off a super strong leader board to win his first major title. On the back nine on Sunday with the National Open still in the balance, Koepka hit a world class three wood to set up a brilliant birdie on the par five 14th hole and then got up and down from the front of the hourglass 17th green to make a solid par to prevail. Woodland, who initially played college basketball, may be a one hit wonder, but he was, without a doubt, a true wonder on the links at Pebble Beach in June.
The British Open returned to Ireland for the first time since 1951. Contested at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, native son Shane Lowry dominated the proceedings and ran off with the Claret Jug. Hometown favorite Rory McIlroy hit his first hole tee shot out of bounds, almost carded an 80, made a valiant comeback on Friday, and nonetheless missed the cut. Lowry too might be a one hit wonder when it comes to major titles, but it is arguable that no one in the history of major golf has celebrated as heartily as Lowry did that Sunday evening.
Obviously the Masters returns to Augusta National next year. The PGA visits Harding Park in San Francisco next May, the U.S. Open returns to Winged Foot in June, and the British Open returns to Royal St. George in England. A major in San Francisco in May will be a major feather in the cap of the City by the Bay.
Although he didn’t win any majors this year, Rory McIlroy was the PGA Tour’s golfer of the year. He won the Players Championship in March, added the Canadian Open trophy to his mantelpiece, and then won the $15 million purse at the Tour Championship last August. The newly tweaked PGA Tour schedule survived its first year of a reshuffled major calendar, the wrap-around season concluding in August, new events in Detroit, Minneapolis and Japan, and the movement of tourneys at the Greenbrier and Houston that relocated to the fall.
It was the year of great team competition on the LPGA Tour and the PGA Tour. Team Europe won the Solheim Cup by the thinnest of margins when Suzann Petersen made a win or lose 10 foot putt on the final green in the final singles match. Petersen promptly retired in style. Just last week Team USA made a valiant Sunday singles comeback to win the Presidents Cup in Australia earlier this month. International captain Ernie Els made believers out of his inexperienced 12 man squad, but it just wasn’t enough against the overall strength of the American team.
The PGA Tour visits Northern California in early February for the playing of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It also comes to Silverado Resort in Napa in October for the Safeway Classic. This year we’ll get to experience the PGA Championship in May at Harding Park. The Reno-Tahoe Barracuda Open will be leaving the Montreaux Golf Club in Reno after a two decade run. It will now be hosted at the Old Greenwood Golf Club in Truckee from July 2-5. Both Montreaux and Old Greenwood are Jack Nicklaus course designs.
For a sport that prides itself on self-policing, the rules took center stage way too often in 2019. The USGA and the R&A incorporated some 20 new rules changes and even the best players in the game found ways to fall astray of the rules. Some items of note were minor, such as Rickie Fowler taking a shoulder length drop instead of a knee length drop early in the season. LPGA veteran Christina Kim had to bust two of her playing companions at LPGA Q School when they shared club advice (that’s not a new rule). Lee Ann Walker didn’t know the new rule regarding caddie alignment, wasn’t advised of her violations, and accumulated 58 strokes in 27 holes over the course of the LPGA Senior Championship. Most glaring was Patrick Reed’s excavation project at the Hero World Challenge. The rule about improving one’s lie has probably been on the books since 1600. Cameron Champ called it cheating. Reed contended it was simply a “bad camera angle.” In a sport where there are very few villains, Patrick Reed wears to blackest of hats.
We’ll continue with our review of 2019 next week. After all, we have yet to talk about Matthew Wolff, Brendan Todd, the disappearance of Jordan Spieth, the LPGA Tour, and the senior Champions Tour. Hopefully everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Best wishes for a safe and successful New Year.
