New World Order: Top 10 wannabe winners likely to break through
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| With 154 starts and seven years on tour, American Jason Dufner might break through in '12. (Getty Images) |
ORLANDO, Fla. -- We've been gradually crossing off the names, albeit somewhat slowly for the likes of some.
International veteran Tim Clark, who had pocketed more cash than any other PGA Tour non-winner, finally won a U.S. event a couple of years ago, just as former Ryder Cupper Paul Casey had done a few weeks earlier. Other less heralded guys, like the talented and frustrated Kevin Na, finally broke through and claimed their first tournament victory last season.
Off the schneid -- or as it relates to comments about their ability to close, off the snide.
It's usually not a bad thing to have your name mentioned on a list of the "best" players on any professional tour, no matter the measure or metric. But with regard to this particular category, the 10 players logged and flogged have often done too much cashing of checks vs. lifting of championship trophies.
A fat bank account is one thing, but drinking Cristal from a crystal winner's cup trumps just about everything, and often answers plenty of questions about a player's mettle and inner resolve.
As weekly tournament titlists march forever onward -- rookies amassed seven PGA Tour titles in 2011, blowing past each of the players on this list -- here's our super-subjective annual list of the 10 best winner wannabes on the U.S. circuit, adjusted for past performance, future potential and utterly subjective supposition. Admittedly, the list is skewed toward players who have logged multiple seasons in the States vs., say, a tour rookie like world No. 34 Sang-Moon Bae, an accomplished player from Asia who just jointed the PGA Tour.
A look at the first-time winners of 2011 ought to make the players on this list green with envy, and not just in terms of dinero -- Gary Woodland, Webb Simpson, Harrison Frazar, Freddie Jacobson, Bryce Molder and Na were among the players with multiple years of membership who finally won last season.
Here are 10 guys, representing five countries, with the goods to fill the bill as well as earn them, who somehow haven't gotten the job done on Sunday.
Who's got next?
1. Jason Dufner, USA
Age: 34 | Years on PGA Tour: 7 | Career starts: 154
Dufner is an interesting cat. He rarely initiates lengthy conversation, but when it happens, he usually has something interesting to offer. He has a degree in economics, so the porch light is clearly lit. Now entering his prime, he was an easy pick for No. 1 in this category over the touted Rickie Fowler for a couple of reasons, both emanating from the 2011 season. Dufner continues to sneak up on a win, losing the Phoenix event in a playoff and holding a five-shot lead with three holes left in the PGA Championship last fall. Though he had a disastrous water ball down the stretch that left him woozy at the PGA, which he lost in a playoff to Keegan Bradley, he impressed everybody with his cool demeanor. Whether he shoots 60 or 80, he never seems to change. He shook off the PGA collapse with barely a blink. Pretty soon, we'll get to see how he reacts when he wins, because it appears inevitable.
2. Rickie Fowler, USA
Age: 23 | Years on PGA Tour: 3 | Career starts: 60
Did you know that in an online poll of Golf Digest readers, Fowler was named the hottest male player in the game, knocking off Aussie heartthrob Adam Scott in the final vote? In his two years on tour, Fowler already has become the third-biggest gallery draw in the game behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, packing the ropes with kids and even a few adults who dress similarly to his colorful attire. Fowler won an event in Asia in the U.S. offseason, leading some to predict that he'll soon break through for his overdue maiden win in the States. Cleaning up untidy Sunday scorecards will help. Last year, he ranked 139th on tour in scoring average (71.53) while wearing those loud orange clothes on Sundays. Maybe it's the glare?
3. Robert Karlsson, Sweden
Age: 42 | Years on PGA Tour: 2 | Career starts: 86
Karlsson rather impressively left behind the European Tour, where he had secured Ryder Cup berths, for the U.S. last year and was a rookie all over again. It was a fairly impressive start for a newbie. For the second year in succession, Karlsson lost in a playoff at Memphis, then finished T4 at the season's final major, the PGA Championship. Karlsson had 11 international wins, including the 2010 Race to Dubai finale in Europe, before heading to the States, and was second in the offseason Sun City event behind World No. 2 Lee Westwood. After all this time, there's little doubt that Karlsson, ranked No. 28 in the world, has the goods to win in the States. It's more of a matter of whether he waited slightly too long to make the Transatlantic transition and to learn the terrain on another tour. We're guessing not.
