PGA Tour: 8 Players Who Could Take over with Tiger Woods on the Shelf

The latest news on Tiger Woods' return to the PGA Tour is that he doesn't know when he'll be back in action. The knee and Achilles injuries he sustained in The Masters Tournament have left him hobbled—and he has only played nine holes of competitive golf since.

That means someone has to take charge—at least in the sense of being a popular draw for the fans. Let's face it, a golf tournament with Tiger Woods is always more exciting than one without him.

Luckily, there are some good players out there worth watching.

No, they're not going to replace Tiger Woods, but they are arguably better golfers right now. And you don't need to look much further than the Official World Golf Ranking and the FedExCup standings to find eight (or nine) PGA Tour players who could take over with Tiger on the shelf.

Rory McIlroy

The clear cut favorite as the successor to Tiger Woods is reigning U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy.

While McIlroy, currently the No. 3 player in the world, still spends most of his time on the European Tour, he plays enough PGA Tour events to make his presence felt.

At 22 years old, the comparisons have already started—McIlroy has been heralded as the next Tiger Woods. And while he has a long way to go to achieve what Woods has in this game, his potential is undeniable.

McIlroy is a fan favorite and has certainly put himself in position to attract big audiences—with his golf game and likeability.

Jason Day

On the strength of runner-up finishes at The Masters Tournament in April and the U.S. Open last month, Jason Day has very quietly worked his way into the No. 9 position in the Official World Golf Ranking.

The guy just shows up in majors and you have to wonder just how much his life would've changed had he managed to come out on top in one of or both of those tournaments.

Suddenly, you're talking about 24-year-old Jason Day as being the second coming of Tiger Woods rather than Rory McIlroy.

There's a fine line between being good and being great, and Day is walking that line right now.

Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson draws a crowd if for no other reason than to watch him hit monstrous drives into places mere mortals only dream of.

Any golf fan has to admit, it's fun to watch.

Of course, those long drives don't always add up to low scores and tournament victories. Then again, sometimes they do.

Watson is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year—at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Farmers Insurance Open. And, he is in the top 10 in eight—yes, eight—statistical categories.

If he can show up in the year's final two majors, Watson has as much of a chance to take over the PGA Tour as anyone.

Steve Stricker/Phil Mickelson

Steve Stricker doesn't have the flash that some of these other players have. But what he does have is consistency and the ability to take over leaderboards on the PGA Tour.

At No. 5 on the Official World Golf Ranking, Stricker is the top American golfer right now.

He finished in the top 25 in all but two of his tournaments so far this year, including a win at The Memorial. And he's in the top five in an impressive seven PGA Tour categories.

The only thing he doesn't do is hit the ball a long way. But, you know what they say—drive for show—well, you know how it goes.

Stricker needs a little more show to take over in Tiger Woods' absence. But he does have the game to achieve a great deal of success.

As far as Phil Mickelson is concerned, he's one spot back of Stricker as the No. 6 player in the world. But I fear he might be running out of gas to take over the PGA Tour.

For a number of years, he seemed like the obvious choice to battle it out with and maybe challenge Woods for PGA Tour dominance. And I've been picking him to win majors. But his window of opportunity may have come and gone.

Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler is the same age as Rory McIlroy. While his golf game hasn't matured as quickly as McIlroy's, he attracts a crowd with his brash style and go-for-broke approach to the game.

Sure, Fowler is a long shot to "take over" on the PGA Tour in Tiger Woods' absence, but if he can pull his game together the way he did as a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last fall, there's no telling what he's capable of.

Fowler is wildly erratic. A quick glance at many of his tournament scorecards indicates what a streaky player he is. But he's got the talent to achieve greatness. The PGA Tour is just waiting—and hoping—for it to happen.

Matt Kuchar

Matt Kuchar has done everything but win a golf tournament this year.

OK, he set a record with Zach Johnson in winning the two-day CVS Caremark Charity Classic last month, but that's not an official event on the PGA Tour.

He finished tied for second place at The Memorial Tournament, and third at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

When you add everything up, Kuchar has compiled an impressive 11 top-10 finishes in 2011 thus far and he's almost always in the top 25.

He has the ability to be a dominant player. Now we'll see if the desire matches to accomplish that.

Luke Donald

What's not to like about Luke Donald's game?

He's a top-10 lock in just about every tournament he enters. In fact, he finished in the top 10 in eight of the 10 tournaments he entered so far this year.

And as the current No. 1 player in the world, he also owns the PGA Tour's top scoring average. And he has won the most money so far in 2011.

That's a lot of good. That's a lot of being No. 1.

Sure, he finished a disappointing T45 at the U.S. Open, but I think it was more a matter of fatigue than anything else.

Luke Donald is as good as it gets. Now, about that PGA Tour take over...

Dustin Johnson

We're still waiting for Dustin Johnson to take over on the PGA Tour.

In 2010, Johnson combined out-of-this-world distance with next level talent to make him someone worth keeping an eye on.

But we're still waiting.

Still, it's not like DJ is failing out there. He has four top-10s in 14 tries so far this year. But the results have not matched the expectations, or the ability.

If he gets back to where he was a year ago—albeit in defeat in a couple majors—and finds a way to come out on top, the snowball effect could begin for Johnson's dominance.