Grades for the Top PGA Tour Stars from the 2014 Season
Sometimes the grading process is subjective; sometimes it's objective. Sometimes it's a feeling.
And then sometimes all of those things figure into it.
Giving grades to top PGA Tour stars is not a cut-and-dried proposition. There are questions like: Is Jimmy Walker's three-victory season better than Rickie Fowler's no-victory, but top-five finishes-in-all-four-majors season?
There are more interesting questions.
Check out the following list.
Billy Horschel
1 of 10
Hey, this guy had an outstanding season, even before the FedEx Cup playoffs began.
He did even better once the playoffs began, and that's why he's $11.4 million richer today.
In 2014, Billy Horschel went from being a young man with good golf skills and a ferocious temper to a guy who should be playing on the Ryder Cup but won't be.
He had a realistic chance to win three of the four playoffs, save for a chunked six-iron that fell into the hazard short of the final hole at TPC at Boston.
As it was, Horschel was a monster at the Tour Championship, outdueling No. 1-ranked Rory McIlroy, Jim Furyk and anyone else who dared making a run at him.
It will be a season to remember for Horschel.
Grade: A
Jim Furyk
2 of 10
Since the Memorial Tournament, Jim Furyk finished in the top 25 every time he teed it up.
That was 10 tournaments, and his worst finish in that time was a T23 at the Deutsche Bank.
It was a remarkable string of play for the 44-year-old who is short off the tee but remarkably accurate, and that's how he's competed against guys much young than himself.
Yes, he finished solo second three times and T2 one other time in 2014, but he posted rounds of 65, 66, 69 and 69 in those final rounds. What that means is he's been competing right to the end and not blowing leads.
He's a wily veteran; don't be surprised if he's a leader in the Ryder Cup from Sept. 26-28.
Grade: A
Rory McIlroy
3 of 10
As the No. 1 player in the world, expectations are high for Rory McIlroy.
And he exceeded those this season with a hat trick of victories that included the Open Championship and the PGA Championship. McIlroy didn't just win—he dominated. He hit the ball longer and straighter off the tee than anyone else had since Tiger Woods in his heyday.
Yes, it would have made for a great story if McIlroy had come through on Sunday at the Tour Championship (he tied for second), but there's absolutely no doubt his season was the best of 2014.
He earned $8,280,096. Any questions?
Grade: A+
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Rickie Fowler
4 of 10
Rickie Fowler might never be able to thank Butch Harmon enough.
The youngster joined Harmon's stable in December 2013, and whatever they worked on took hold early in 2014. Fowler didn't win in 2014, which would have been nice for him since he hadn't won since the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship.
But he was a phenom, finishing in the top five in all four major championships. Fowler finished second twice and third twice. But the fact he missed the cut seven times tells you he's not a finished product yet. He did earn $4.8 million and finished in the top 10 in three of the four FedEx Cup playoff events.
It certainly seems the best is yet to come after a pretty darn good 2014.
Grade: B+
Sergio Garcia
5 of 10
This was another lucrative season for the 34-year-old Spaniard, who banked $4.9 million in PGA Tour events for his best earning season ever. Of course, he didn't win a major again and, other than tying for second with Jordan Spieth behind Rory McIlroy in the Open Championship, wasn't a factor in any, either.
Garcia did have three second-place finishes and two thirds while posting 10 top-10s in 16 starts.
Chances are good Garcia will show up at Gleneagles, Scotland, on September 26-28 and become the putting demon he has so many Ryder Cups in the past.
Grade: B
Adam Scott
6 of 10
It's hard to imagine a guy who made just over $4 million could be thought as having a so-so PGA Tour season.
The man from Down Under won the Masters in 2013 and, yes, won Colonial in a playoff over Jason Dufner, but he never seriously challenged in golf's biggest events. He finished in the top 15 in all four majors but again was never really a threat.
It's the same thing for the FedEx Cup playoffs, where his worst finish was a T16 in the Deutsche Bank.
Next season will be his last with the anchored putting stroke, which will be banned in 2016. It seems like the heat will really be on him in 2015.
Grade: B
Bubba Watson
7 of 10
Bubba Watson has become such an enigma on the PGA Tour.
He's won two Masters titles (2012, 2014) and done little else in major championship competition.
He's also blistered his caddie on occasion and really went off the charts at the PGA Championship, complaining well within range of ever-present cameras and microphones about the rain and how it affected his game.
And, of course, there was his refusal to participate in a long-drive contest, saying he was there to win a championship and not participate in a contest. That would be Bubba Watson, the longest driver on the PGA Tour at 314.3 yards per measured drive. He comes up well short in maturity, however.
Watson also won the Northern Trust Open, but until he wins a major at somewhere other than Augusta National Golf Club, questions will remain about him as a true major champion.
Grade: B-
Jason Day
8 of 10
Jason Day could actually be given an "incomplete" for this year, thanks to the injury/injuries that dogged him all year long. You could certainly make the case that the very nice year Day had on the PGA Tour was only a fraction of what it might have been.
He won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in February and seemed on his way to a very big season. But thumb and wrist ailments kept him sidelined for nearly two months on two different occasions.
Then he was troubled by a back issue and just never got back to full strength.
This is a player who is talented enough to be winning majors and almost did so in 2013 at the Masters when he faltered down the stretch, allowing Scott to win.
Grade: B-
Justin Rose
9 of 10
Justin Rose won the Quicken Loans National in late June, a little over a year from when he won the U.S. Open.
As in 2013, his win this year was the highlight of his season as he didn't create many fireworks the rest of the season.
It wasn't that he played badly. It was just he never got into a position to seriously contend after that.
Like Garcia, you can expect him to be a real thorn in the side of the U.S. contingent at the Ryder Cup next weekend.
Grade: C+
Jimmy Walker
10 of 10
You really have to tip your cap to Jimmy Walker.
He had played in 188 PGA Tour events before finally getting a win. And then Walker earned his way back to the trophy presentation two more times in his first eight starts this year.
He remarkably played well enough to hold on to the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup rankings until the season's waning weeks. Walker posted top-20s in three of the FedEx Cup playoff events but never really threatened to win a playoff tournament.
He obviously had a career year, earning over $5 million. Who knows if he'll ever experience that sort of success again.
Grade: A
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