Dustin Johnson and the 15 Golfers Who Best Represent the Future of American Golf
Recently, I said that the era of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson being the golf standards of professional golf is beyond us.
Woods will be 36 at the end of the year and Mickelson turns 41 in June. Truthfully, it's not just them. Other than Tiger and Phil, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Lucas Glover, David Duval, Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Stewart Cink, David Toms, Rich Beem and Shaun Micheel are the only Americans to win majors since the year 2000.
Some of them are still going strong, while some have fallen into virtual obscurity. Regardless of which of those categories these golfers are a part of, none of them are younger than 30, and only Curtis and and Glover have yet to turn 35.
Golf's a game where players enjoy success into their 40's, so we may still see some of these names for a while, but their best days are likely past us.
Currently, German Martin Kaymer and South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel are the only under-30 golfers to have won major championships. It is worth noting that those three represent the last three major champions.
In recent years, we have also seen a huge influence of young, International players. We have seen Edoardo Molinari (30) and his younger brother, Francesco (29). Their countryman, Matteo Manassero, has already won two tournaments in Europe, and he just turned 18 years old.
Ryo Ishikawa has already won several tournaments in Asia, and he has yet to turn 20. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy is ranked sixth in the world and climbing. He lost a big 54-hole lead at Augusta, but at 22, his future seems extremely bright.
In that tournament, we also saw 24-year-old Australian Jason Day have one of the best performances of all-time for an Augusta rookie.
The question remains, where are the young Americans? Is the future of the world of golf going to be completely dominated by International players? It very well might be, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But if the Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups of the near future are going to have any excitement at all, us Americans are going to need to see some strong American players to stand up and rival the dominant International influence.
What we're looking for here are the golfers that can give us that hope. The only rules are that they have to be eligible to compete for the Americans in International competitions, and they have to be short of their 30th birthday.
15. Bobby Gates
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Bobby Gates has won on the Nationwide Tour, but never on the PGA Tour.
We have very little to go off of when predicting what Gates' future might bring.
Positive: He ranks 20th in driving distance and 37th in overall driving.
Negative: Despite great driving stats, he ranks 124th in greens in regulation.
Gates is currently 6-for-14 in cuts made, which is far from a great percentage. Still, before 2011, he had only played in three tournaments, so he's making nearly half of the cuts in tournaments where he had little to no experience, which isn't bad.
Three of those made cuts have given Gates a top-10 finish. One of those came in the elite Wells Fargo Championship, so it's safe to say that his career is on the upswing.
All of this means very little, but if you're looking for a buy low guy with great potential, Gates may be the way to go.
14. Kevin Na
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Currently, Kevin Na may be best remembered for taking a 16 on a hole at the Valero Texas Open. That will be a hard thing to get people to forget, but it's not impossible.
While Na has yet to win a tournament on tour, he recorded several top-10's. Four of them have happened this year, and two of them came after the infamous 16.
Admittedly, Na is something of a dark horse, as he is currently ranked 63rd in the world rankings. He's also enjoyed virtually no success in majors, as his career best finish was a T27 at the 2010 British Open.
Although he was born in South Korea, Na is now an American citizen, which makes him eligible to compete for the American teams in International competitions.
It's not that the sky is the limit for Na. He's got a nice game, but he's been a pro for a while and has had limited success. But he does have the ability to put up a lot of strong finishes per season. He is certainly a name that we can be hearing more of in the future.
13. Sean O'Hair
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Sean O'Hair has three career wins. While he won't even be 29 years old until July, it's not too farfetched to say that the best days of his career are behind him.
O'Hair's most recent win came in May of 2009 at what was then known as the Quail Hollow Championship.
He hasn't had any top-10's this year and recorded three in 2010. Since he hasn't won since 2009, his world ranking has fallen in that time. In 2009, he was ranked number 15; currently, he's ranked 78th.
Still, he has a few things going in his favor.
One: He generally makes cuts, although he is only 6-for-12 this season in that category. In 2010, he was 19-for-25 in cuts, which was only slightly worse than his strong 2009 season, when he was 18-for-23.
