Where Are Our U.S. Golf Stars?

Is it just me, or did the British Open result leave you with some questions?

Don’t get me wrong, Louis Oosthuizen was impressive. What wasn’t impressive was the showing by the U.S. golfers with only six finishing in the top 20.

By contrast, at the Senior British Open now underway, only six of the top 20 after round one are non-U.S. players. U.S. golfers in the senior ranks are the battle-scarred veterans of the 1980s and 1990s: John Cook, Corey Pavin, Jeff Sluman, Larry Mize, Tom Lehman, and Mark Calcavecchia, among others.

The top U.S. finishers at the British Open were Sean O’Hair and Nick Watney in seventh, followed by Rickie Fowler in 14th who tied with 50-year-old Tom Lehman, JB Holmes, and Dustin Johnson. After that, it was Tiger Woods in 23rd, Hunter Mahan in 37th, and Ricky Barnes in 44th.

At age 50, Tom Lehman outplayed guys 20 years his junior. And next Monday, he’ll get on a plane and fly to Seattle to compete in his third major in three weeks: the USGA Senior Open.

If he can still take a club back when he gets off the plane, they should give him a medal.

Other than Rickie Fowler, who has grabbed the PGA Tour by the tail and given it a good shake this year? 

Where are our great young stars?

Have they been beaten to a pulp by Tiger Woods? Is the thought of Tiger Woods too scary past college or the Nationwide Tour? Are they focused on the perfect swing instead of a score? Are foreign players that much better? Is the money so good now that the victories are less important?

While Woods has taken away money at the top, with 71 PGA Tour victories since 1996, he has also added more cash to purses.

For instance, the biggest first place check in 1995, the year before Tiger Woods said, “Hello World,” was at The Players Championship where Lee Janzen won $540,000. This year’s winner, Tim Clark, cashed a check for $1,710,000 at The Players. That's not just inflation over 15 years.

Money is one reason Phil Mickelson is always quick to defend Tiger Woods. Mickelson says he is grateful for the increase in prize money that Woods has brought to professional golf, and he means that.

Having Woods around is one reason that Phil Mickelson, according to a recently released survey, is now the second highest-earning athlete in the U.S. after Woods. Woods and Mickelson each earn more than any NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB star, counting endorsements.

Jack Nicklaus said 10 years ago that Tiger Woods made it possible for golfers to earn a living just playing tournament golf. What he meant was that golfers no longer had to invent other side businesses, or play in 15 or 20 Monday and Tuesday private pro-ams to keep their families fed.

Of course, if you add in the outside business interests, pretty soon it's real money.

There’s the distinct possibility that money makes victories less crucial.

Tim Clark, who is from South Africa (let’s face it, it’s just their year), certainly considered himself a financial success prior to winning The Players. He has won more than $16 million in 10 seasons on the PGA Tour.

There is also an influx of foreign players who have a home base on the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour is more of a world tour these days, and that’s different than the early 1990s, when a handful of foreign players were usually from Australia or South Africa. These days, they are just as likely to be from Sweden or Spain.

Foreign players were probably the very best in their country in a four or five year span. They were helped and guided. They were the Tiger Woods of their country. Because of that, they’ve had help and improved, just as Louis Oosthuizen credited the Ernie Els foundation for assisting him in making his way into professional golf. Here in the U.S., we have more than a top one or two.

In fact, the U.S. might have a top 100 or 150, making it hard to select one or two to groom as not just potential winners, but world beaters.

We have depth that other places don’t have because their country might be the size of Kansas, Minnesota, or Texas, for instance. It's hard for us to settle on just one phenom. 

None of those rationalizations answers the why, though.

Why were there only six U.S. players in the top 20 of the British Open while there are only six non-U.S. Players in the top 20 of the Senior British Open?

Maybe the rest of the world’s players have elevated their games.

Maybe it’s as simple as that.

Maybe we’re spoiled, expecting our talent to surpass that of other countries. That may be an unrealistic view in the 21st century, but it’s still a question.