Can it be that 2014 is on us already? It seemed eons away when the Ryder Cup was given to Gleneagles, but the biggest show in golf is only 261 days away.
It should be a vintage year not just for this. Rory’s had his year “off”. Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott have emerged, Jordan Spieth is convincing Americans that there is life beyond Tiger and Phil. And Woods and his struggle for a 15th major remains the most fascinating story of them all.
So let’s have a few blind stabs in the dark which can be freely tossed back at me when (or if) they prove to be wildly off the mark by December.
Rory’s back: Reports of the demise of he and Caroline’s relationship turned out to be ludicrously wide of the mark given their Hogmanay engagement. There were already signs towards the end of the season that all the extraneous issues were being shelved and he was back on the course as well.
I’d expect a serious charge from McIlroy in the first part of the year – watch for him at the WGCs and the Desert Swing. Always a streaky player, he won’t get back to World No 1, but wouldn’t it be great at Hoylake, with the Irish flooding over on the Liverpool ferries, to see him with the Jug.
Tiger Woods will not win a Major: An adventurous prediction, given this year’s they’re on three courses where he’s previously won (Augusta, Hoylake and Valhalla).
But I’m sticking to it, for one overriding reason. I don’t hold with the accepted wisdom that his plan for Hoylake when winning in 2006 was genius; most players played “under the course” that week (you couldn’t do anything else as it was so hard and fast), he just holed everything within 15 feet.
That knack was his biggest strength, now it’s increasingly a weakness, especially at the majors.
In addition, with the Open in mind, there’s absolutely no guarantee it won’t be blowing a hooley at Royal Liverpool in July it did for the Women’s Open there just two years ago. And if does blow, Tiger, who won all three of his Claret Jugs in flat calm, will definitely not win.
Phil Mickelson completes the career Grand Slam: In the US, they’re worried about Phil as he no-shows in Hawaii as well as much of the West Coast swing. Instead, he starts his season in Abu Dhabi.
They may not have noticed that Phil was fairly old, at 43, for a major winner at Muirfield. Time’s a wasting and he’s had his health issues with arthritis. He’s pacing himself now and aiming squarely at the baubles he needs to embellish his legacy.
Sure, it won’t be Jack-or-Tiger-style, but will compare to Hogan, Snead, Player, Watson and Palmer; decent company.
Pinehurst, restored to past glories by Ben Crenshaw, is perfect for his peerless short game. After six runner-up medals he has to win the trophy, surely?
A power struggle on the European Tour: George O’Grady hits 65 this year, and there’s already a growing murmur of dissatisfaction about the chief executive’s performance in the past 18 months, even after his bullish defence of the state of the Tour before Christmas.
The battle of the tour’s power brokers or those who think they are to take control will begin this year. Despite the slump in recent times stakes are still high, and there’s still the spectre of a PGA Tour “merger” (not takeover, although that’s what it will be) in the background.
Lydia Ko becomes the fifth “best-ever” women player in a decade: It’s an odd thing; first Annika Sorenstam, then Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng and most recently Inbee Parkall of them have been lauded, quite reasonably, as the greatest of all women golfers in the last ten years.
The diminutive 16-year-old New Zealander (by way of Korea) has already made an enormous impact as an amateur. Now a pro, it’s impossible to imagine her doing anything but continuing to progress.
Park and Tseng have both clearly disliked the public attention that being No 1 entails, but Lydia is a bubbly character who should thrive in the spotlight.
The Ryder Cup stays at home, but with no home presence: The home turf, and the weather, make Gleneagles a stick-on European win. But Luke Donald simply has to play, not just because of his record (4-0 in appearances, 10-4-1 in matches) but because the son of a Scot seems likely to be the only man in the European team actually entitled to wear tartan at Gleneagles.
The qualification rules, now ideal for ensuring the strongest team, make it very difficult for a player outside the top 50 in the world to get picked.
It’ll take a season like Paul Lawrie’s annus mirabilis in 2012, and he was already well on his way at this point. Unless there’s a big one-off win (Marc Warren at Wentworth, maybe?) we’re struggling.
Things that should happen in 2014 but probably won’t
Ball flight reined in: It should actually be reined back, but I suspect that holding distance at current levels is as much as we could hope for, and I detect absolutely no enthusiasm from the governing bodies to do even that.
The R&A open their doors to women: Interesting to hear elder statesman Bernard Gallacher call for the R&A, the world’s senior governing body, to take a lead. Really, that is where the overall drive to equality has to start, but all I see is the club trying its best to wriggle out of the controversy and looking ever more ridiculous in the process – without actually doing anything.
The SGU and the SLGA merge: Vested interests on all sides have blocked this at every turn and reduced the process to a snail’s pace. No sign of what should be a basic premise being fulfilled.
Scotland’s amateur golf fortunes improve: After the desperate 2013 no wins and no Walker Cup caps the only way is up. However I think we’re still a year away from our best talent being consistent contenders.
A new Open venue to bring the rota to ten: This could actually happen. And I would not be slightly shocked if Royal Porthcawl gets the call before Royal Portrush.