Pond Scrum: Looking ahead to 2012 season ... which is already here
FORFAR, Scotland -- Hope you didn't blink.
In many ways, it seems as though the so-called offseason lasted about as long as it takes for eyelids to open. Or close.
After all of two weeks without an event on one of the major world tours, the two biggest circuits, the PGA and European tours, have put the key back in the ignition this week at the Tournament of Champions and Africa Open.
It'll be a sleepy opening lap, to be sure.
The tournament in Kapalua, Hawaii, which begins Friday, features only one of the major winners from 2011 and none of the players currently ranked in the world top five. As for the more well-known ratings-boosters, Phil Mickelson, as usual, took a pass on the winner's-only event and Tiger Woods hasn't mustered a victory on the PGA Tour in 28 months and wasn't eligible to play for the second consecutive year.
The European opener features the two youngest stars on the South African scene, major winners Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, but not much of the firepower that was on display three weeks ago at the season finale in Dubai.
Quick turnaround, huh?
Likewise, our two Pond Scrum scribblers, John Huggan in Scotland and Steve Elling in the States, had barely recovered from their very short winter's nap -- or maybe it was a New Year's Eve hangover -- when we roused them Monday and started flinging questions across the Atlantic Ocean.
Their shot patterns should be more crisp than the ones that will be on display in South Africa and Kapalua, where more than a little rust will be self-evident.
Before they begin their alternate-shot match from five time zones apart, a quick note about the formerly weekly Pond Scrum format: Unlike in 2011, their barstool-style conversation will be an intermittent discussion, centered on the major championships and the Ryder Cup, set for Chicago this fall.
Can't wait to see what sort of intercontinental insults these two will conjure up when given weeks, and not just a few hours, for the barbs to take shape.
And now, the 2012 season beckons -- ready or not, here it comes.
Well, after a break of what, two or three weeks, both major tours fire it back up this week in Hawaii and South Africa. Before we get started, we'd like each of you to take a gander into your dimpled crystal ball and pick a player who is poised to make a career comeback this season, then explain why.
Elling: There were some nice comebacks authored in 2011, that's for sure. Who would ever have figured that Thomas Bjorn would win multiple events in 2011, or that Darren Clarke would win twice, including a major? Not me. I thought those guys had begun that inexorable slide to irrelevance, to steal a phrase.
Huggan: I'm taking Clarke as my comeback player.
Elling: Buy a calendar or a watch, brother. You are one year too late, Kreskin.
Huggan: As in, "come back from winning a major." Just in case you haven't noticed, the man has hardly made a cut since he won at Royal St. Georges. He has been, in the words of his manager, Chubby Chandler, "on a victory tour."
Elling: More like a six-month pub crawl. Don't know about comebacks, but it has been quite a "comedown" since he won last July, for sure. So you are half right. He's been last about every week he has played. You see room for more upside?
Huggan: What Darren needs is at least a month off. Which is what he is currently getting. I'm betting he comes back -- maybe not immediately -- refreshed and ready to press on into the Ryder Cup team. It won't be easy for him to make the side -- already it looks like Europe may have their best-ever team -- but he wouldn't look out of place there.
Elling: There are certainly a lot of big-name comeback candidates, no? So many of the established stars took huge steps backward last year. Seriously, when the standard bearers like Woods, Els, Goosen, Furyk and Mickelson combine for exactly one PGA Tour win, that's a drought of stupefying proportions across the board.
Elling: Having listed all those blokes, I am picking none of them. I'm going with a guy who was beaten up physically and emotionally last year and finally seems poised to begin the rebuilding. Paul Casey, a star player on both tours, won early last year in the Euro Tour's desert swing, then experienced a nagging foot injury and endured a divorce, and both of them set him on his heels, no pun intended. This guy is in his prime and certainly has the skill set to put together a career year. Sort of like Luke Donald did, really.
Huggan: You are correct. It was shocking to realize last week that neither Ernie Els nor Retief Goosen are currently eligible for the Masters. So they have a big incentive to play well in the next three months or so in order to get in the Augusta National field.