4. Charlie Wi, South Korea
Age: 40 | Years on PGA Tour: 7 | Career starts: 159
A late bloomer who plied his trade successfully on several international tours before finding his stride in the U.S., Wi has become a workmanlike grinder who is mostly under the radar. Over the past five years, he has finished between 53-84 in final earnings, suggesting that there's definitely more there as it relates to sealing the deal. Wi's had numerous chances, and has even made noise at selected majors along the way, but hasn't chalked up his first PGA Tour win. A few years back, he overheard a kid in the gallery mistakenly tell another that he was Michelle Wie's dad, drawing a laugh from Charlie. At this point, even the under-achieving Michelle has had more success in terms of victories, though.
5. Spencer Levin, USA
Age: 27 | Years on PGA Tour: 4 | Career starts: 100
The son of a former tour player, Levin had a breakthrough in 2011, but didn't quite make the winner's circle. He played in the final group at the Arnold Palmer, but blew up and faded. He lost in a playoff to Johnson Wagner at Mayakoba. But he finished 31st in earnings and had an impressive 13 top-25 finishes. The key for Levin, honest to a fault, might be his composure, which is sort of interesting, in that his middle name is Joseph, in honor of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, who was cool as if gets.
6. Kyle Stanley, USA
Age: 24 | Years on PGA Tour: 2 | Career starts: 40
Stanley would rate even higher on this list, but he's not much more than a rookie, really, with one year under his belt. While rookies were winning seven tournaments last year, it was easy to overlook Stanley, who lost by a stroke to Steve Stricker's miracle finish at the John Deere Classic. But look deeper and it's clear that the former AJGA and college star has as much upside as anybody on this list. He was 11th in the aforementioned all-around statistic and made 22 cuts in 28 starts and finished in the top 25 at three of the FedEx Cup series events. In all, he was 55th in earnings, which is stout work from the best rookie on tour in 2011 who didn't muster a victory. With highly regarded Brett Waldman on the bag this year, Stanley's toolbox is full.
7. Steve Marino, USA
Age: 31 | Years on PGA Tour: 5 | Career starts: 142
In a way, 2011 seemed a disappointment, even though he finished No. 39 in earnings, marking the third time in four seasons that he cracked the top 40 on the money chart. Marino finished second at the Sony Open last year, then was runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, but never sniffed contention the rest of the way, finishing with six missed cuts over his last 14 starts. Marino has a low-key reputation as a decompressed guy who doesn't let much bother him, but there's no questioning his talent. Having changed swing coaches and hired a trainer, maybe it'll make a difference in 2012. Having six top-three finishes since 2008 proves he's good enough to get close.
8. Jeff Overton, USA
Age: 28 | Years on PGA Tour: 7 | Career starts: 161
In 2010, he became the first player from the United States ever to secure an automatic spot on the Ryder Cup without a victory to his credit. We're 1½ years farther down the line and the winless portion of that distinction still holds. The sometimes over-animated Overton has some terrific game, though his maturity was again called into question when he was arrested in the offseason in his Indiana hometown. His 2011 season wasn't nearly as successful as in 2010, when he had three runner-up finishes, but he still managed four top-10 results. Looking at the six different rookies who won on the PGA Tour in 2011, Overton seemingly has as much game as anybody but Charl Schwartzel. That's got to be frustrating for Overton, who has been ranked as high as No. 45 in the world.
9. Brian Davis, England
Age: 37 | Years on PGA Tour: 8 | Career starts: 221
Perversely, Davis is still best-known for the tournament he didn't win, at Hilton Head in 2010, when he called a penalty on himself in a playoff that delivered the title to Jim Furyk. Davis certainly has had his chances, amassing five runner-up finishes in the States since venturing over from the European Tour in 2005. Only once in that span has he finished outside the top 100 in earnings and last season racked up a career-best 10 top-25 finishes. With weaker fields he could have faced by staying home in Europe, where he has two victories, all credit goes to Davis for continuing to play against the deepest fields in the game. But it would sure be nice to pick off a victory at some point, eh?
10. Brendon de Jonge, Zimbabwe
Age: 31 | Years on PGA Tour: 4 | Career starts: 118
The beefy boy from Southern Africa continues to be a weekly fixture on leaderboards, waiting for his chance to bust down the door. And waiting, and waiting. He even had a crack last weekend at the Sony Open, where he finished T10 after a 1-over 71 in the final round. De Jonge has no visible weaknesses in his game and, in fact, ranked 30th in the tour's all-around statistic in 2010, which is a compendium of the eight major ranking categories. In the all-around, he ranked higher than Bubba Watson and Keegan Bradley, who both won twice last year. De Jonge seems to find ways to keep from getting too close at the finish line -- he has no runner-up finishes and two third-place results in his three full seasons on the PGA Tour. Maybe he's missing that crucial fifth gear.
Also strongly considered: Briny Baird, Michael Thompson, Kevin Chappell, Kevin Streelman and Ricky Barnes.
