This golfing year could be dominated by Rory
I FIRMLY expect Rory McIlroy to be back on top as golf’s man to beat this year.
He starts 2017 as the World No.2, behind Jason Day, but I don’t think it will be long before he leapfrogs the Australian and takes pole position.
Wherever Rory tees it up, he will be the favourite. Everyone else will know he is the big threat to their chances of winning.
Of all the star players, the Northern Irishman has the most complete game. And if he has a half-decent time with the putter, he will definitely shine.
The concern for Day will always be his fitness and the effort that his physical swing places on his body. Rory eclipses that with his more natural style.
Jordan Spieth will be as dangerous as ever on and around the greens. But he has to find a more consistent method of getting the ball on the fairway.
Rory probably meets his match off the tee in Dustin Johnson, who is the only guy who can hit it longer and straighter. But I would pick Rory over him from the fairways onwards.
By most players’ standards, Rory had a good season in 2016.
He won the Irish Open and then played brilliantly to win twice in the FedEx Cup series and take the $10-million jackpot.
On top of that, in my view, he was the outstanding player on show at the Ryder Cup – even though he lost in the singles to Patrick Reed.
Rory inspired Reed to play some special golf. But whereas I don’t think Reed could have repeated that the next day, Rory could have played exactly the same.
The only disappointment for him was in the Majors.
He missed the cut at the US Open and US PGA which was a big letdown, but finished in the top-10 at The Masters and The Open, without ever contending.
I’m confident he will put that right this year. I would go as far to say that I would be shocked if he doesn’t win a Major in 2017.
Jack Nicklaus has challenged Rory to work harder to reach his full potential in the sport, and when golf’s greatest ever player says that, you must take notice.
It’s over two years since he won the last of his four Majors, so it’s high time he bagged No. 5.
He’ll once again be hoping to complete his career Grand Slam at The Masters and he would love to win at Augusta, simply not to face those questions any longer.
He has won at Quail Hollow where the PGA will be played, and he should be fine at Erin Hills for the US Open and Royal Birkdale for The Open.
With Nike no longer supplying his equipment, Rory is able to pick clubs that suit him the best. That makes him even more dangerous.
It’s also exciting to hear him say things like he wants to beat Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight European Order of Merit titles.
He only has three so far but it means Rory is planning on sticking around at the top for a good few years to come.
And with his wedding to fiancee Erica on the cards, this should be a special year, on and off the course.
CAN anyone guess who is the world’s ninth-best golfer heading into the New Year?
Congratulations to those of you who know it’s Alex Noren. He is ahead of guys like Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Masters Champion Danny Willett.
The Swede had a sensational spell of four wins in four months to climb from 96th to inside the top-10.
Noren won the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, the British Masters at The Grove and was also successful in Switzerland and South Africa.
That showed he could win in different conditions on all types of courses and that the 34-year-old has a really strong game.
It will be fascinating to see if he can take that form into this year’s Majors against the world’s best and land an even bigger win.