Congratulations to this week’s winners: Alvaro Quiros at the Open de Espana, Rory McIlroy at the Quail Hollow Championship, Martin Piller at the Athens Classic, and David Eger at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic. Some bits of takeaway from this week:
* Rory McIlroy makes the cut on the number, then goes 66-62 on the weekend to win his first PGA Tour title. This is the Rory most of us expected to see this season. Injury delayed his “arrival” of sorts, but he’s definitely “here” now and making a statement. McIlroy turns 21 on Tuesday; with that milestone combined with his win, I’d dare say that there will be some serious partying going on in Ponte Vedra in a few days!
* I’m not terribly surprised that Tiger Woods missed the cut; most professionals do miss cuts from time to time. What did surprise me is just how badly Woods played, especially on Friday. He seemed to be having shoulder issues at one point, so maybe that had something to do with it. I’m not going to chalk it up to “what he’s been through”; this wasn’t his first round back on the course. Unless he is in fact injured, I expect to see him playing relatively solidly at Ponte Vedra next week.
* Ryo Ishikawa shot a 58 on Sunday in a Japan Tour event. Yes, the course was only 6500 yards, and the field was weak, but no one else has shot 58 in this particular event. It’s impressive.
* It was definitely unexpected to see Billy Mayfair and Paul Goydos at the top of the leaderboard for most of the week in Charlotte. It wasn’t as unexpected to see them both fade on Sunday. Hopefully, there are better final rounds for both of them at some point this season.
* I enjoy watching Ricky Fowler playing and playing well. I do not enjoy the head-to-toe orange ensemble; having seen him play live at Bay Hill, I can testify that it’s even brighter in person.
Speaking of “live”, I’ll be reporting from Ponte Vedra starting on Thursday, with some on-course (and possibly off-course) notes on The Players Championship. Until then...
Showing posts with label Rory McIlroy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rory McIlroy. Show all posts
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The blog is back! 2010 predictions
When I decided to take a six-week sabbatical from blogging to work on 2010 scheduling and some issues in “real life”, little did I realize that “the Tiger Woods story” would explode a week later and pretty much dominate golf media until…well, it hasn’t really stopped yet.
But it’s a new year, and I’m turning the page on 2009 and its scandals and looking forward to watching the action on the links in 2010. Here are my predictions for 2010.
When will Tiger return? Probably the most-asked question leading up to the 2010 season. I’ll assume that there will be no more major developments in this case, and say that he’ll be back for the Masters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s back at Doral. Of course, if there are further major developments, all bets are off.
The impact of some young guns. Rickie Fowler will win at least once on the PGA Tour in 2010, likely in a weaker-field event. Rory McIlroy will win at least once outside the U.S., and possibly win a major (see major predictions below). If McIlroy does win a major, he will be Rookie of the Year. If he does not, Fowler will be.
On the other side of the success coin… Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, and Camilo Villegas will combine for a total of one win worldwide between the four of them, and it may be a European Tour win.
Kiss the trophy. Kevin Na gets his first PGA Tour win in 2010. Robert Allenby gets his first PGA Tour win in almost ten years in 2010. Jim Furyk gets at least one PGA Tour win in 2010.
Major winners: Phil Mickelson wins the Masters. Nick Watney wins the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods wins the Open Championship, unless he doesn’t play; if he doesn’t, Rory McIlroy wins. Ross Fisher wins the PGA Championship.
Ryder Cup: Europe wins the Ryder Cup in Wales. Each team fields four rookies. The margin will be 3.5 points.
Enjoy the 2010 season!
But it’s a new year, and I’m turning the page on 2009 and its scandals and looking forward to watching the action on the links in 2010. Here are my predictions for 2010.
When will Tiger return? Probably the most-asked question leading up to the 2010 season. I’ll assume that there will be no more major developments in this case, and say that he’ll be back for the Masters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s back at Doral. Of course, if there are further major developments, all bets are off.
The impact of some young guns. Rickie Fowler will win at least once on the PGA Tour in 2010, likely in a weaker-field event. Rory McIlroy will win at least once outside the U.S., and possibly win a major (see major predictions below). If McIlroy does win a major, he will be Rookie of the Year. If he does not, Fowler will be.
On the other side of the success coin… Anthony Kim, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, and Camilo Villegas will combine for a total of one win worldwide between the four of them, and it may be a European Tour win.
Kiss the trophy. Kevin Na gets his first PGA Tour win in 2010. Robert Allenby gets his first PGA Tour win in almost ten years in 2010. Jim Furyk gets at least one PGA Tour win in 2010.