Two: He has finished in the top-15 at least once in all four majors. His best major was the 2007 British Open, where he tied for seventh.
He also finished in 11th place at the 2007 Players Championship. But even that was largely because of a go-for-broke quadruple-bogey on the 17th hole. He was in second place and only two strokes back before teeing off.
Right now, he is in a slump, but if he continues to make cuts and put in strong showings at majors and other big tournaments, there is no reason to believe that he won't be a force for a long time.
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12. Jeff Overton
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With three second-place finishes in 2010 and no wins, Jeff Overton has the bridesmaid position down. Take a quick look at his 2011 stats, and you will see that nothing jumps out in a positive way.
The good news is that only a few stats jump out in a negative way.
2010 was a good year for Overton, who had three second-place finishes, two third-place finishes, one other top-10 and four other top 25's.
2011 has not been as successful, as Overton has only one top-10 and one other top-25 finish. In 2011, his world ranking has fallen from 52nd to 65th, which is where he currently stands.
Overton's positives can best be summed up in one word: cuts. While some other golfers on this list are week-to-week gambles, Overton is a known quantity. Even in a down 2011, he has made 12 of 13 cuts.
Going a little beyond that, while he has never enjoyed great major success (a T11 in the 2010 British Open was his best career finish), he has never missed a cut. Granted, that's a limited sample, with only six majors entered, but it's a great way to start.
If your expectations for Overton include him being the next version of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, you will probably be very disappointed. But if you want a solid player who will generally be around on the weekends and therefore frequently on the front page of the leader board, Overton may well be your guy.
11. Webb Simpson
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Webb Simpson is third in the PGA Tour's All-Around Ranking category, trailing only David Toms and Nick Watney (who just missed being eligible for this list).
Simpson's never played in a major, so there is no history to go off of there. He would have qualified for the Masters in 2011, but Woodland beat him by one stroke at the Transitions Championship.
Since then, he lost the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a playoff to Bubba Watson. On the 15th hole, he incurred a one-shot penalty when his ball moved after he grounded his club.
This is a situation where the penalty was the right call, but the "cheating" that Simpson did gave him no advantage. It's just a hard luck situation that happens sometimes in golf.
If that didn't happen and everything else remained the same (admittedly, always a big if), Simpson would have won the tournament outright.
Even with that heartbreak, Simpson has made 10 of 12 cuts this year. Eight of those brought Simpson a top-25 finish, and three of those generated a top-10.
With a fundamentally sound game and consistently good finishes, it's only a matter of time before he finds the winner's circle.
10. Spencer Levin
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For a guy who is just shy of his 27th birthday, Levin has had an interesting career. Despite being young, he hasn't played in a major since 2007.
He's only played in three majors in his career. Levin's only major cut came at the 2004 US Open, where his T13 was good enough to be the low amateur.
Like other golfers here, Levin's made a lot of cuts recently, which have led to consistent top-25 finishes. In 2011, he has notched eight top-25's. Three of those were top-10's, and one of was a second place.
None of his 2011 statistics are that great, except in the most important category, scoring average, where he ranks eighth.
Levin's also won three times in Canada, so he can close out tournaments. Whether or not that can translate to success on the PGA Tour remains to be seen, but he is headed in the right direction.
9. Ryan Moore
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Ryan Moore was one of the most decorated amateur golfers of the modern era. While he hasn't been a bust on tour, he hasn't matched the success that he had while at UNLV.
His one career win came in 2009. Since then, he's hovered around the top-50 in the World Rankings. Currently, he is 41st.
While he hasn't won anything in 2011, he has two top-10 finishes. One of those came at Northern Trust Open, played at Riviera, a past major venue.
The other came in the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, so if you're looking for a good omen for future Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups, that's a pretty good one.
Moore makes cuts at a pretty consistent rate, but he doesn't contend a lot. He has won, so it's a complete mental block, but it is an obstacle that he needs to overcome.
He's not likely to be a consistent top-10 golfer. If he was, we would have probably seen more glimpses of that, as he is 28 years old right now.
But he's enjoyed success in the majors, as he has recorded top-15 performances in three of the four majors.
