The professional golf season begins this week with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. But the questions on the mind of most golf fans surround three players who aren’t in the field: Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Can McIlroy build on his dominance in major championships? McIlroy won the final two majors of 2014 and needs only the Masters to complete a career grand slam. He no doubt will be the favorite at Augusta National in April. Only 25, McIlroy appears to be ready to make a Tiger-like move toward dominance. He led the PGA Tour and the European Tour in earnings in 2014.
Can Woods win again? He hasn’t won a major since picking up his 14th at the 2008 U.S. Open, and last year failed to win on the PGA Tour when back issues limited him to seven starts. Woods, 38, said he’s finally pain free and ready to return to form. He likely will make his debut at Torrey Pines in February with new swing consultant Chris Como.
Is Mickelson done? He’s 44, but looks more fit than he did ten years ago. But Lefty hasn’t won since his victory at the 2013 British Open. His greatest wish would be a U.S. Open championship, the one title he’s coveted more than any. It would give him a career slam and elevate his legacy to another level. The six-time U.S. Open runner-up will try again in June at Chambers Bay.
Georgians fill TOC field: The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the first event of 2015, is loaded with players from Georgia. There are nine with ties to the state in the field for the event at the Kapalua Resort.
They include University of Georgia products Brian Harman, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Bubba Watson and Brendon Todd, former Georgia Tech players Matt Kuchar and Chesson Hadley, ex-Augusta State star Patrick Reed and Sea Island resident Zach Johnson, the defending champion.
The tournament is the eighth official event of the 2014-15 season. It includes 14 of the top 30 from the final FedEx Cup standings.
Duval heads to broadcast booth: Tech product David Duval has found a way to return to major championship golf. But he'll do it from the broadcast booth instead of the fairways.
Duval has joined the team for Golf Channel, primarily as a studio analyst, with some on-site duties at major championships and other marquee events. Duval was always a free thinker who was willing to express himself and unafraid to rock the boat. In 1999 he led the discussion that led to Ryder Cup participants receiving compensation for charity.
Duval won 13 times on the PGA Tour, including the 2001 British Open, and was ranked No. 1 in the world. Since then only other top-10 at a major championship was a tie for second at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage.
Etc.: Sonny Skinner, the PGA teaching professional at River Pointe in Albany, won his fifth consecutive Senior PGA Player of the Year. Skinner's season included a victory at the PGA Senior Stroke Play Championship and a tie for 26th at the U.S. Senior Open. … El Cardonal, the first course designed by Tiger Woods, has opened in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The course features a view of the ocean on every hole. Woods has committed to build a second course there. … Stone Mountain Golf Club's Anthony Williams is the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association's Superintendent of the Year. The group also inducted William Shirley of Peachtree Golf Club, bentgrass turf pioneer Ron Sinnock and the late Bobby McGee into its hall of fame.
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