10 Golfers Who Have Had a Forgettable 2011

With the Majors now out of the way for another year, and 2011 fast drawing to a close, much time will be spent considering the winners and losers in the world of golf over the past nine months.

The winners speak for themselves. A lot can be said about those players that have won either a major or one of the leading tour events. Or those who are riding high on the money list.

But it is more difficult to acknowledge those players who have had a 2011 to forget.

Here, we take a look at 10 golfers who will be looking to wipe the past season from their memories...

Tiger Woods

Not enough golf, no swing, no shots, no confidence and no wins sums up the 14-time Major winner to a tee (no pun intended).

Woods has plummeted down the word rankings to what seems an all-time low of 49th position.

Ironically, he is one place behind Sergio Garcia—the two golfers that pundits expected to dominate the game for years following their epic duel in the 1999 PGA Championship.

In fairness to Woods, he has not played anything close to the amount of tournaments that he needs to.

But based solely on what he's shown this year, he has an awful long way to go before he gets back on top.

Martin Kaymer

Kaymer started the season well with a win in Abu Dhabi, but has simply not played anything like many had expected him to, particularly after taking his first major in 2010.

Despite no further wins during the season, the German is still placed at No. 4 in the rankings.

But he has lost a lot of ground to those ahead of him, and will need to finish the season with a flourish if he is to maintain his current position going into 2012.

Two missed cuts on either side of a second place in the European Masters in his last three events adequately sums up Kaymer’s season.

Phil Mickelson

Although he was a runner-up in the Open Championship and a winner at the Houston Open, the big "left hander" has slowly slipped from a top-two spot in the rankings to No. 9.

And the signs don't look good for the immediate future.

In fairness to him, he has only missed one cut all season, but he is failing to be consistently in contention, which is taking its toll on his ranking in a season which has not been anywhere near one of his best.

He will be looking for a much-improved effort in 2012.

Graeme McDowell

From the dizzy heights of becoming US Open Champion in 2010, McDowell is in danger of being tagged a "one major wonder" if his performances in 2011 are snapshots of what's to come.

In a season which started brightly enough, with four Top 10 finishes in his first four events, the Ulsterman has had no wins and has missed the cut in three of the four majors.

He is down to No. 14 in the world rankings and is likely to finish outside the Top 20 if his current form does not change for the better.

Ian Poulter

Poulter always seem to start each year as a man who is likely to end up a big winner.

But, so far, this has not come to pass at the level that he would like. 

He has won the Volvo World Match-Play this year, but that has been his only Top 10 finish in a year that saw the Englishman miss the cuts in both the US Open and the Open Championship.

He is now down to No. 19 in the world rankings.

Paul Casey

A winner earlier in the year, Casey has had a woeful time since, with no Top-10 finishes, six missed cuts and failure to impress in any of the majors.

Like Poulter, Casey started the year in the Top 10, but now finds himself down at No. 20 with the prospect of the downward spiral continuing in to 2012.

Robert Karlsson

Having decided to play on the US Tour, the Swede is extremely disappointed with how his season has turned out.

He has had three Top-10 finishes, including a fourth place in the PGA Championship.

But, he knows that he needed to make big in-roads into the world rankings this year, and he didn't.

He is now at No. 23 in the world rankings.

Jim Furyk

Once a regular in the Top 10, Furyk has missed seven cuts this season, with four of those coming in successive tournaments in June and July.

His one-time "Mr. Reliable" tag has been forgotten—hopefully for just the time being.

But, now in his 40s, perhaps the hunger has slipped away too.

Rickie Fowler

Rickie Fowler was many people's pick to win a tournament this year, but it is still yet to happen for the young American.

A tie for second place has been his best finish so far this year, although a tie for fifth place in the Open Championship was a very good result.

It is not as if it has been a terrible year for him, but it is certainly one where he has made only little progress toward the Top 10 and has quite some way to go before he gets there, when compared to fellow youngster Rory McIlroy.

He is currently at No. 33 in the world and will need to improve more in 2012.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

After three wins on tour in 2010, Jimenez had high hopes that he could establish himself amongst the very best in the world in 2011.

But overall, it has been at best a moderate year and he has found himself slip from a place in the Top 20 to that of No. 42 in the world.

He has enjoyed two second places, but with six missed cuts and plenty of tournaments where he failed to get into contention, the only way it seems for the popular Spaniard is down.