“The Twenty Somethings”
2010 is turning into a great year for Golf. Young stars are emerging and established young stars are further cementing their place as players to be reckoned with at every event that they play in.
Using your “crystal ball”, who in your opinion will have the most victories at the end of their career from the following list?
ANTHONY KIM. Already a 3-time PGA Tour winner, Kim was having a superb year with several top finishes before having wrist surgery three weeks ago. He is expected to be sidelined for the next two months.
JUSTIN ROSE. Now 29, Rose first burst on to the scene at the 1998 British Open as a 17 year old phenom, recording a fourth place finish in that event. A multiple winner on The European Tour (including being the leading money winner in 2007), Rose won his first PGA Tour event, at last weeks Memorial tournament.
CAMILLO VILLEGAS. 27 year old Columbian heart-throb, Villegas is a three time Tour winner and is in the Top Ten on the money list for 2010. Villegas has developed a large fan base (which includes a great many women!) but definitely has the talent to back up the movie star good looks.
RORY McLLROY. 21 year old McLlroy won his maiden US victory a few weeks ago at the Quail Hollow Championship. The prodigiously talented Irishman is perhaps Europe’s brightest young star. We have been recording this remarkable young man’s rise to prominence for the last 3 years, and he is only going to get better.
RICKY FOWLER. Another 21 year old who has yet to seal his first victory but whose time is certainly to come. Twice a runner-up already this year and 12th on the money list, Fowler plays with flair and abandon and is in many eyes, the most talented of the young US players.
ADAM SCOTT. It’s easy to forget that Scott is only 29 years old because he has been a professional for 11 years, and so much has been expected of the sweet swinging Aussie. After struggling for the last two years, he had a comeback win last month at the Valero Texas Open to record his seventh PGA tour win, giving him the most of all the ‘twenty-somethings’.
RYO ISHIKAWA. We have already documented the brilliant young Japanese star in a previous blog, but Ishikawa is all of 18 years old and is already a 7-time winner in Asia. His latest victory came when he shot a closing round 58, to win on the Japanese Tour earlier in the year.
DUSTIN JOHNSON. Very quietly, the long-hitting Johnson has already won three times on the PGA Tour. At 26, and in his third full year on tour, many think that the unassuming South Carolinian is America’s best young player.
SEAN O’HAIR. At 28, O’Hair is also a three time Tour winner. After turning professional at 17, and having overcome many adversities in his young life (including an overbearing father and ‘losing’ his swing for a number of years), O’Hair has refined his swing and is becoming a “Tom Kite” kind of player, consistently playing well.
HUNTER MAYHAN. The 28 year old Mahan has a game with few weaknesses. He has twice been a member of the US team for the President’s Cup and also played on the US’s victorious Ryder Cup team at Valhalla. Mahan has won twice on the PGA Tour and this steady young player has finished in the Top 30 on the money list in each of his first full four years on Tour.