His ability to make cuts shows that he'll be a factor for a while, even if he won't be "elite."
8. J.B. Holmes
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J.B. Holmes knows how to do a few things. The first is obvious; he can hit the ball a country mile. He's won twice on tour, both in front of the rowdiest crowd in golf at Scottsdale's FBR Open, so he knows how to play in front of that bunch.
The most recent of those wins came in 2008, where he beat Phil Mickelson in a playoff.
In terms of majors, Holmes' most noteworthy moment came at the 2008 PGA Championship. There, he started the last day in the final pairing and ended with a T29.
Although Holmes hasn't won in a while, he's playing consistently. After missing only two cuts in 2010, Holmes has been a perfect 10-for-10 in 2011, notching four top-10's in the process.
His driving stats are polar opposites. Holmes is first on tour in driving distance and 177th in driving accuracy.
While he hasn't enjoyed great success in majors, his only International team competition was quite successful.
In front of his home-state fans in Kentucky, Holmes was 2-0-1 for the successful American Ryder Cup team in 2008.
7. Gary Woodland
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Fresh off of his 27th birthday, Gary Woodland is number 53 in the world rankings. No, that's not great, but he was number 588 last year and 959 the year before, so 53 isn't bad. Sure, he wasn't a full-time player in either season, but that's still nice progress.
It's not often that someone playing with Alvaro Quiros will be the last person to hit into a green, but Woodland consistently did just that in the first two rounds of the 2011 Masters when the two were in the same threesome.
Woodland finished T24 at Augusta in 2011, his first Masters. That's certainly a respectable finish.
Unlike Overton, Woodland hasn't had great success with cuts. He is 8-for-12 this in 2011, which bumps his career percentage of cuts made to 50 percent.
Also unlike Overton, Woodland has an impressive stats sheet. If those numbers continue, his cuts made percentage is likely to increase in a big way.
Woodland has one other thing going for him; he's won on Tour and he's won on Tour this year. His win at the Transitions Championship is what qualified Woodland for the Masters.
Earlier in the year, he lost a sudden-death playoff to Jhonattan Vegas in the Bob Hope Classic. His career is definitely on the rise, and now he's a full-time player.
He still may not be the biggest, most recognizable name to a lot of people. But he has a bright future, and that's far from a dark horse prediction.
6. Bill Haas
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Bill Haas may well be on the brink of stardom.
2010 was a good year for the second generation golfer, notched four top-10's. One those was a second-place performance, while two others were wins.
While he hasn't won in 2011, he has enjoyed more success. He lost in a playoff and finished T2 at the Bob Hope Classic, although he was outlasted by both Jhonattan Vegas and Gary Woodland.
He's also had four top-10's, which all came at top tour stops.
He hasn't enjoyed any close calls in majors, as his best finish was a T18 in the 2010 Masters. Still, he's only played in six, so not too much can be read into that.
With the exception of his bunker play, he is in the middle of the pack or better in virtually all statistics on tour.
He's got a great golf pedigree and a solid all-around game. This is a name that we can be hearing a lot of in the future.
5. Anthony Kim
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Anthony Kim has given people plenty to talk about in a limited time.
His night-time activities have caused some controversy, but he's had success to go along with that controversy.
Kim has notched three career wins. Two of those came in 2008, when he was at one time the sixth ranked golfer in the world. In that same year, Kim was 2-1-1 on the victorious Ryder Cup team and 3-1 on the following year's victorious Presidents Cup team.
He also has two career top-10's in majors. One came at the 2008 British Open, where he tied for seventh. The other was a third-place finish at the 2010 Masters.
His best majors moment came at the 2009 Masters, when he made 11 birdies in the second round, breaking a one round record for that tournament.
The last win for Kim came at the 2010 Shell Houston Open.
Talent has never been a question for Kim. He has battled a few injuries and had people question his work ethic and point out his post-round activities, but I don't buy that.
Kim is a proven winner enjoyed a lot of success in a short time. That may be evening out a little bit right now, but he is too talented to not be a force for a long time.
