5 Golfers with the Most to Prove in 2016
Golfers with something to prove. It's a silly concept in a certain sense: What do any of these millionaire ball-beaters care what we think?
A more interesting point, however, is the intersection between what a player is likely looking to achieve in the upcoming year and popular opinion. For example, Rory McIlroy certainly wants to win a major in 2016 and will be pressing to do so after a disappointing season that saw a duo of other golfers dominating headlines and hoisting major hardware.
With that in mind, let's take a look at five (six, really) big-name golfers with something to prove in 2016.
Dustin Johnson
1 of 5
Dustin Johnson returned from (depending on who you believe) a voluntary or mandatory break from the tour at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he finished tied for fourth. His 2015 campaign, which included making 18 of 21 cuts, posting 11 top-10s and securing a win at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, where he chased down J.B. Holmes, was also marred by disappointment.
Johnson failed to secure the AT&T Byron Nelson while playing in the final group on Sunday. Johnson carded an eight at the sixth hole to tumble out of contention. Disappointing stuff from an elite player.
Even more disappointing: Johnson's three-jack from just over 12 feet at the final hole of this year's U.S. Open. In a shocking series of moments, the South Carolinian went from having a putt to win his first major to having a short come-backer to get into a playoff to suffering bitterest defeat.
Johnson has now played in the final group of a major championship four times and has failed to win. Now that he has his feet firmly under him, it's time for the nine-time PGA Tour winner to take home a major.
Jason Day/Jordan Spieth
2 of 5
There's no doubt that both Jordan Spieth and Jason Day proved themselves in 2015. How can there be more? Spieth tallied a pair of major victories and a total of six wins, while Day took home his first major trophy at the PGA Championship and tasted victory a total of five times.
Not bad for a year's labor.
However, the pair can't escape this sports truism: The better a player is, the more we expect from him. If a running back has his first 100-yard game, we ask, "Why can't he do this every week?"
Both Spieth and Day will be expected to meet or exceed their career-best levels of performance from this past season.
Rory McIlroy
3 of 5
It's not really fair. In an injury-shortened season, Rory McIlroy recorded seven top-10 finishes in just 12 PGA Tour starts, highlighted by two victories. And he either missed or wasn't really ready for two majors.
Still, after the further ascension of Jordan Spieth and the rise of Jason Day, McIlroy will be expected to restate his case in 2016.
The 11-time PGA Tour winner, who if you'll recall, won both the 2014 Open Championship and the 2014 PGA Championship, entered the 2015 season regarded as the world's best golfer, ahead of Jordan Spieth. He begins his 2016 campaign as something of the third leg of the "Big Three" stool.
It's not difficult to imagine a scenario in which Jordan Spieth wins a major, Jason Day wins a major and Rory McIlroy doesn't in 2016. Then we would enter next year talking about the "Big Two" and looking at Rory McIlroy the way we did during his winless 2013 campaign, which followed his four-win 2012 effort.
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Adam Scott
4 of 5
Adam Scott enters 2016 without his beloved (but ineffective of late) long putter; the USGA's anchoring ban has officially relegated his sweeper to the garage.
Scott's putting was atrocious in 2015. He was 158th on tour in putting strokes gained, the quintessential metric of success with the flatstick.
Outside of his work with the long putter in his 2014 campaign, Scott hasn't finished inside the top 100 in putting strokes gained since 2007. He was winless in 2015 and recorded just three top-10 finishes, his lowest total since 2009.
In other words, he needs to figure something out to get back on track, but he doesn't exactly have anything to fall back on as he's simply not a very good putter. The Australian needs to prove that he's good enough on the greens to contend as his tee-to-green game is solid (fifth on tour in strokes gained in 2015).
Tiger Woods
5 of 5
Lastly, Tiger Woods. The 79-time PGA Tour winner again enters a season having to prove, first and foremost, that he's able to stay healthy for an extended period of time.
Woods, who hasn't won since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, underwent a second back surgery in as many seasons in mid-September. He dealt with lingering back issues early in the season when he withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open and missed the cut in three of the four major championships.
Woods' tee-to-green play looked suspect throughout 2015, and his short game was among the worst on tour. It's a low bar for Tiger Woods this season; he must stay healthy and prove he can still compete on the PGA Tour. Hoping for much more than this in the upcoming season would be a pipe dream.
Stats courtesy of PGATour.com.
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