Tiger Woods' Struggles and the Top 20 Story Lines on the PGA Tour in 2010
With 2010 winding down, it's time to recap the top story lines of the year.
And what an entertaining year it has been!
From the Tiger Woods' saga to Europeans proving dominant, it seems this year has seen it all.
We can only hope that golf in the next year is as fun to watch unfold. Except in 2011, let's hope Tiger is making headlines for winning tournaments.
20. Bubba Wins One for His Dad
1 of 20
Bubba Watson is possibly the most lovable guy on tour.
And his reaction to his first tour victory only saw his popularity skyrocket.
Watson shot a final round 66 to win the Traveler's Championship, an amazingly good score considering his father was dying of cancer. Bubba's ultimate goal: to give his father, who turned him onto the game, the chance to see him win on tour.
And on that final green of the Traveler's Championship, Watson showed everybody what golf is all about. Watson hugged his wife and broke down and cried, for what seemed like hours, on his wife's shoulder.
Who said all golfers lack personality?
19. John Daly's Behavior Report Becomes Public
2 of 20
Throughout his career, John Daly has been the poster child for poor behavior.
As a result of a lawsuit early this year between the Jacksonville Times Union and John Daly, the behavior records of Daly were made public.
The 456-page compilation of disciplinary issues was shocking to many.
Daly has been ordered to seek counseling or alcohol rehabilitation seven times.
Daly has been fined over $100,000 during his career.
But the most shocking may be the fact he has been cited 21 times for "failure to give his best efforts."
So how did Daly react to the publication of this report?
He posted the reporter's phone number on Twitter. Such reactions may explain why his behavior report is as long as most novels.
18. Sponsorships Pick Up
3 of 20
Over the last few years, the PGA Tour has had trouble retaining title sponsors for many of its events.
That, however, seems to be changing.
The PGA Tour finally found success in retaining and cultivating new relationships with sponsors.
Even General Motors is back into the game, with Cadillac becoming the title sponsor at Doral.
Along with General Motors, the PGA has reached a deal with Wells Fargo, showing that if two previously troubled industries are willing to become sponsors, others in the economy will soon follow suit.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
17. Leaky Ryder Cup Rain Suits
4 of 20
When it was announced the 2010 Ryder Cup would be held in Wales, it was not a question of if the rain would come but when.
As such, the U.S. Ryder Cup team traveled across the pond with rain suits in their luggage and thoughts of winning on their minds.
And when the rain suits were unveiled, not only did they look like basketball warm-up jackets, they failed to keep out the rain.
That's right. The suits designed by respected outerwear company, Sun Mountain, to keep the players dry, seemingly let in more rain than they kept out.
16. Justin Rose Finally Shows His Talent
5 of 20
Justin Rose has always been known as a player with top-10 talent. Yet, he never could find a way to secure his first PGA Tour Victory.
That all changed during three tournaments early in the PGA Tour Season.
First, Rose won the Memorial Tournament. Then, he choked away the Travelers Championship.
And while that may not sound impressive, the very next week he won on tour again, this time at the AT&T National.
As a result, he went from a player who many believed was wasted talent to a force to be reckoned with out on tour.
15. The Big Easy Gets Back into the Winner's Circle
6 of 20
When Tiger Woods emerged into the golfing world, it seemed the player who most suffered was Ernie Els.
When Tiger won his Tiger-Slam, the player who finished runner-up in two of those majors was Ernie Els.
So when Tiger was out of the golfing scene for a time, it just meant Els had an opportunity to step his game up.
First, Els notched his first victory in the CA Championship at Doral. That win gave Els his first tournament victory on the PGA Tour in over two years. And for a 40-year-old, Els was playing some pretty good golf.
Just a week after the CA Championship, Els won the rain-soaked Arnold Palmer Invitational.
And with those victories, Els showed the golfing world why he is still relevant.
14. Rory McIlroy Wins His First PGA Tour Event
7 of 20
Making the cut on the number, Rory McIlroy did not expect much out of The Quail Hollow Championship.
As a result, he played like he did not have a care in the world, and in the process, won himself his first PGA Tour event.
And his final round? Well, that was record breaking.
He finished the final round with six three's on his card, playing his final five holes in five under par.
