2011: Which Horse to Back? The European State of Affairs- Part 2
Martin Kaymer is one golfer everyone has their eyes on. Recently crowned the European Number 1 after his superb performance in the Race to Dubai, the young golfer is all geared up to retain the title.
Whether or not Martin should be given the rank of World Number One has been an issue that has been greatly debated this year. One of the most prominent voices in this debate has been raised by Butch Harmon. Harmon the ex-coach of Tiger Woods and the current
coach for Phil Mickelson believes that Kaymer deserves the honour because he really is the best player on the course at the moment.
“Kaymer should be number one,” says the coach. “Did Westwood win a major this year, or any year? I think not.”
The German player who is the youngest player since Ronan Rafferty to be given the title of Europe’s Number 1, made a surprising move by rejecting membership in the 2011 PGA Tour. The golfer has chosen to stick to the European Tour for now.
“I consider the European Tour my home,” says Kaymer.
“That is where I feel comfortable. I think you play against the best players in the world, with the number one in the world, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, you have all of the great players here.”
The current number 3 wants to be able to score a hole-in-one this coming year. He believes that he has the potential for being the World number one eventually, but wants to focus on his hole-in-one dream for now. Although this means we won’t be seeing as
much of the youngster as we would want in the major events, it does not mean that he will spend his time being sidelined.
Another Irish rock star on the golf course is Rory McIlroy. McIlroy is definitely a pleasure to watch on the course, he is undoubtedly one of the most exciting young players the PGA Tour has ever seen. This PGA tour has provided him with an opportunity to
polish his skills, gain some experience and get even better at the game. His finest golfing moment came with the win against Phil Mickelson, by four shots, at the Quail Hollow Championship.
Rory showed up with all guns blazing at the US Open, where he played the best golf of the season, and the PGA Championship. There seemed to be no stopping him on the course and he finished T3 at both events. The coming year should definitely see him bringing
his A-game. This season we saw Rory attack the game with such aggressiveness and determination that we are certain the next season will see him passing many a great milestone in his career. Is the youngster ready to win a title yet? Maybe it will take him
another year in doing so but based on his current performance we think he may have a fair shot at a major title.
The focus of the golfing world is increasingly being shifted towards promoting and honing the skills of the youngsters in the game. This change will bring about with it a great shift in the dynamics of the game and ranking system. It remains to be seen whether
these two will actually be able to change the power dynamics and become the top dogs of the game or not.
Another factor that has created some buzz is the fact how some of the best players in Europe will not be playing in the PGA Tour. These players include the three star players of Europe this year; Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy. All three players
have cited their desire to focus on their home tour as the major reason behind this decision. Could it be that the shift of the power dynamics in favour of Europe, with 7 out of the top 10 players being European, be the real reason?
There is no doubt in our minds that this news will come as a great disappointment for the fans of the game in the States.
Although this decision may not make any difference to their current places in the rankings, perhaps the “we-are-staying” home trio should have taken their pockets into consideration. They will now be missing the FedEx Cup which is a huge event in monetary
terms. Maybe it’s not all always about the money? Also there is always the fact that by not focusing on the PGA tour they get more opportunities to play all over the world.
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