Even if you took Tiger’s latest coach/swing/comeback out of the mix, you would have numerous compelling storylines for the 2015 PGA Tour season.
Rickie Fowler. He had one of the best seasons without a win I can remember. Not only am I extremely curious to see if he can break through and win a major after coming so close last year, but I want to know if he is over-focused on the majors. I’m watching what he does in non-majors.
Jimmy Walker. He caught fire in the fall/winter stretch of last season, winning 3 times before Valentine’s Day. I have a tendency to discount early season wins though. The fields aren’t usually very strong and the tournaments are held months before the heart of the season. Walker quietly remained very relevant throughout the remainder of the season, including Top 10 finishes in three of the four majors and ten Top 10 finishes in 27 events played on the year. He also got my vote for America’s MVP in the Ryder Cup winning 2.5 points. How will Jimmy follow-up his very consistent, very good 2014?
Brooks Koepka. The European Tour’s 2014 Rookie of the Year will be playing full-time on the PGA Tour in 2015. He followed the Peter Uihlein path of cutting his teeth in Europe, we’ll see how that helps his development. He has the game to make a big splash this year.
Phil Mickelson. For the first time since 2003, Lefty failed to win an event last season. Out of 21 events played, he had only 10 top 25 finishes. The only bright spot was a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship, which honestly came out of nowhere. He looked nothing like the man we had grown accustomed to seeing on the weekends. Even his normally incredible short game was off the mark.
Major questions linger about what Phil for 2015. Was last year just a blip? Has age and declining swing speed finally caught up with him? Is his arthritis secretly worse than he (or a sponsor allows him to) lets on?
Jordan Spieth. The young Longhorn couldn’t follow-up his rookie season with a win, but he collected eight top 10 finishes and made it all the way to the Tour Championship finishing the FedEx Cup Playoffs in 15th place.
The monster year I expected in 2014 may just be a year late. He has entirely too much composure for his age and the talent to match.
Dustin Johnson. What can we expect from him when he returns from suspension, rehab, um, hiatus? I’m not a huge DJ fan, but the weak part of his game (basically anything not related to crushing the ball a mile) was showing improvement. His short game seemed to be a bit more polished. Will he be rusty? Will he be a factor this year? Is Will MacKenzie going to punch him in the face?
Adam Scott. It is Adam’s last season anchoring his broomstick putter. He indicated that he plans on using the same putter, but moving it away from his chest to comply with the rule change in 2016. Will Scott test the non-anchored stroke prior to the ban taking effect?
Adam will also have a new caddie in 2015 after parting ways with Steve Williams. Who will he pick as his new looper? Most importantly for Scott, what kind of season will he put together after his brief stint as the world’s number one golfer?
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