Major winners: Phil Mickelson wins the Masters. Nick Watney wins the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods wins the Open Championship, unless he doesn’t play; if he doesn’t, Rory McIlroy wins. Ross Fisher wins the PGA Championship.
Ryder Cup: Europe wins the Ryder Cup in Wales. Each team fields four rookies. The margin will be 3.5 points.
Enjoy the 2010 season!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Prediction: Omega Mission Hills World Cup
I don’t often make pre-tournament predictions of who I think will win a tournament (usually, I just have my “top picks”), but in the case of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, I’m making an exception. Here are my predictions for the top two teams:
The winner: Team Ireland, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is coming off yet another top-10 finish in the Dubai World Championship and a runner-up finish in the Race to Dubai, so the odds are already pretty good that he’ll put up a good showing in China this week. But after watching he and McDowell team up in the Vivendi Trophy a few months ago, I said that they would be the World Cup champions. They seem to be one of those teams that are nearly a “match made in heaven”, and while it’s still early, they could well be the next Ryder Cup “power pairing”, a la Olazabal/Ballesteros or Clarke/Westwood. I predict that Irish eyes will be smiling on Sunday.
The runner-up: Team England, Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter. Fisher and Poulter both have wins in the last few weeks: Fisher won the Volvo World Match Play Championship the same week that Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open. They may be the most solid team in the field, in terms of each individual’s performance lately. Ireland gets my nod because they’re more established as a pairing, but I think England will keep it very close and very interesting down to the wire.
The winner: Team Ireland, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is coming off yet another top-10 finish in the Dubai World Championship and a runner-up finish in the Race to Dubai, so the odds are already pretty good that he’ll put up a good showing in China this week. But after watching he and McDowell team up in the Vivendi Trophy a few months ago, I said that they would be the World Cup champions. They seem to be one of those teams that are nearly a “match made in heaven”, and while it’s still early, they could well be the next Ryder Cup “power pairing”, a la Olazabal/Ballesteros or Clarke/Westwood. I predict that Irish eyes will be smiling on Sunday.
The runner-up: Team England, Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter. Fisher and Poulter both have wins in the last few weeks: Fisher won the Volvo World Match Play Championship the same week that Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open. They may be the most solid team in the field, in terms of each individual’s performance lately. Ireland gets my nod because they’re more established as a pairing, but I think England will keep it very close and very interesting down to the wire.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
There’s something about Rory
After enough “will he or won’t he” reports and speculations to make even Brett Favre tired, 20-year-old Rory McIlroy announced last week that yes, he will be joining the PGA Tour in 2010. The end result is a bit anticlimactic; McIlroy has already been playing the majors, the WGC events, and a few other tournaments in the same time frame, so PGA Tour membership will only add a handful of tournaments to his U.S. schedule.
So how will Rory McIlroy do on the PGA Tour? As far as this armchair analyst is concerned, he’ll do just fine. He’s been under the spotlight for a few years already, and is living up to the hype. In 2009, he had a win over a strong field in Dubai, 5th place in the WGC-Accenture Match Play, and top-10 finishes in both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. I met McIlroy at Doral in March, at the WGC-CA Championship, and was as impressed with his personality as I was with his game. He is confident without being cocky, and displays a greater maturity than many players several years his senior. That will likely serve him even better than a 300-yard drive as he embarks on his PGA Tour career.
Will he win on the PGA Tour in 2010? I’ll give him 50-50 odds (which is better than I’d give any other PGA rookie this year); a lot will depend on which tournaments and courses he chooses to play. I will predict that he has top-10 performances in at least three of the four majors this year. And if the crowds I witnessed this year are any indication, he’ll also have dozens of teenage and pre-teen girls following his every move more closely than any golf writer!
So how will Rory McIlroy do on the PGA Tour? As far as this armchair analyst is concerned, he’ll do just fine. He’s been under the spotlight for a few years already, and is living up to the hype. In 2009, he had a win over a strong field in Dubai, 5th place in the WGC-Accenture Match Play, and top-10 finishes in both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. I met McIlroy at Doral in March, at the WGC-CA Championship, and was as impressed with his personality as I was with his game. He is confident without being cocky, and displays a greater maturity than many players several years his senior. That will likely serve him even better than a 300-yard drive as he embarks on his PGA Tour career.
Will he win on the PGA Tour in 2010? I’ll give him 50-50 odds (which is better than I’d give any other PGA rookie this year); a lot will depend on which tournaments and courses he chooses to play. I will predict that he has top-10 performances in at least three of the four majors this year. And if the crowds I witnessed this year are any indication, he’ll also have dozens of teenage and pre-teen girls following his every move more closely than any golf writer!
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