With Tiger out and Phil struggling, Romilly Evans looks at where the next great American golfer will come from
Phenomena wouldn't prove quite so phenomenal if they came along on regular basis. Just so, at a time when the two icons of American golf, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, are struggling to reassert their dominance on the game ahead of The Open Championship, there understandably appears to be a dearth of US talent capable of stepping into their Footjoys.
Of course, not that this has stopped the US media from daring to dream that someone should fill the void. And with Tiger's recent withdrawal from Royal St George's, as he continues to rehabilitate his shattered knee, the search for a new star in the stripes has intensified.
But how realistic is this quest? No country is entitled to perennially produce the best players in the world (the UK is currently enjoying its own prolific period with three of the top four). Even so, Uncle Sam does have a fine track record marshalling the top guns in the game. Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods each bestrode their eras like the proverbial Colossus. And while history may never mention Mickelson in the same breathe, the left-hander is another towering talent who simply had the misfortune to ply his trade at the same time as Tiger.
After all, in spite of his recent travails, Woods still owns 14 majors and 71 PGA Tour wins. Mickelson, for his part, owns four majors and 39 wins on home soil. Bearing in mind that the Tour once introduced a concession for life-time membership should one of its players ever reach 20 wins, and you get an idea of just how good these guys were. Their combined duopoly on the world rankings lasted the best part of a decade.
However, perhaps we shouldn't be talking in the past tense here. At 35 and 41 respectively, Woods and even Mickelson could yet halt their slide. Tiger has pledged that his best years will still be ahead of him when he returns to full fitness. This might sound like blind optimism rather than credible defiance, but we have learnt never to underestimate Woods, whose single-minded determination to overhaul Nicklaus' record tally will doubtless see him back in the vortex of major competition soon.
So too, Lefty, who has been battling painful arthritis in his hands. Unlike Woods, Mickelson has never had a problem prioritising his personal life over his profession. The well-documented health issues in his close-knit family, coupled with his bid to manage his own painful joints, have made him seems like a part-timer for the past few seasons.
Continued: golf Betting
Phenomena wouldn't prove quite so phenomenal if they came along on regular basis. Just so, at a time when the two icons of American golf, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, are struggling to reassert their dominance on the game ahead of The Open Championship, there understandably appears to be a dearth of US talent capable of stepping into their Footjoys.
Of course, not that this has stopped the US media from daring to dream that someone should fill the void. And with Tiger's recent withdrawal from Royal St George's, as he continues to rehabilitate his shattered knee, the search for a new star in the stripes has intensified.
But how realistic is this quest? No country is entitled to perennially produce the best players in the world (the UK is currently enjoying its own prolific period with three of the top four). Even so, Uncle Sam does have a fine track record marshalling the top guns in the game. Palmer, Nicklaus and Woods each bestrode their eras like the proverbial Colossus. And while history may never mention Mickelson in the same breathe, the left-hander is another towering talent who simply had the misfortune to ply his trade at the same time as Tiger.
After all, in spite of his recent travails, Woods still owns 14 majors and 71 PGA Tour wins. Mickelson, for his part, owns four majors and 39 wins on home soil. Bearing in mind that the Tour once introduced a concession for life-time membership should one of its players ever reach 20 wins, and you get an idea of just how good these guys were. Their combined duopoly on the world rankings lasted the best part of a decade.
However, perhaps we shouldn't be talking in the past tense here. At 35 and 41 respectively, Woods and even Mickelson could yet halt their slide. Tiger has pledged that his best years will still be ahead of him when he returns to full fitness. This might sound like blind optimism rather than credible defiance, but we have learnt never to underestimate Woods, whose single-minded determination to overhaul Nicklaus' record tally will doubtless see him back in the vortex of major competition soon.
So too, Lefty, who has been battling painful arthritis in his hands. Unlike Woods, Mickelson has never had a problem prioritising his personal life over his profession. The well-documented health issues in his close-knit family, coupled with his bid to manage his own painful joints, have made him seems like a part-timer for the past few seasons.
Continued: golf Betting
