Year in Review: ‘Big Three’ emphatically fill void left by Woods

Spieth, Day, McIlroy end year on world rankings podium to signal new era in golf

PARIS: A watershed year in golf saw the emergence of a new ‘Big Three’, filling the vacuum left by the fast-fading Tiger Woods.

Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy ended the year on the world rankings podium, in that order, and their rivalry is set to shine brightly in the new year.

Spieth, at just 22, is the youngest of the three and, for much of the year gone by, he was the story.



He won the Masters for his first major title in April and followed up by taking the US Open two months later. He then set sail for St Andrews with talk of the never-before achieved calendar-year Grand Slam starting to dominate sporting pages.

He came agonisingly close to becoming just the second player, after Ben Hogan in 1953, to win the first three majors of the year, but a bogey at the 17th, the Road Hole, saw him miss out by one stroke on a three-man play-off won by Zach Johnson.

McIlroy in contrast had a mixed bag of a year, failing to add to his haul of major titles which remains at four.



He only had himself to blame after being forced to miss the defence of his British Open crown because of an ankle ligament injury picked up during an impromptu football kickabout with friends.

But the 26-year-old from Northern Ireland finished the year strongly, a superb showing in Dubai in November giving him the DP World Tour Championship title and the Race to Dubai European Tour crown.

As for Woods, the 14-time major winner turns 40 on December 30 at a time when his very future in the game is up in the air.



Asked in early December if it was possible he may not play at all in 2016 as he recovers from two operations on his back in September and October, Woods replied: “You know, I’ve been asked this quite a bit lately and the answer is I don’t know, only because I really don’t, I really don’t.

“I’m hoping that I can get back out here and compete again. But if that’s not the case anymore, then I’ll find other avenues; growing my foundation, golf course design or other projects.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2015.

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