Golf has provided its followers with a rollercoaster ride over the last 18 months. Nothing has been easy to predict for PGA Tour Betting pundits, as anyone predicting a near miss for Tom Watson at the Open or a collapse in form for Tiger Woods would have been laughed off their local course.
The last seven majors have been won by different men, with Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera the only players to have been serious contenders at the start of their successful tournaments. If Yang Yong-eun, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover and Louis Oosthuizen never winner another major, it will be no great shock.
Graeme McDowell’s breakthrough victory at the US Open might be the start of something special, but even that victory was a surprise as there were many more Europeans seemingly better placed to claim a maiden major.
Watson came within a few inches of winning last year’s Open, reminder that fairytale comebacks can happen. If Woods carries on playing the way he is, a 15th major for the world’s greatest ever player might constitute a fairytale comeback.
Woods’ fall from grace and his lack of impact on the US PGA betting odds has perhaps been sport’s biggest story this year. His game seems to be collapsing at a similar rate to his personal life to the extent that his worst ever professional performance at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational came as no surprise.
Where Woods goes from here is anyone’s guess, which makes the 2011 season even harder to predict than this year. In the world of crazy golf a call-up for Bernhard Langer to Europe’s Ryder Cup squad barely registers.
Filed under: Golf Tagged: | Angel Cabrera, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Lucas Glover, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Yang Yong-eun