Elling: Heck, Jim Furyk has fallen to world No. 50. Ernie and the Goose are south of that point. Seems like this all happened relatively overnight. Furyk was the 2010 Player of the Year in the States.
Elling: These aforementioned five will surely make some noise at some point, but Casey to me seems far closer to his prime and reaching an apex than Woods, Furyk and Phil. It's not just a safe pick, but a smart one. If I keep writing that, maybe somebody will believe me.
Huggan: Wow, really sticking your neck out, eh? Casey struggled last year due to a combination of injury and divorce. With both in his past it seems clear he will come again. But well spotted, you! No one has a bigger incentive to make the Ryder Cup than he does. Being left out so controversially last time will surely light a fire under him.
Elling: He got massively hosed last time. Though he handled it with dignity. Good for him.
Huggan: He did. But if he does make the side, he needs to be a better teammate than he has in the past. Just saying.
Elling: Of course, it's hard to envision Padraig Harrington being picked in Casey's stead this time, isn't it? Should have added Harrington to the list with Els, Goose, Tiger, Phil and Furyk among the studs who have fallen back.
As ever, all eyes will be fixed on the Grand Slam events this year, and there are some interesting venues in the mix in 2012 at Olympic Club, Royal Lytham and St. Annes and Kiawah. How do they rate?
Elling: In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to admit that even after a dozen years at this golf gig, I have not covered a major at any of the last three venues, though I have vivid recall of some of the weird nuances of Olympic Club from the last time around. Reverse-canted fairways, overcooked green at the 18th, balls in fairway divots. Weren't we just in the Bay Area for a U.S. Open about 15 minutes ago at Pebble Beach? Well, I guess the East Coast gets primetime broadcast again for the National Open. Hope the course is a bit more worthy this time. John, what about Lytham?
Huggan: I am very familiar with Lytham, having played it more than I have any other Open venue. It can play impossibly difficult in a wind, especially the back nine, the key being staying out of the many bunkers.
Elling: Starts with a par-3 hole, no? That's a rarity. Perhaps for good reason.
Huggan: It isn't exactly a classic links, though. The sea is maybe a couple of miles away, the course all but surrounded by houses.
Elling: And a railroad line.
Huggan: It does start with a par-3. But why not? Can you come up with a good reason why the first hole should not be a one-shotter?
Elling: Pace of play? That hole is the site of one of the most memorable major moments of the past decade -- the look of utter shock when Woosnam learned that he had too many clubs in his bag.
Huggan: Back in 2001, that fact cost wee Woosie the title. Had the first hole been a par-4 or par-5, he or his hapless caddie would have spotted the second driver he had inadvertently left in his bag. The two-shot penalty wasn't exactly the ideal start to the final day of a major.
Huggan: I think it helps pace of play. Every group gets a one-hole start on the threesome behind.
Elling: I guess the guys who started on the back nine at the U.S. Open at Congressional started on a par-3 last year, right? The 10th was a brutal one-shot hole.
Elling: As for the Slam finale, Kiawah, the PGA Championship venue, will be interesting based solely on its proximity to the water. A former Ryder Cup site -- in fact, it produced one of the most excruciating Ryders on record in terms of serial gagging by several players as the pressure mounted -- it should at minimum force players to employ something other than the typical PGA Tour aerial attack. That's never a bad thing. Watching Darren Clarke punch the ball around in the wind at the British Open last year was nothing short of a masterpiece. The wind off the Atlantic Ocean can be brutal at times, and there's plenty of water and red hazard stakes around. Also, whereas the PGA last year was played in a major metropolitan area, Kiawah is so far off the beaten path, I'm not sure how the fans will get there, but logistics are another man's worry.
Huggan: I'm happy to say I probably won't be at the PGA this year. Not only will it be a logistical nightmare, my U.S. employers have a lot of people more important than I to choose from!
Elling: Commuting from Forfar, Scotland, might be faster than getting to Kiawah from where the nearest hotels are located.
Few noticed, but there were no Yanks in the top five of the season's final world ranking, issued last month, for the first time in ... 17 years. Will that All-American void change anytime soon?
