Comebacks and Slams... why 2018 is set to be thriller
EVERY new golf year dawns with its own air of anticipation but it’s hard to remember the last time one began offering quite as much promise as the campaign that will get underway in customary surroundings in Abu Dhabi this week. The best venue for a Ryder Cup this century will be the undoubted highlight of a year where Tiger Woods will try to show it really is possible to turn back time, and Rory McIlroy will seek to bounce back after three lost years in the majors. Here are ten reasons why this should be a season for the ages.
RYDER CUP
Firstly, there’s the golf course, the finest to host a home Ryder Cup since Walton Heath in 1981; then there’s the host city, because it really is hard to beat Paris. And how about the two teams, shaping up to be among the strongest fielded by either continent since mainland Europe joined the party in 1981?
In all aspects, therefore, this Ryder Cup is set up so perfectly it’s hardly surprising so many of us are convinced that a forbiddingly high bar is about to be raised still higher.
It will all begin at a first tee complete with a grandstand so big it will hold 5,000 fans — the last one in America, by way of comparison, held 1,200 — and will end (hopefully) on a peach of an 18th set in an amphitheatre so natural they reckon they will be able to squeeze in 40,000 along this hole alone to witness the drama.
The dates — so you can give everyone plenty of notice that you are not to be disturbed under any circumstances — are September 28-30.
CAREER GRAND SLAM
We’ve only seen one completed — by Tiger Woods, naturally — since Jack Nicklaus won the 1966 Open to become just the fourth golfer to win all four majors, so it seems amazing that no fewer than three players will have the chance to achieve this special feat this season.
They range in age from 24-yearold Jordan Spieth, who will surely win the USPGA to complete his set one day, to 46-year-old Phil Mickelson (right), who’s certainly in last-hurrah territory if he is to finally win a US Open, following a heartbreaking six runner-up finishes. First up is Rory McIlroy at the Masters.
This will be his fourth attempt to get the job done and he has openly admitted the pressure is greater than any he has felt before.
Not surprising, really, given this is a club containing just five members and all are golfing legends: Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus and Woods.
Over to you, Rory, Jordan and Phil.
RETURN OF TIGER WOODS
Even those sports fans who don’t like golf are surely fascinated to see how this comeback turns out. All the signs are it will prove longer-lasting than some of the aborted attempts of the past, when his fellow pros would shake their heads sadly at what Tiger had become.
Now, to a man, following successful back-fusion surgery, they’re predicting the 42-year-old will provide more than a glimpse of his past genius. McIlroy, indeed, is predicting Woods will ‘stun the world.’
It’s probably asking too much for him to stun us at his comeback PGA Tour event next week, but if he’s still standing by the time of the Masters, then we’ll head to Augusta on a rare wave of excitement.
RORY’S REVIVAL
It’s fair to say the last thing McIlroy wanted at the start of what he hopes will be an allconquering year was people still talking about his health. We had more than enough of that last year.
No wonder he took to social media to knock down a spree of ‘heart scare’ stories, following an interview he gave on Saturday where he revealed medical checks had uncovered a minor heart irregularity.
There’s one easy way to switch the narrative dramatically, of course, and that’s to get off to a flyer over the next two weeks when he makes his comeback after four months out with rib problems, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
This is the most important year to date in McIlroy’s professional life and one where he needs to make a statement.
AMERICAN BIG THREE
Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas will take some beating this year, won’t they?
As messages of intent go, world No 1 Johnson pummelling a 413-yard drive to six inches on his way to an eight-shot victory in Hawaii in the PGA Tour curtainraiser eight days ago was mightily impressive.
He’s been the top dog for almost a year now and it would be no surprise if he’s still looking down on the rest come the start of next season.
As for the other two, Spieth’s peerless iron play and short game will surely continue to deliver while it will be interesting to see if Thomas can follow up his breakthrough
campaign in 2017.
FOUR MAJORS
After being staged in a field in the middle of nowhere last year, the US Open returns blessedly to traditional hallowed ground, and the wondrous Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, New York in June. We’ve got the 100th USPGA being staged in a steam bath in Missouri in August, which will make us all be thankful for the fact the following year it’s moving to May.
As for The Open in July, it’s back to fabled Carnoustie, and that fearsome trinity of holes at the death that always provide more than their share of drama.
ENGLISH TIDAL WAVE
Given the qualities of Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick, this should be another year where we enjoy their progress on the world stage.
After going so close to winning a major at the Masters last year, Justin Rose won’t lack motivation in the quest to add to his sole triumph at the US Open in 2013, while on the Ryder Cup front, Paul Casey and Ross Fisher are two more in the frame to make it — and then there’s the revived Ian Poulter. Keep an eye out, too, for Jordan Smith, Eddie Pepperell, Matt Wallace and the exciting 21-year-old rookie, Sam Horsfield.
SCOTTISH RENAISSANCE?
It would certainly be a welcome development to see the Scottish golf scene revived and, happily, there are a couple of young players with the skillset to train on this year. Make a note of the names, therefore: Connor Syme, just 22, while Bradley Neil will celebrate his 22nd birthday tomorrow.
HULL AND HALL
Will the emergence of Georgia Hall prove the best thing that ever happened to Charley Hull?
The charming Hall, 21, about to embark on her rookie season in America, is the real deal. She was named in honour of Sir Nick Faldo’s epic Masters victory over Greg Norman in the state of Georgia in 1996 and, blessed with her own focus and steel, will surely win majors in her own right one day.
In turn, she should inspire Hull to realise all her awesome potential.
SENIOR OPEN AT ST ANDREWS
Yes, the old boys are not everyone’s cup of tea but the sight of Faldo and Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Norman, taking on the oldest of Old Courses one more time? It’s certainly one for lovers of golf nostalgia.