Early Storylines Emerging for the 2015 PGA Tour Season
The 2015 PGA Tour season got started in October of last year. (We'll get used to this wraparound season thing eventually.)
While the first major of the season is nearly two months away, there hasn't been any shortage of interesting storylines. And only one of them is Tiger Woods-related, as Toothgate doesn't make the list.
Click through for the biggest storylines on tour from the season so far.
Early-Season Statement Victories
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Looking at the winners in the 2014-2015 golf season thus far, nearly every victor has made a significant statement with his triumph.
Here are a few of the winners and what they were effectively saying by beating the field.
CIMB Classic: Ryan Moore: Moore won in Malaysia for the second consecutive year. The win made it clear that he owns Kuala Lumpur G&CC.
WGC-HSBC Champions: Bubba Watson: With his dramatic hole-out, Watson again asserted that he has the mettle to win when he gets in position.
Hero World Challenge: Jordan Spieth: While the tournament is something of an unofficial end-of-season cash grab, Spieth's dominant performance sent a message after his winless 2014.
Hyundai Tournament of Champions: Patrick Reed: Reed, who won twice in 2014, indicated he plans to continue winning through the season.
Sony Open: Jimmy Walker: Ditto for Walker, who won thrice in 2014.
Waste Management Phoenix Open: Brooks Koepka: Koepka, who took an atypical path to PGA Tour success, broke through at TPC Scottsdale.
Farmers Insurance Open: Jason Day: The Australian returned to the winner's circle after an impressive performance. The win suggests 2015 will be better than his injury- and disappointment-filled 2014.
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am: Brandt Snedeker: Snedeker's victory validates the good work he's doing with new coach Butch Harmon and suggests he's due to rebound this year.
Tiger Woods' Woes
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Where do you begin in talking about what's gone wrong for Tiger Woods in 2015?
At the end of the 2013-2014 season, Woods hadn't teed it up since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in August as he sought to rehabilitate his back.
Woods began his 2014-2015 season at the Hero World Challenge at the beginning of December. He finished in last place and was plagued by chipping and pitching woes.
After nearly two months of practice, Woods teed it up at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and was equally as bad (or worse). He fired a second-round 82 to miss the cut. The short-game struggles continued.
The next week at the Farmers Insurance Open, Woods' back tightened up on him, and he withdrew after 11 holes.
He then announced he'd be taking a short break until his game is tournament-ready.
The big Tiger-related story now is a question: What's next?
Dustin Johnson's Return
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After the RBC Canadian Open last year, Dustin Johnson disappeared. The long-hitting South Carolinian announced he was taking a leave of absence, which was followed by reports of a failed drug test, according to Golf.com (h/t FoxNews.com).
While he was away, Johnson was working out hard, practicing and playing regularly.
Johnson returned to the PGA Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he narrowly missed the cut. Last week at Pebble Beach, however, the bomber was dialed in. He closed with a 66 to finish tied for fourth.
At this early stage in his return, all signs point to DJ heading in the right direction both on and off the course.
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Robert Allenby's Unfortunate Saga
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The most shocking and overwhelmingly bizarre storyline of the season so far is of what befell Robert Allenby after leaving a Honolulu wine bar.
The story would have been strange enough if Allenby's account of the abduction and robbing would have been corroborated. (And another layer of complexity: Allenby's account was based in part on what he was told, as he had no memory of anything that transpired.)
Instead, speculation ensued, and the story became increasingly strange, full of too many twists and turns to recap here.
Suffice it to say, the Allenby saga is a significant 2015 storyline.
Rory McIlroy's Legal Issues
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Rory McIlroy entered 2015 with a legal battle with his former management looming.
The warring sides settled in that battle. However, McIlroy was recently named in a UK probe of potentially unsavory investments by Valhalla Private Client Services, which apparently managed some of the Ulsterman's considerable cash pile.
And while the Mirror's Alan Selby (h/t Golf Central's Will Gray) suggests the star golfer had no knowledge of the specifics of the investment in question, it's another potential distraction for him as the Masters approaches on April 9.
McIlroy hasn't appeared bothered by any of this thus far in 2015. In his two starts this year (both on the European Tour), McIlroy finished second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and first at the Dubai Desert Classic.
Mickelson's Putting
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Phil Mickelson's Odyssey PM Prototype hasn't exactly been a friend to him so far this season. He's made just one of three cuts and is presently ranked 165th on tour in strokes gained: putting.
He knows he hasn't been good with the flatstick. Here's what Mickelson said after missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, per Golf Digest's John Strege:
"My putting is beyond pathetic. And if I can’t get back to the levels of 2013, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. It’s very frustrating for me right now. I felt really ready to start the year and these first few weeks have been very poor. I feel like I’m hitting the ball tee to green really well.
"
This was supposed to be a rebound year for Lefty. We heard all offseason about how his training and practice regimen were preparing him to go out in a blaze of glory.
There has been no glory for the 44-year-old thus far.
Captain Love (Again)
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Davis Love III will be the next Ryder Cup captain for the United States squad.
Captain Love's appointment was a surprising one. Why? Golf Digest's John Strege: "Love has been part of a 11-man Ryder Cup task force formed by the PGA of America after the latest U.S. loss to Europe, 16.5-11.5, at Gleneagles in Scotland in September."
That's right, Love is both a losing captain and a member of the "task force." It's a new story (the news broke February 16), and one that will surely have many interesting additional chapters written before the 2016 Ryder Cup begins.
And the questions have already begun to circulate. Sam Weinman of Golf Digest wrote:
"Ryder Cups are fertile ground for second guessing, and that's under the best of circumstances. Now factor in a U.S. side that has lost eight of its last 10, that needed to convene a task force in the wake of the latest humiliation, and that still ended up picking a retread as a captain who LOST last time around."
All stats via PGATour.com.
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