Sergio Garcia's win in the Players Championship last week means golfers in their 20s have won six of the past seven PGA Tour events. Does this mean a wave of younger players is ready to challenge Tiger Woods more frequently?
The list of winners starts with Andres Romero, 28, at the end of March. Johnson Wagner, 28, was next, followed by Trevor Immelman, 28, at the Masters. Adam Scott, 28, Anthony Kim, 22, and Garcia, 28, complete the sixsome.
Boo Weekley, 34, is the only “older” golfer to win in the past couple of months.
There's reason to follow every one of the younger winners.
Romero made 10 birdies in the final round of the British Open last July, but finished double-bogey, bogey. He came within a shot of getting into the playoff between Garcia and eventual winner Padraig Harrington. Romero's go-for-broke approach turned the spectators on.
The Argentine backed up his Open performance up with his first win on the PGA Tour in New Orleans. He's great fun to watch, but his always-aggressive style, as appealing as it is, might keep him from contending frequently.
Romero has played four tournaments since his win, tying for eighth place in the Masters and for 40th at the Wachovia Championship. He's missed the cut in the other two events.
Wagner wasn't even in the conversation of possible top players when he won in Houston. He was caught between playing by feel or mechanics. But his swing coach, former PGA Tour player Bobby Heins, said Wagner had started to trust himself before he won and to play golf rather than golf swing.
The plan worked. Wagner's best finish in four tournaments since winning is a tie for 27th spot at the Byron Nelson in Dallas.
Immelman, a control player – most of the time anyway – won the Masters by three shots. The South African missed the cut in his next two tournaments and was on the phone with coach David Leadbetter wondering what had happened to his swing. Immelman withdrew from the Players because of illness.
Then there's Scott, the winner at the Byron Nelson.
Butch Harmon used to coach Woods, and recently started with Ernie Els. Harmon thinks Scott, an Australian, is the one to challenge Woods.
Scott won the 2004 Players and the 2006 Tour Championship, and holed a 50-foot putt at the Nelson to win a playoff over Ryan Moore. However, Scott was still vulnerable on short putts. He'll need to make more of those to reach his abundant potential and win his first major.
Scott tied for eighth place in the Wachovia Championship and for 54th at the Players, the two tournaments he's entered since he won.
This brings us to Kim, who won the Wachovia by five shots. He played with a swagger, as always, and let his clubs do his talking.
Kim had been outspoken about his prospects, but two-time major champion Mark O'Meara, for one, advised him to tone down the rhetoric. Kim has done that and could challenge Woods as he continues to mature. He was in contention after two rounds at the Players but in the end tied for 42nd.
Finally, there's Garcia.
Hyper by nature, he used to regrip so often before starting his swing it appeared he'd freeze. He beat that. He hasn't been a great putter as a professional, and missed an eight-foot par putt on the 72nd hole that would have won the British Open. He's tried everything, including the belly putter, and earlier this year he was carrying two putters in a round – one for long putts and one for short.
Putting coach Stan Utley started to work with Garcia recently. He has Garcia putting more naturally. Garcia said he's putting like a kid again. Still, he missed a ton of putts the first three rounds at the Players. But then he made nearly everything the last round. He holed a seven-foot par putt to get into the playoff with Paul Goydos. That was money.
“I'm looking forward to keep going,” Garcia said after his big win. “I don't want to get stuck here.”
It won't be apparent whether a more confident Garcia or any of the younger, mega-talented players get stuck after their wins this year. Scott strikes a cautionary note.
“Expectations are pretty high on young kids with a lot of potential,” he said, “and definitely hard to live up to.”
Garcia, Kim and the other young golfers have plenty of potential and already face high expectations. We'll soon find out whether they can reach the heights.
