10 Things We'd Love to See Happen on the PGA Tour in 2016
Though it seems like the FedEx Cup playoffs and Presidents Cup just ended, the start of the 2016 PGA Tour is actually just around the corner.
Every new season is an opportunity for hope, and 2015 gave fans a lot to be optimistic about when looking ahead to next year. From players such as Jason Day and Jordan Spieth continuing their blistering form to exciting oddities like sub-60 rounds or snow at the Ryder Cup, 2016 has the potential to deliver some remarkable performances.
Let’s look ahead to the year that will be by analyzing the forecast and discussing the 10 things we’d most like to see on tour in 2016.
A U.S. Victory (and Snow) at the Ryder Cup
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Don’t be fooled by all the warm, sunny pictures of Hazeltine National Golf Club you may have already seen in the 2016 Ryder Cup brochures. The course may be a pristine green during the summer, but the fact remains next year’s battle between Team USA and Team Europe will take place from late September to early October in Minnesota.
According to the University of Minnesota’s historical climate data, local snowfall has come as early as September 26 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which means players may have to embrace a weather phenomenon rarely seen in the sport.
The oddity is curious enough in itself to root for as a fan, if for no other reason than to be the basis for future bar stories starting with the phrase “Hey, remember that one time it snowed at the Ryder Cup?” But there’s also an ulterior motive for American supporters.
If the infamous U.S.-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier soccer game is any indication, American athletes aren’t usually fazed when it comes to getting the job done in the snowy conditions with which their guests are relatively less familiar. It may be a stretch, but any edge would come as a blessing for a U.S. team that has only won the Ryder Cup once in its last seven tries.
A Sub-60 Round
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The last sub-60 round on the PGA Tour came at the 2013 BMW Championship, according to ESPN.com, when Jim Furyk carded a 59.
So, PGA Tour, what’s with the current hiatus? Fans have been waiting patiently for one of your stars to take us back to the '50s like a classic Frank Sinatra single, but it looks like that wait is set to extend into its third year.
Sigh.
Though we’ve been pacified by the rise of young phenoms in recent years, deep down we all have a yearning to see the tour’s best absolutely dismantle courses that would humble amateurs like us with shameful bogey after shameful bogey.
There are more than 40 officially sanctioned PGA events scheduled for this year, according to PGATour.com. Just one round of sweet 50s is all we ask.
Jason Day Stays Hot
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When it comes to player-specific hopes, it’s logical to start with Jason Day. After all, no one had a better end to the 2015 season than the Australian. Sure, Jordan Spieth won the FedEx Cup playoffs and owned the season as a whole, but Day was the only player who figured out how to bottle lightning from the end of July through September.
After coming painfully close to capturing his first major when he tied for fourth at the British Open, Day went on to win the Canadian Open, the PGA Championship and the Barclays. He tied for 12th in the Deutsche Bank Championship, won the BMW Championship and tied for 10th at the Tour Championship.
That’s not dissimilar to the dominant way Rory McIlroy ended his 2014 campaign (but here’s hoping the Aussie’s 2016 starts better than the Northern Irishman’s 2015).
When a deserving player such as Day finally makes the major breakthrough and then turns that massive personal accomplishment into a feast of golfing excellence, fans can be forgiven for asking for seconds in the following calendar year.
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Jordan Spieth Wins a Grand Slam
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As previously mentioned, 2015 belonged to Jordan Spieth. The 22-year-old announced himself at the Masters before proceeding to win the U.S. Open and come tantalizingly close to victories at both St Andrews and Whistling Straits.
There were whispers of a possible Grand Slam run from Spieth as early as mid-April, but those whispers turned into unabashed prognostications after the Texas native survived Dustin Johnson’s collapse to claim his second 2015 major in as many attempts.
Whether you like Spieth or not, the fact remains it’s difficult to cheer against the skilled young man who is mature and classy beyond his years. He is a great ambassador for the sport of golf and is serving as an excellent torchbearer for the newest generation of superstars, along with McIlroy, Day and Rickie Fowler.
It’s a long shot for Spieth to win a traditional Grand Slam next year, given the quality of those players and the rest of the field. Also, if he does, it will sink a couple of our other hopes on this list. But then again, there’s still a chance he can at least complete a career grand slam by the incredible age of 23.
That would be a legendary accomplishment—and one you couldn’t wish on a more deserving young player.
Rory McIlroy Returns to Form
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Rory McIlroy wasn’t at his brilliant best this season. He started off slowly with a missed cut at the Honda Classic and didn’t get his first win of the year until the WGC-Cadillac Match Play in early May.
He took fourth at the Masters and ninth at the U.S. Open before missing the British Open (and the rest of July) with an ankle injury. Upon his return, the Northern Irishman only managed 17th place at the PGA Championship to close out his majors run.
Though McIlroy may have lost his world No. 1 ranking and been overshadowed for the past few months, he’s still one of the unquestioned top players on tour. What the game needs now is for him to return to his 2014 form (something he is certainly capable of doing) and usher in a new era of top-class duels with Spieth, Day and the other hungry young pros who are on track for golfing immortality.