Elling: Damned unlikely. For one thing, the fields over the first six to eight weeks of the season are frequently stronger on the European Tour than in the States. The ebb and flow of the world rankings at this time of year often see a slew of Euros rise to the top because of the points on offer early in the season. Then as the bigger U.S. events start kicking off, especially in March, the points start to swing back to this side of the Pond and the Yanks start to move up a few pegs in the pecking order. OK, there's your technical explanation, anyway. As for the emotional portion, read onward.
Huggan: I'd like to see an American make the top three or four of the rankings if only to stop the whining noise that has been emanating from your side of the Pond ever since it became clear that the very best players are no longer nephews of Uncle Sam. My goodness, can you guys not give it a rest? Does it really matter that much where the top players hail from?
Elling: Yeah, it matters. Ever since Francis Ouimet, we Yanks have believed we were the best of the best. It's been a rough three or four years. Men's tennis had ceased to exist as a sport here, in large part because there are zero American players at the top of the totem pole.
Huggan: I tell you one thing about the rankings: Any American wanting to be in the top five by the Masters is going to have to pull his finger out. With the Middle East swing, those at the top are going to, if anything, stretch their lead.
Elling: It's gotten so bad, I might actually have to start rooting for Tiger. I think I just got arthritis as I typed those words.
Huggan: Tiger who?
Elling: He is parked right alongside Phil who? The schedule notwithstanding, the international players in the world top five are clearly better than the American contingent at the moment. When your best player is an injured, 44-year-old Steve Stricker, an admittedly terrific guy who has produced one of the most memorable career comebacks in the game's annals, that's nonetheless a huge sign of concern. I gotta look this up, but it's been 15 years since Mickelson and Woods were both ranked outside the world top 10? Forever, basically. This is quite a transition period, huh?
Elling: Last year, with seven different guys winning two events on the PGA Tour -- and nobody winning three -- many called it parity. But as far as the Yanks go, maybe "paucity" is a better term. Meanwhile, young international guns like Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel already have majors to their credit. Sigh. Good thing I thoroughly enjoy writing about those boys, or it would be a lean time for American scribes and readers.
Huggan: Oh, come on. You've got Nick Watney and Bill Haas to write about! And Webb whatshisname. And Bradley Keegan. What more could a man want?
Elling: If Stricker's neck issue proves to be a lingering problem, this could get even uglier. Pass the Pepto-Bismol. You are giving me ulcers.
Huggan: Actually, to be serious, do any of those guys have anything to say that is not middle-of-the-road? Part of the problem, of course, is that so many of your guys come from backgrounds and upbringings that are so similar. Over here we benefit from the variety of cultures.
Elling: Hey, vanilla is still considered a flavor, right? Actually, Bradley seems to have a spark about him. You forgot to impugn Dustin Johnson, another gabby quote machine. Ahem.
Huggan: And Bubba! One of the world's leading experts on European geography. You're not alone, though. South African stars Schwartzel and Oosthuizen are lovely lads and terrific players ... but interesting, they are not.
Elling: Well, at least Watson talks. He doesn't always make sense, but he tries to be colorful. I probably wrote about him five or six times last year. He's an odd one. He shot 58 last week in a casual round.
Huggan: I saw that. And I love watching him play if only to see someone shaping shots.
Elling: Bubba is a lot like Phil. I think they have ADD issues that make hitting a stock, boring 7-iron from the middle of the fairway a true challenge. They seem to wake up only for the hardest shots. It's entertaining, at minimum.
Huggan: No bad thing. Reminds of me of Seve ... which in turn, makes me sad.
Predictions can be pretty lame, but this being the first week of a new season, everybody's doing it. Who wins the Ryder Cup in Chicago?
Elling: Let's see, we both predicted that the International team would win the Presidents Cup a few weeks back. Nice credibility we have. Maybe we better each pick a different side to be safe.
Huggan: Well, on paper it looks like Europe will have the stronger team. But the away sides haven't been doing much winning in recent Ryder Cups.
Huggan: I'm actually more worried about the crowds than anything else. Sadly, I can see another Brookline in the offing. Chicago galleries can be just as one-eyed and abusive as those in Boston. So I fear the worst.
