It’s impossible to look back on a year in
golf and not mention Tiger Woods. The
brutal fact is that the American’s season
never really got going at all and one look
at his performances at the four major
tournaments, missing the cut in three of
them, sums it up. 2015 also saw Woods
hit the highest score of his career, when he
shot an 85 at the Memorial Tournament. It
seemed as though every time there was a
glimmer of hope that Woods was fully fit
and could produce something, a bad shot
would completely derail his round and also
his tournament. Therefore, it’s difficult to
pick out a high point for Woods in the 2015
season and with back surgery meaning an
off-season of recuperation, it remains to be
seen what 2016 has in store.
In terms of the only major not won by the two players
mentioned above, the Open Championship, it was one
where the weather showed who was king. With heavy
rain and strong winds making play difficult and impossible
at times, much to the audible frustration of some players, it
was left to Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen to contest
a play-off at the end of the four rounds. Oosthuizen
missed a putt on the final hole of that play-off and that
was enough to hand Johnson his first Open Championship
and second major title of his career.
Rory McIlroy can also point to a 2015, which ultimately
ended in disappointment. Although McIlroy came up
trumps at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai,
where he played some of his best golf will that make up
for his 2015 as a whole? Big things were expected of the
Northern Irishman going in to the Masters but his energy
levels and overall body language suggested anything but a
player who was going to win the tournament. Then there
was the unfortunate ankle injury which ruled him out of
the Open Championship but in truth, McIlroy’s form with
the putter prior to the injury had not been great and both
Jordan Spieth and Jason Day were seemingly emphasising
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the point every time they made a good putt. Expect
McIlroy to bounce back in 2016.
Although some of golfs big names failed to deliver in
2015, there were some great breakthrough performances
over the course of the year. Matt Fitzpatrick, who was
the youngest player in the field, produced a tremendous
performance to claim the British Masters title and win
his first professional tournament. Having won the US
Amateur Championship in 2013, the first Englishman to
do so in 102 years, Fitzpatrick has been earmarked for
success. During the course of the 2015 season, Fitzpatrick
was one of only two players to be inside the top 10 on
the European tour for both driving accuracy and greens in
regulation plus led the way with more top three finishes
than anyone else on the tour. Looking at the PGA Tour
and a number of young golfers had a year to remember,
including Danny Lee, Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Brooks
Koepka, Tony Finau and Justin Thomas. With the Ryder
Cup coming around in the autumn of 2016, keep an eye
on these names, one or two of them may yet feature in
the event.