And what better way to kick off this new golden era than by seeing McIlroy complete his career grand slam at Augusta in April—after holding off a spirited charge on Sunday and winning by a single stroke on the final hole, of course?
We Stop Hearing the Phrase 'The Next Tiger Woods'
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Speaking of legendary status and new eras, can we please bury the phrase “the next Tiger Woods”?
Give it full funeral rites if necessary, but lay it to rest for good and don’t resurrect it for any horribly produced, Friday the 13th Part XXVII-esque sequels (no one wants to see buzzword-hungry commentators chasing teenagers around Camp Crystal Lake, badgering them about being the next Tiger Woods).
As discussed in the previous slide, the PGA Tour is no longer a one-man show. Trying to shoehorn in a storyline about one player perpetually on the verge of breaking into 20-stroke victories in every tournament is both unlikely and disrespectful, given the current state of the game.
The most frustrating thing about the phrase is not that the media needs a hype machine but rather that it’s holding onto an antiquated subject of hype rather than fully embracing the real excitement of the next generation. So let’s say good riddance to “next Tiger” and say hello to “next generation.”
Rickie Fowler Wins a Major
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Speaking of the next generation, here’s hoping 2016 will be Rickie Fowler’s breakout year in the majors.
Fowler had a phenomenal year on tour for someone who was once considered overrated. He won the Players Championship in a playoff, captured the Scottish Open title, took first at the Deutsche Bank Championship during the post season and was a member of the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team.
Last year was about shattering his hoodoo when it came to winning tour events. This year could be the season he backs up his undeniable skill with a major trophy—golf’s ultimate mic drop for silencing the perennial haters.
Not only would it be an interesting personal victory, but the accomplishment would also move him from the periphery of the top-young-player discussion right into the mix with Spieth, McIlroy and Day.
What’s better than a trio battling it out at the top? How about a quartet?
A Pain-Free Year for Dustin Johnson
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It’s difficult to talk about top players who have yet to win a major without mentioning Dustin Johnson. Then again, it’s also just plain difficult to talk about Johnson.
Let us explain.
Johnson had a great year on tour by anyone’s standards: He finished seventh in FedEx Cup standings, eighth in world golf ranking, won the WCG-Cadillac Championship and collected 11 top 10s.
However, when media outlets recap the 2015 season in a bite-sized clips five or 10 years from now, the South Carolinian’s most notable achievement will be his implosion on the 18th green at Chambers Bay as it relates to Jordan Spieth’s rise to greatness.
Sports history is full of epic collapses that define seasons or even careers—look no further than the Michigan’s punting fiasco against Michigan State to see how the most recent flavor of the month in the tragedy department has already claimed a place in the history books.
Perhaps this entry speaks to more than just Johnson, who has come so close to major glory yet has never won on so many painful occasions. Perhaps this entry is an overarching hope to see great victories rather than flaming wreckage on tour in 2016.
Here’s hoping for more tournaments won by holing out from 200 yards on No. 18 rather than those lost by in-and-out putts from inside two feet.
Phil Mickelson Wins the U.S. Open
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Phil Mickelson doesn’t need to win the U.S. Open to be considered one of the elite players in the history of the sport. He’s already won three green jackets, a claret jug and a Wanamaker Trophy as part of 42 total career victories. He’s golden, in that regard.
However, given that he is now 45 years old and his career is winding down (he only picked up four top-10 finishes in his last two seasons combined), it would be something to see the California native make one last run at Grand Slam glory.
While other aging players who have locked up Hall of Fame status such as Tiger Woods may be eliciting infinitely more cringes than smiles these days as they take their sweet time meandering out of the limelight, it would be nice to see someone like Lefty go out in a blaze of glory.
Like Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series, here’s hoping Mickelson decides to go all Dylan Thomas and “rage, rage against the dying of the light” at the U.S. Open. Maybe it’s too early to call it for 2016, but whether it’s this year or soon after, bold is always better.
Tiger Woods Regains Some Dignity
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As discussed in previous slides, the sport of golf, its fans and Tiger Woods himself would all benefit from a change in the current status of the legend’s game.
Whether you’re a fan who is hoping he returns to some semblance of his winning ways or someone wishing he would just go away, everyone can agree there’s no joy in seeing Tiger shank wedges over the green multiple times on a single hole on his way to carding new record high scores.
Since the chances of Tiger becoming Tiger again are astronomically low, though, how about a compromise?
Here’s hoping Woods regains his health and some level of scoring consistency, resulting in routinely finishing inside the top 40 for at least a couple of months in 2016. Here’s hoping the former world No. 1 does not return to exhibiting occasional glimpses of the “old Tiger” for one round, only to revert to his self-destructive play for the next 20.
Those flashes of his old self, like at the 2015 Masters, feed delusions rather than hope.
Tiger obviously won’t be around forever, no matter how long he persists in the PGA, but it would be nice to see him cap off his career with some measure of dignity.
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