All of this just days away from his 21st birthday, becoming the youngest tour victor since some guy named Tiger Woods.
13. The Shot
8 of 20
Phil Mickelson began the 13th hole at Augusta with a two-shot lead during the final round of the Masters. He pulled his drive right on the hole, leaving his ball in pine straw over 200 yards away from the hole.
When the green ahead of him cleared, Jim "Bones" Mackay, Mickelson's caddie, tried to talk to Mickelson about his options.
Mickelson's response: "Listen, if I'm going to win this tournament, at some point, I'm going to have to hit a really good shot under pressure. I'm going to do it right now."
With that, Bones grabbed the bag and let Phil do what Phil does best—hit amazing, sometimes stupid golf shots.
The resulting six-iron through the pine trees, off pine straw, nestled itself within five feet of the hole.
Not only was it the best shot of the tournament, it was easily the best shot of the year.
12. Turning to the Next Generation
9 of 20
Years down the road, we may look back at 2010 and realize it was the year the next generation became prominent.
As Woods and Mickelson slumped, the young guns filled their places nicely.
We had Dustin Johnson make quite the impression at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open.
We had Rickie Fowler win Rookie of the Year honors.
And we had a host of other players (Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy to name a couple) fill the void.
It appears as if the changing of the guard has occurred.
11. Groovegate
10 of 20
With Tiger Woods out of action for the foreseeable future due to personal problems, the last thing the PGA Tour needed was for Phil Mickelson to be accused of cheating by a fellow professional.
As the year began, the USGA regulated that all irons must have V-shaped grooves. Under a lawsuit filed by Ping in the early 1990s, certain Ping wedges were exempt from the rule and were allowed to have U-shaped grooves.
Mickelson began the year with the exempt wedges in his bag, something Scott McCarron did not find acceptable.
McCarron went as far as saying, "It's cheating, and I'm appalled Phil has put it in play."
And although Mickelson claimed he was simply making a point about the new rule change, McCarron still maintained no one should use the wedge.
Shortly after this media firestorm, Ping and the USGA reached a settlement banning the previously exempt wedges, helping the PGA Tour avoid even further embarrassment.
10. The Meltdown
11 of 20
Pebble Beach was a course Dustin Johnson owned. Already the winner of two events at the track, Johnson looked poised to take a home a third title and first major victory at the U.S. Open.
He entered the final round with a three-stroke lead. If he would have held on and won, he would have been named the Next Big Thing by media around the world.
But then the first four holes happened. On those four holes, Johnson gave up six, yes SIX, shots. He eventually limped home with an 82.
In the process, he created one of the most memorable collapses in Major history. Little did we know, the disaster that would strike him at Whistling Straits.
9. Going Low
12 of 20
59. Golf's version of the perfect game. It has only occurred three times on tour prior to the 2010 season.
Then, something strange happened.
First, Paul Goydos shot 59 in the first round of the John Deere Classic.
Then, it was Stuart Appleby's turn to go magically low in the final round of the Greenbrier Classic.
Once in a year? Nearly unheard of.
Twice in a year? Must be something in the water.
8. Europe Proves Superior
13 of 20
It is hard to remember a wetter Ryder Cup.
The soaking caused the Ryder Cup to finish on a Monday, not that a Monday finish made the event any less exciting.
We saw Rickie Fowler play spectacular golf in his singles match to force a halve. And we saw Steve Stricker become an American team hero.
In the end, neither of their efforts were enough. Graeme McDowell closed out Hunter Mahan on the 17th hole of their match. The Ryder Cup belonged to Europe.
And then as Mahan unsuccessfully held back tears, we finally saw how much the event means to the players.
7. How Do You Say His Name?
14 of 20
As Louis Oosthuizen continued to stick around the British Open leader board, even announcers were struggling to correctly pronounce his name.
And even though he ran away with the title at St. Andrews, Oosthuizen and his name were still a mystery to most of the world. His name was brutalized time and time again on the airwaves.
Finally, the media learned his nickname was "Shrek," after the cartoon ogre and that quickly took hold.
Oh, and for the record, the correct pronunciation is WEST-hay-zen.
