A Look Back: Top 10 Golf Surprises of 2011

The 2011 season had an unusual number of first-time winners, but that was not the biggest surprise of the year.  Tiger Woods came and went and came back; again, not the biggest surprise of the year.  Rickie Fowler dressed in orange and won as a professional in Korea, beating Rory McIlroy in the process, giving us a preview of what to expect in the next five years; still not the biggest surprise of 2011. 

Surprise means you didn’t expect it, and in 2011, we had a lot of that.

Kathy Bissell is a Golf Writer for Bleacher Report.  Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official interview materials from the USGA, PGA Tour or PGA of America.

10. PGA Tour Adds South America

While the European Tour has been expanding into the Middle East and Asia, everyone has more or less ignored South America, even though players like Camilo Villegas, Jhonattan Vegas and, earlier, Carlos Franco brought the continent to the forefront. 

When the Olympics selected Rio for 2016 and added golf into the games, the scorecard had to be on the wall.  The PGA Tour claimed South America with a new, still undefined, 12-week fall tour that will go to that part of the world.

9. Caddiegate

Steve Williams and Tiger Woods had a split and then a rather public “caddie divorce.”  Williams then hooked up with Adam Scott, who promptly won at WGC Bridgestone where the crowd cheered “Stevie!   Stevie!” 

Williams then became perhaps the only caddie other than Eddie Lowrey and Jackie Nicklaus to have been interviewed after a big victory. 

Caddie stories didn’t stop there though, as Dustin Johnson picked up Joe LaCava and won a few months later.  Then LaCava got a call from Woods and at the Presidents' Cup, they were placed with Adam Scott and Steve Williams.

It was great for gossip.

When Tiger Woods finally won in December with LaCava on the bag, you had to start to asking yourself if it was just coincidence.  Or is there something magical about LaCava? 

8. Long Putters

From the saving grace of older golfers to the winning wand of newcomers, the long putter went from being a putter of last resort to a putter of first choice.

Look for more of them everywhere this year on the PGA Tour, European Tour and probably at a course near you. 

 

7. Bill Haas

Speaking of performances we never saw coming, who expected Bill Haas to hit a shot out of a water hazard to win $10 million and the Fed Ex Cup? 

Even his parents didn’t see that coming. 

6. Yani Tseng’s Invisible Success

Yani Tseng won seven times in 2011, two of them majors.  She wrapped up Player of the Year on the LPGA before the season finished. 

Unfortunately, with the way the LPGA  schedule is set up and with the lack of emphasis on women’s golf, she received less attention than she should have. 

If it had been Tiger Woods, he would have been Sportsman of the Year.

5. Luke Donald’s Double

Winning the money title on one tour is impressive.  But Luke Donald did what was previously impossible—winning the money list on both the European and PGA Tours in the same season. 

Granted, top finishes in World Golf Championship events and majors helped, but he also knocked off Lee Westwood from the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings and won the Accenture Match Play along the way.  In October, when he entered and won the Children’s Miracle Network tournament, because that was the only way he could secure the PGA Tour money title, he created a "Babe Ruth of golf" moment. 

4. Rory McIlroy’s Major Comeback

It wasn’t surprising that Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open. He seemingly has an unlimited amount of talent.  What was surprising was that McIlroy won after his final round disaster at the Masters.

3. Charl Schwartzel

Sunday afternoon, Rory McIlroy seemingly had the Masters jacket on a hanger in the Augusta National locker room.  That was until he hit his tee shot on the10th hole on Sunday.  After it found cabins that line the far left side of the 10th hole—none of which have ever been shown previously on television—his score plummeted. 

From then on, any one of six or seven players could have won, but Charl Schwartzel made history when he birdied the last four holes—something which had never been done at the tournament—to overtake the rest.

2. Darren Clarke

As a youngster, Darren Clarke once cut the greens at golf courses to help the family earn money.  After a career and personal life of ups and downs, with 22 worldwide victories, Clarke captured one of golf’s top prizes—the British Open Championship. 

Absolutely no one would have picked him to win it when the tournament began.

1. Keegan Bradley

Never mind that he’s related to Pat Bradley.  Never mind that he’s a tough competitor. 

For Keegan Bradley to transition from the Nationwide Tour in 2010 to winning the 2011 PGA Championship has to be the biggest surprise since John Daly won the PGA Championship in 1991.