My latest Sympatico column went up last night and asks the question — where did the golf season disappear to and was Adam Scott really once the third-best player in the world? Really?
Here’s a taste:
The fourth major is upon us in Minnesota at Hazeltine National Golf Club and the world seems to be yawning. Where did the season go?
The excitement that started with the return on Tiger Woods from a year-long retreat due to knee surgery has receded like U.S. real estate profits. Woods either wins “ as he has the past two weeks and should likely this week “ or misses the margin widely, as he did at the British Open when sloppy driving made a mess of his time in Scotland.
In many ways the PGA Championship is an indication of the golf season winding down. Summer is mainly done, the kids will head back to school in a couple of weeks, and yes, the FedEx Cup will be on us. But those weeks aren’t really golf’s playoffs “ regardless of what the PGA Tour tries to say. Golf’s playoffs end with the least interesting of the game’s four majors. And with that in mind, here’s a look at some of the year’s boom and busts, the contenders and the pretenders, those that fold under pressure and those that never got it started. Interestingly no young gun has emerged into the pro ranks this year “ and those that were expected to become the new superstars “ namely Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas “ haven’t played badly, but haven’t excelled either.