6. Jim Furyk Wins the FedEx Cup & Player of the Year Honors
15 of 20
Since its inception, the FedEx Cup has been questioned and scrutinized. This year, however, the FedEx Cup race was entertaining and exciting.
Entering the Tour Championship, the Cup could have been won by numerous players. By the final two days of the Tour Championship, it became clear that if you win the Tour Championship, you win the FedEx Cup.
Although Furyk himself will admit he was not entirely sure that his final putt of the Tour Championship would be enough to win the FedEx Cup. "To be honest with you, coming up 18 I assumed I was playing for the FedEx Cup, but I wasn't 100 percent sure," Furyk remarked.
And when that final putt fell, we saw a celebration unlike any other this year. And the celebration lasted for a while, as Furyk was also voted Player of the Year on the PGA Tour.
5. Phil Mickelson Wins Another Green Jacket
16 of 20
The 2010 Masters could not have gone any better for Phil Mickelson.
He entered the Masters without a victory on the season. On top of that, his mother and his wife, Amy, had both been recently diagnosed with cancer.
Even with all that on his mind, Phil Mickelson found a way to pull off an amazing three-stroke victory at the Masters.
The most touching moment may have occurred, however, as Mickelson walked up to the 18th green. Once on the green, Mickelson noticed that Amy, who had been forced to stay in bed for the majority of the week, had made her way out to help her husband celebrate his victory.
"I wasn't sure if she was going to be there," Mickelson said.
And even better than the Green Jacket may have been the hug Phil shared with Amy on the side of the 18th green.
4. Lee Westwood Takes Over the Top Spot
17 of 20
With Tiger's game in shambles, it was only a matter of time before he lost his No. 1 position in the world rankings.
And with runner-up finishes in both the Masters and the British Open, Lee Westwood was able to dethrone Tiger Woods from a position he held for an astounding 281 weeks.
"It's a great honor and a big responsibility," says Westwood who became the first No. 1 from England since Nick Faldo accomplished the feat in 1994.
It marks a huge turn around for Westwood who just seven years ago was ranked 266th in the world. "It's a confidence boost if anything," claims Westwood, whose next task will be to finally win that elusive first Major title.
3. Luck O' the Irish
18 of 20
Entering the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, not many expected Graeme McDowell to walk away victorious. All the talk was of Tiger Woods and whether his game would be good enough to win at the course he had dominated just a decade ago.
Leaving the U.S. Open, all fans could talk about was the Northern Irishman who outlasted all others at the diabolically set-up venue.
And 40 years after the last European winner of the U.S. Open, McDowell was the one left holding the trophy on the final green.
Unlike many golfers, however, who win their first major and then slump, McDowell surged.
At the Ryder Cup, he won the cup for the Europeans, closing out Hunter Mahan and dashing the American hope of an epic final day comeback.
So how does one make a year in which he's won a major and clinched a Ryder Cup victory even better?
How about by standing toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods, handing Woods his first loss in a playoff?
2. Dustin Johnson's Blunder in the Bunker
19 of 20
Dustin Johnson thought he was well on his way to a three-way playoff that would ultimately decide the 2010 PGA Championship winner.
Then, a rules official met him on the 18th green and told him they needed to talk. Uh-oh!
Apparently, Johnson had grounded his club in a bunker, resulting in a two-stroke penalty.
"I just thought it was a piece of dirt where the crowd had trampled everything down," Johnson explained.
Whether it was or was not a bunker will continue to be debated for years to come. All that is certain is that bunker played a central role in the biggest heartbreak of the year on the PGA Tour.
1. The Tiger Woods Saga
20 of 20
Never before in sporting news have we seen one athlete be the constant target of ridicule and criticism.
When the entire world turns on their televisions to hear one man make an apology, you know the importance he holds.
Never has one athlete been judged so harshly for the decisions he made concerning his own career.
But from his decision to start his year at the Masters to his new swing coach, Tiger has been questioned by people who previously had no business in sports.
So as 2010 winds down, it is time we give the guy a break. Sure, he has been voted the AP Sports Story of the Year. Sure, he has made more than his share of mistakes. And sure, he deserves some of the ridicule he has received.
But it is time the media got out of his way so he can realign his life with the one thing that has always been constant—golf.
Here's a toast that Tiger's 2011 campaign is better than 2010!
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
