Golf in 2013 wasn't all birdies and pars: Recreational rounds played by amateurs continued to be in the doldrums. But the pros provided ample entertainment in a year of outstanding majors, resilient champions and career-changing stretches of brilliant play by off-the-radar players.
Phil the Thrill
For golf satisfaction, nothing beat Phil Mickelson's final-round 66 at the British Open at Muirfield. Starting the day five strokes behind leader Lee Westwood, he birdied four of the final six holes for a back-nine 32. At 43 years old, Mickelson now lacks just the U.S. Open for a career grand slam, a feat achieved by only five men: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen. For Mickelson to join them at Pinehurst, he will have to shrug off a most troublesome monkey: his record six second-place finishes at U.S. Opens, including this year at Merion.
The Masters
Adam Scott, after his agonizing, four-bogey finish at the 2012 British Open, to lose by a shot to Ernie Els, drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Augusta to claim a spot in a playoff against Angel Cabrera. With darkness falling, he holed another birdie from 12 feet to beat Cabrera and become the first Aussie to model a green jacket. In a fitting hero's return this fall, Scott won the Australian Masters and its PGA tournament. Then he nearly won its Open. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice became one of Augusta National's first two female members.
The U.S. Open
Mickelson's familiar misfortune on the back nine Sunday (he misplayed two easy wedge shots, resulting in bogeys) was Justin Rose's gain. The Englishman won his first major by nailing a four iron on the final hole at Merion, outside Philadelphia, from nearly the same spot that Hogan hit his famous one iron at the 1950 Open. For the U.S. Golf Association, the shindig at land-squeezed Merion was a triumph, opening the door, golf fans hope, for more Opens at classic courses hitherto considered obsolete.
The PGA Championship
Jason Dufner's 63 on Friday tied the majors record for a single-round score, and he never seemed to miss a fairway or green at Oak Hill after that. But Dufner's first major win wasn't his main claim to fame in 2013. That would be Dufnering, the Internet craze sparked by a posted photo of his inert slump against a classroom wall in March, subsequently mimicked by thousands of Dufnerites around the globe, including scores of Tour pros.
The Swedish Strongman
Henrik Stenson, who two years earlier was ranked 230th in the world and playing in his club championship, caught fire in the second half of 2013. He finished second at the British Open, third at the PGA and won two of the four FedEx Cup Playoffs events, plus the playoffs' $10 million bonus. Eight weeks later he captured the European Tour's Race to Dubai crown and that tour's money title. His revival was an inspiration to slumping golfers everywhere. "I'm not sure how I top it, to be honest," Stenson said. Perhaps with a major in 2014?
The Texas Tornado
Jordan Spieth blew into 2013 without a PGA Tour card and ended the year as a captain's pick on the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team. Spieth parlayed a March sponsor's invitation to the Puerto Rico Open, where he finished second, into five more top-10 finishes by July and a playoff win over Zach Johnson and David Hearn at the John Deere. At 19, Spieth was the youngest PGA Tour champion since 1931
Major LPGA Forces
Inbee Park won the first three majors and captured the golf world's imagination as she went after her fourth at the British Women's Open. Stacy Lewis, whom Park toppled as world No. 1 in April, ended up winning at St. Andrews with a terrific birdie-birdie finish, in a sign of how tightly competitive women's golf has become. Suzann Pettersen, with a three-win, late-season surge, almost beat out Park for LPGA Rolex Player of the Year. Lydia Ko of New Zealand, the 16-year-old phenom with four victories as an amateur in professional events, turned pro in October and promptly won again. Ko now ranks fourth in the world behind Park, Pettersen and Lewis.
Whither Rory?
Rory McIlroy, the world's dominant player in 2012, struggled for most of the year, and his confidence abandoned him. His win this month at the Australian Open, his first in more than a year, gives him a boost, but 2014 could go any which way.
Tiger Woods
The PGA Tour's rightfully elected Player of the Year had five strong victories in 2013, including the Players Championship and two WGC titles. He regained his spot as world No. 1. But Woods didn't contend in a major, despite four good starts, and was ensnared in a couple of rules snafus that he didn't handle gracefully. Woods, who turns 38 this month, is now playing for his legacy. He already owns the greatest stretch of play in golf history, from 1999 to 2009, when he won 64 times and all but the first of his 14 majors. With 79 career PGA Tour victories, he could break Sam Snead's record of 82 next year. But to be universally regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, which once seemed almost a given, Woods will have to win more majors. He wouldn't necessarily have to eclipse Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors, but he will have to prove, through the crucible of winning again at Augusta or the Opens or the PGA, the enduring strength of his character, his body and his game. The greatest of all time, in whatever arena, don't encounter hardships at age 33 and fail to respond. Hogan won six of his nine majors after his car hit a bus head-on when he was 36 years old. Nicklaus won seven of his after turning 33, and the last four between 38 and 46. Woods's biggest challenge starts now.
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