Ranking the 10 Most Frustrating Golfers to Root for
What makes a golfer frustrating to root for?
Many fans surely feel it's frustrating to see some golfers play well—the legions of anti-Tiger-ites come to mind here.
These aren't the golfers that make up our roundup of the most frustrating golfers to root for. Golfers who are frustrating to root for either aggravate us deeply, although we love to root for them, or they fall painfully short in critical situations as we're urging them on to victory. Or, they've underachieved monumentally but remained visible, reminding us of their potential from time to time.
The ranking is based on the magnitude of the frustration, its duration and its varieties.
What the heck does that mean? Click through to see.
10. Adam Scott
1 of 10
Essence of the frustration: In short: the long putter.
Why he's here: Adam Scott is in the 10th spot because, let's face it, he's very easy to root for, and the frustration factor is limited to watching Mr. Scott at work on the green.
To be less frustrating... It either has to be 2016 (when the anchoring ban goes into effect), or Adam Scott needs to ditch his broomstick.
9. Hunter Mahan
2 of 10
Essence of the frustration: Hunter Mahan is a slow player who is overly reliant on his caddie, as was demonstrated at TPC Boston. He's also something of an underachiever.
Why he's here: Mahan's slight underachievement pushes him ahead of Adam Scott.
To be less frustrating... Mahan's relationship with his caddie isn't going to change at this point in his career. Let's just hope we don't have to watch him agonizing over club choices and shot options as we did during the Deutsche Bank Championship last year.
8. Sergio Garcia
3 of 10
Essence of the frustration: Continual underachievement. Petulant outbursts. Fans have largely resigned themselves to the fact that Sergio Garcia will never live up to the El Nino hype. Still, when he teases with the possibility that he could win a major (as he did at last year's Open Championship), it's frustrating.
Why he's here: Garcia comes in at the eighth spot as the lingering frustration with his underachievement and his penchant for not quite getting over the hump is an eternal minor sting.
To be less frustrating... He could actually win some golf tournaments...maybe even some important ones.
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7. Keegan Bradley
4 of 10
Essence of the frustration: In a word: fidgeting. The frustrating thing about Keegan Bradley is watching him prepare to hit a golf shot. It's like he's sneaking up on the ball and is afraid if he spooks it, it'll jump off the tee and run away.
Why he's here: Bradley sits in front of Garcia on our list as his fidgeting is a component of every shot of every round. Thus, the better he plays, the more we see him on television and the more of the Bradley Shimmy we see.
To be less frustrating... Toning it down a bit would help.
6. Charles Howell III
5 of 10
Essence of the frustration: Charles Howell III was supposed to be the next big thing when he joined the tour. Instead of falling off the face of the earth (like Sean O'Hair or Ty Tryon), he's endured as an average player on tour. It's frustrating he hasn't done better given his wealth of talent.
Why he's here: Charles Howell is sixth only because we don't get to see much of him.
To be less frustrating... A win and a handful of top-10s this season would go a long way.
5. Jason Day
6 of 10
Essence of the frustration: Greg Oden-style "why-can't-he-stay-healthy?" frustration.
Why he's here: Jason Day is fifth due to the frequency of his often-curious injuries and the fact that he never really seems to stay healthy enough to achieve his potential. He should be a major winner by now, and we're reminded of that fact in every major championship.
To be less frustrating... Stay healthy!
4. Phil Mickelson
7 of 10
Essence of the frustration: Mickelson was once frustrating because of his inability to win a major championship. He is now frustrating due to his inability to win the U.S. Open and inexplicable dry spells.
Why he's here: Ten years ago, Phil Mickelson may have been at the top of this list. Now, instead of desperately hoping for him to win in each of the four majors, we only have to agonize over Lefty at the U.S. Open. Still, heartbreak like his near-win at the PGA Championship stings.
To be less frustrating... It's pretty simple: Mickelson needs to win the U.S. Open and not have another season where he consistently fails to make the first page of the leaderboard.
3. Bubba Watson
8 of 10
Essence of the frustration: Bubba Watson is a golfer with the sort of basic rubbish appeal that Sam Snead exuded, outrageous distance and a dazzling ability to work the ball. He's a thrill to watch. Frequently, however, he acts like a child.
Why he's here: The disparity between Bubba Watson's hovercraft-driving, Christmas-rap-singing commercial persona and the way he often acts inside the ropes is frustrating. Perhaps only Tiger Woods has had a similar chasm.
To be less frustrating... the Bagdad, Florida, native ought to cease the bratty, caddie-berating behavior.
2. Jim Furyk
9 of 10
Essence of the frustration: It's a double-whammy: Furyk's slow play is incredibly frustrating to watch and has suffered great disappointment in recent years—he finished second four times last season alone.
Why he's here: There's only one golfer more frustrating than Jim Furyk. The Pennsylvania native is an immensely respectable guy, so you want him to win. It's just absolutely unbearable to watch him try to do it.
To be less frustrating... Picking up the pace would help.
1. Tiger Woods
10 of 10
Essence of the frustration: We've gotten over the whole duplicity/Tiger-isn't-really-the-savior-of-humanity thing that surfaced during the infidelity scandal of 2010. The real point of frustration now in the Tiger Woods of 2015 is how far removed he is from the Tiger Woods of the early and mid-2000s.
Why he's here: What could be more frustrating than expecting Michael Jordan of the mid-'90s Chicago Bulls and getting Michael Jordan of the 2001 Washington Wizards?
To be less frustrating... To quote the former owner of TW's favorite football team, the Oakland Raiders, "Just win, baby!"
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