4. Peter Uihlein
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Peter Uihlein doesn't have a lot of great statistics to justify being this high on the list, or even being on the list at all.
What he does have going for him is good vibes.
One: He's the reigning US Amateur champion. That hasn't necessarily been a lock for success, but a few of the best golfers the game has ever seen have won this tournament (Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods.)
Several other past champions aren't at that level, but have enjoyed good careers.
Two: He's an Oklahoma State product. On its own, that means nothing, but OSU is one of the best represented schools on Tour.
Past Cowboys include Bob Tway, Scott Verplank, Bo Van Pelt, Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler.
Three: He's a two-time winner American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year Award (2005, 2007). He's one of only five golfers to have that distinction. Two of the others are Woods and Mickelson.
Clearly, he's a decorated amateur, which may or may not translate to success on tour. But he's hit a lot of the same checkpoints that some of the best golfers the game has ever seen have hit.
He's not even a professional golfer yet. But his age (21) and amateur career make him worth paying attention to.
Source: All information regarding Uihlein's AJGA awards was found here.
3. Hunter Mahan
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One OSU Cowboy leads us right into another.
Mahan has a spot on this list for just less than one year, as he turned 29 years old in May.
He has three career wins and a few strong performances in majors, although he has yet to win his first.
He has contended a lot and more often than not, he loses because of his short game, which, by tour standards, is average at best.
Whether it was a poor short game, poor nerves or a combination of both that caused him to hit poor shots down the stretch in his Ryder Cup loss against Graeme McDowell, is up to the individual viewer.
What's undeniable is that it was troubling for those who want big things from him in the future, as that was certainly a high pressure situation.
The talent is there, but continued short game struggles can potentially cost him big in the future. The good news is that it can be worked on and improved.
2. Rickie Fowler
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Rickie Fowler is the last Oklahoma State alum on the list, I promise.
In baseball, there is a certain mental requirement that a person needs to have to be a good closer.
Even if he has great stuff, he needs to have the mental ability to pitch the ninth inning and get the 27th out. Sure, he may be a great eighth inning guy, but that doesn't always translate to the next inning.
Sometimes it does, like with Mariano Rivera or Francisco Rodriguez. Other times, great set-up men just can't make it work in the ninth inning.
Right now, more than anyone else on this list, Fowler is a great set-up man. He consistently makes cuts and frequently contends in tournaments.
What he hasn't done in a major or any other professional tournament is win.
Still, other than his driving accuracy, his stats are pretty good. And while they have gained him notoriety, his bright outfits and Justin Bieber haircut aren't the only reason that we know who is.
While he hasn't won, he has performed well in pressure situations. On the surface, his 0-1-2 record on the 2010 Ryder Cup team is not too impressive.
But one of those ties was in his singles match against Edoardo Molinari. After falling four down after 12 holes, he came back to birdie the final four holes, earning a tie and half-point for the American team. Had he not done that, Mahan's struggles wouldn't have mattered.
Eventually, Fowler's day will come and he will win. Once he does, the floodgates should open.
1. Dustin Johnson
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Johnson will turn 27 years old just after the US Open this year. He's good, he's really good. As a matter of fact, he's currently the highest ranked American under 30, which explains his placement here.
His career has been similar to Mahan's. Johnson's won four times on the PGA Tour, including twice at Pebble Beach. Not only can he win, but he can do so at a major venue.
Unfortunately for him, he's also had some bad luck at Pebble Beach. After being the 54-hole leader of the 2010 US Open, Johnson shot an 82 and fell all the way down to a tie for eighth place.
Two majors later, he again found himself in contention at a major, the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Unfortunately for him, he unknowingly grounded his club in a bunker on the 72nd hole, which cost him a spot in a playoff against Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson.
Johnson has proven that he can win on tour, and that is a big step. The next will be winning a major. No matter how close you've come to winning, capturing that first one is an obstacle.
His game is suited to win at a lot of venues that frequently host majors, including Augusta (strangely enough, that's the only major where he has never finished in the top-15.)
If he stays healthy, Johnson will be one of the best golfers in the world for a long time.
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