10 Things We'd Love to See Happen on the PGA Tour in 2015
What would you like to see happen on the PGA Tour in 2015?
How about the guy pictured above, Rickie Fowler, winning a major? Or maybe Tiger Woods playing a full schedule?
With the wraparound season kicking off at the Frys.com Open this week, we have a few things we'd like to see happen on pro golf's top circuit in the coming year.
Click through to see what they are.
Tiger Woods Playing Golf
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Tiger Woods didn't play a lot of golf during the 2013-2014 PGA Tour season. Thanks to a pair of back injuries and a significant layoff following back surgery, the former world No. 1 teed it up in fewer than 10 events.
While the PGA Tour did OK for itself without its cash cow, all parties are eager to have Woods back in the mix.
Woods will be 39 for most of the 2014 season. One wonders how many times he can go to the well of motivation, facing injury and poor play. However, the ascendancy of Rory McIlroy should spur on the uber-competitive Woods.
Let's hope his body holds up as a conduit for renewed competitive energy.
Rickie Fowler Win a Major
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Rickie Fowler had one of the finest seasons any golfer has ever had in major championships. Unfortunately, his incredible major season didn't yield a major victory.
Here's a breakdown of how Fowler finished in golf's most significant tournaments:
- Masters: T5
- U.S. Open: T2
- Open Championship: T2
- PGA Championship: T3
Fowler was close to chasing down Martin Kaymer at the U.S. Open and was narrowly beaten by Rory McIlroy at The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Given his play at the majors and his ability to stay in the mix on Sunday, a green jacket or a Claret Jug shouldn't be far off for the young California native.
Let's hope 2015 is his year.
Phil Mickelson Return to Form
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Phil Mickelson's 2013-2014 campaign was not a memorable one.
While Mickelson made 18 of 21 cuts, he didn't win a tournament. His only top-10 finish was his second-place showing at the PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup was a debacle for the 44-year-old.
Mickelson feels he has good golf left in him, as he told ESPN.com's Rick Reilly:
"My body isn't beat up like a lot of guys. My swing isn't like Tiger's, or Jason Day's, Dustin Johnson's, even Hunter Mahan's. I don't have a really fast golf swing that has a lot of viciousness, a lot of fierceness, where the torque and power that's released is hard on the knees, the back. My swing is big and long and has a wide, wide arc. That doesn't put any pressure on my body ... I'm like a kicker in the NFL. I'm not beat up. I can keep playing at a high level for a long time.
"
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Bubba Watson Adjust His Attitude
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Bubba Watson's caddie, Ted Scott, had a tough go of it in 2014.
He has borne the brunt of his player's outbursts on multiple occasions during his tenure, but this year seemed particularly bad.
"A little rain has Bubba Watson whining like a baby," read a headline in the New York Post after Watson's juvenile display at the PGA Championship.
While one would hope Watson will clean up his act in 2015, his uninspired performance at the Ryder Cup and his "It's just golf, man" attitude seem to suggest his imprudent behavior will continue.
U.S. Presidents Cup Victory
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After a thorough beating in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, the United States needs a win at the Presidents Cup to breathe life into top-tier team golf.
Given the embarrassment that was the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and the discord that has been sown in the U.S. camp, the tour's best must formulate a response at the 2015 Presidents Cup.
Otherwise, Americans might as well accept a future of seeing a lot of what's pictured above.
Dustin Johnson Overcome His "Issues"
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Dustin Johnson is important to the PGA Tour. While there's suspicion that his rockstar persona may have forced the South Carolinian into some of the pitfalls that plague actual rockstars, he's still a long-hitting, immensely marketable young golfer...and a proven winner, no less.
D.J. is due to become a father in 2015. Hopefully, his present hiatus coupled with the necessary maturation thrust upon him by fatherhood will have him playing the best golf of his career in the upcoming season.
Another Major Like the PGA Championship
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Of the four majors in the 2014-2015 PGA Tour golf season, the PGA Championship at Valhalla was the most entertaining by far.
Heck, of major championships in recent memory, the 2014 PGA Championship was the most entertaining.
Rory McIlroy fended off Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson down the stretch in a battle that ended on the final hole and in near darkness.
More of the above in 2015, please.
Rory McIlroy's Continued Good Form
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In case you took a nap for the final third of the 2013-2014 PGA Tour season, Rory McIlroy played some decent golf. The 25-year-old Ulsterman won both The Open Championship and the PGA Championship in addition to the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
McIlroy also finished inside the top five in the final FedEx Cup standings and posted a 2-1-2 record at the Ryder Cup.
It's good for everyone if he continues to play well in the upcoming season (although he could let some other golfers win majors).
A Tiger Woods Major Victory
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The most widely discussed major drought on the PGA Tour continued in 2014. Tiger Woods has not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he overcame significant injury and agony to topple Rocco Mediate. While Woods was physically compromised that week in California, he seemed to be at the height of his mental powers as he willed himself to victory.
A full six seasons without a major win later, Woods will enter the 2014-2015 season with serious questions about both his physical and mental abilities at this stage in his career. He'll also enter the season without a coach or with a new coach, having parted ways with Sean Foley, who shepherded him during his major dry spell.
A return to form and a full season of golf would be great, but a Woodsian major victor would reinvigorate the world of golf. And with Woods pushing 40, there won't be many more opportunities for the particular vintage that is a Tiger Woods major triumph.
A Jim Furyk Victory
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Jim Furyk was a bridesmaid more times in 2014 than even the most wedding-loving lady would like to be.
The Pennsylvania native placed second four times this past season.
Unless the golf gods have worked some strange voodoo on the unfortunate Mr. Furyk, you have to assume that if he's capable of finishing second and contending, he's capable of winning.
Hopefully, he'll prove that assumption correct in 2015.
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