Elling: Whoever wins, I hope Alvaro Quiros makes the team. Pair him off with Sergio and let those squirrels run wild, like Bubba and Overton in 2010.
Huggan: Thank goodness Justin Leonard probably won't make the U.S. side. That will reduce the number of potential stampedes by one. Yes, Quiros is great fun to watch. You just have to see how little kids gravitate towards him to see how appealing he is.
Elling: Yes, of late, the home team has mostly held on to win. The flag-waver part of me wants to point out that the U.S. was the winner in every session but one in Wales -- the Yanks got slaughtered in that combo makeup session in the middle day. The Euros barely won.
Huggan: Anyway, to finally answer your question, I'm predicting Europe. Which is good news for the Americans. I'm nearly always wrong.
Elling: And of course, they won't be playing for the inspirational, motivational Monty this time around. Quite a dispiriting notion. (Sarcasm alert.)
Huggan: You are right about Wales. Monty was one lucky boy that week. Armed with what was widely viewed as one of the best European teams ever, he managed to beat a supposedly mediocre U.S. side by a point. His captaincy was both lucky and overrated.
Elling: Indeed, Monty barely beat a U.S. team that included two players who had never won a tournament, a first for the American roster. When it's close, bet on the home team. So, I will pick the Yanks. We'll definitely revisit this issue as the teams take shape.
One last, mostly fun, question: Can the Irish contingent possibly keep the mojo going in 2012?
Elling: Hey, why not? It got so absurd last year that Mike Hoey, a Northern Irishman best known for being a former Clemson teammate of Jonathan Byrd and Lucas Glover, picked off a couple wins on the European Tour.
Huggan: Actually, that is another thing in the European's favor. Their captain this time, Jose Maria Olazabal, will have the respect of everyone present. Because of his notoriously poor ball-dropping technique, Monty didn't have that last time. Hell, he didn't have the respect of anyone, if the truth be known.
Huggan: The Irish thing is nothing more than a happy coincidence. It won't continue. Hoey is a journeyman. Clarke is great but past his best. I'll be shocked if McDowell wins another major. Which leaves Rory. I'll stick my neck out and predict he will win at least one more major before he is done.
Elling: Heck, I would not be surprised if young Mr. McIlroy won a couple of majors this year. Who is going to stop him? No, seriously.
Huggan: One thing about Clarke, though, is that he may surprise me. I hope so. He isn't your typical 43-year old in that he "lost" five years of his career because of his late wife's illness. So he may just have more left in the tank than we think.
Elling: I think the Irish can wheedle a few more months in the spotlight. Honestly, the second-best player of Irish descent, Graeme McDowell, was in a funk for the middle half of the season and didn't seriously contend for months. Once he gets it all dialed back in, he and McIlroy will be favorite sons on the PGA Tour as well as in Europe.
Elling: Mostly, I hope the Irish lads keep winning so we can continue to pester the host R&A about someday holding a British Open on Irish soil. They are playing a Notre Dame college football game in Ireland next year, so let's get the Open Championship on the calendar, too.
Huggan: There has been an Open on Irish soil, way back in 1951. But don't hold your breath on a repeat. There is no way that the R&A will ever take the championship to Ulster during the middle part of July. That's "marching season" over there politically, and no place to be.
Huggan: McDowell is always going to be streaky because of his unorthodox technique. He's a lovely lad though. And huge fun to watch when he's "on."
Elling: Pairing GMac and Rory seems like a natural at the Ryder. Daunting duo. They might just steal the show in Chicago. Surely, there are a few Irish folks in the Windy City. They seem to be everywhere when those two show up.
Huggan: Yeah, that made a huge difference in Boston, when the European side contained Harrington and Clarke.
Elling: Very true. How anybody could ever root against Harrington is beyond me. The guy is golden to the core. Maybe having Chicago "local" Luke Donald on the European side will keep the partisan fans honest. Although, you might be right -- Jose Maria might get plowed under again if the Americans do anything memorable. After all, those Cubs fans have been waiting forever to cheer a win of any sort.
