Highlights from the world of golf in 2010 (part 1)
The year 2010 is almost over. This year was full of scandals, early retirements, young talents and surprise stars. With so much happening, here is full review about all the news making stories in the world of golf this year.
Old Macdonald golf course
The highly awaited golf course of the year, the old McDonald golf course at Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon, won the hearts of many. The bumpy turf of the course was a delight to all the golfers there. It was designed by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina , and offers
every golfer on the course the chance to play his or her game. This is due to the immense fairways and the wide greens. This amazing course could also serve as the role model for future golf courses in America.
Peter Uihlein
This Oklahoma State Athlete made news when he won the US Amateur title after his All-American season at Oklahoma State. Just like young talents such as Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy, a lot was expected from the 21-year-old, but things really didn’t go his
way. His switch from junior sensation to amateur standout was not very simple. Seeing how he didn’t really shine, even his sponsor (Titleist) stopped listening to him. While 2010 didn’t really prove to be Peter’s year, hopefully he can play better next year.
Asians dominate the LPGA
Golf really seems to be a popular sport amongst Asian ladies this year. Ai Miyazato from Japan won the most titles in 2010, when she won five events this season. Yani Tseng, who is also the Rolex player of the year, won three events with two of them being
majors. She was triumphant at the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The 21-year-old from Taiwan has surely worked hard, and made sure 2010 was a great year for her. Next up is Jiyai Shin from South Korea, who won two titles this
year. This took her total wins on the LPGA tour to eight, and one major win within jut three years on the tour. All three ladies combined for eight top ten finishes in majors in this year, and considering they are still quite young, all of them have a bright
future ahead.
Apart from these three, there is also Na Yeon Choi. Choi won the money list this year with the most earnings, and also claimed the Vare Trophy for having the highest scoring average in 2010.
Shrek wins a major
While Korean ladies are highlighting the LPGA, South African men are not far behind either. Louis Oosthuizen really made headlines this year when won the British Open. It has been fairly long since a cartoon character won this major, but in 2010 ‘Shrek’
really stole the show. No, the big green ogre didn’t win the major championship; it was Louis who is nicknamed Shrek. Thanks to the Ernie Els’ junior program, Louis took the Old Course at St. Andrews by storm. By winning the British Open, Oosthuizen has now
joined Bobby Locke, Gary Player and Els who are South African winners of the major.
Ballesteros still an inspiration
Golf legend Seve Ballesteros made sure he was the guiding light for golfers at all major events. He was at the Masters week, the British Open and the Ryder Cup without actually being there. Seve’s words reached the contenders either through letters or through
phone calls. Since Ballesteros was advised not to travel due to cancer, he managed to get his words across without even leaving Spain. He told the Europeans in the Ryder Cup, "go get [the U.S.] so hard that they'll all be caddies in the future." Evidently,
the Seve Factor did really play a huge role in the Ryder Cup since the Europeans did beat the Americans.
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