Wayne Riley HERE WE GO AGAIN...

After what seems like a non-existent off-season, the new golfing year is already in full flow. There are still a lot of questions to be answered as we approach the season’s first Major

This year promises to be one of the most fascinating in the history of professional golf, with Tiger starting the season healthy, numerous exciting youngsters on the scene, a new worldwide schedule and the likes of Rory Mcilroy and Jordan Spieth looking to bounce back from disappointing years. But first, let’s talk about Tiger.

Of course, people are now asking whether he’ll win another Major. Well, last year there were two he had a distinct chance of winning – the USPGA and The Open. Who is going to back against him? He is one of those players who will keep on getting up after you’ve knocked him down. For him to win at East Lake, and I was there, was incredible.

It looks like he’ll really be nurturing his body this year – he didn’t go to Hawaii and his manager said he intends to play a reduced schedule – and as good as that is for wear and tear, it’s not great for being match sharp all the time. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Tiger starting to play the week before Majors, something he hasn’t typically done in the past but a strategy employed by the likes of Phil Mickelson. Either way, I do think he’ll win another Major at some stage.

Another intriguing storyline this year is whether Mcilroy can bounce back – he’s slipped down the world rankings a bit and hasn’t won a Major since 2014. The answer is of course he can, but I think his wedge game needs to improve. I’m not here to tell Mcilroy what to do, but I think he grips his wedges too tight. He strangles it at times and that takes away from his finesse. Michael Bannon, his coach, does an unbelievable job, but if he were to grip his wedges a little lighter a la Monty, I think he’d see amazing results.

Everyone talks about his putting, but he hits so many greens that it looks like he misses more putts than most. It’s almost an optical illusion. Mcilroy needs to do what Dustin Johnson did a couple of years ago and really put time in to improving his wedge game. He drives it so well that he has wedges to most par 4s, where other guys are hitting 7- and 8-irons in. If he can get his wedges to where they should be, I think he’s the best player by far.

On the subject of Mcilroy, he obviously called the European Tour a ‘stepping stone’ at the start of January. It’s not a stepping stone, it’s a great tour. It’s the world tour, whereas the PGA Tour is the ‘Mcdonald’s Tour’. I call it that because go into any Mcdonald’s in the world and ask for a Big Mac and you’ll get the same thing. The golf over there is onedimensional – tee it up and blast it. It’s a game that’s totally up Rory’s street and I understand why he loves it. Plus they play for $8m a week. But the European Tour is a cultural tour and money isn’t the be all and end all – just ask the Americans who’s got the Ryder Cup.

Several of the Americans who played in Paris are involved in the battle for World No.1. If you were to ask me who’s going to be on top of the rankings at the end of the year, I’d tell you I have no idea! It’s Joe Bloggs one week and Cinderella the next. You’d have to say there are at least five players capable of taking top spot – DJ, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Mcilroy, though the latter two will have to play much better than they did in 2018. That said, a number of people have been asking questions about their games and I’d expect them to respond as all great players do.

We’re almost at the point now where we have to add Xander Schauffele and Bryson Dechambeau to that list, if we’re not there already. Schauffele has already shown he is ready for the Majors – he was in the final group at The Open. They are both Major contenders for me. The Scientist is going to do it his way, but he’s great to watch and he’s a good man too. He’s great for golf.

He’s come along and approached the sport in a totally unique way – we haven’t seen anyone like him before. He’s a new breed, and whether we’ll see some more aliens like him, I don’t know. I suppose we’ve already seen one show up in Cameron Champ. It’s bloody ridiculous how far he hits the ball and I think he’ll have a good chance in the USPGA at Bethpage Black.

These days, there are just so many players who deserve column inches, and honestly, no one has a clue what’s going to happen. That’s the beauty of this game. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show-stopping action!

“Rory Mcilroy needs to do what Dustin Johnson did a couple of years ago and really put time in to improving his wedge game”