General / Romilly Evans / 10 January 2012 /

Romilly Evans previews coming golfing year, where he expects some forgotten men to restore order to the rankings

The past two years have seen a seismic shift in power on the golfing globe. As the super powers of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have loosened their grip, new hopes have stepped up to seize control of a world ranking whose elite class now sports some surprising names.

While the likes of Messrs Tiger and Lefty have either been playing truant or off sick, new kids such as Jason Day and Webb Simpson have been transferred from the neighbouring school districts to make up the numbers in the top ten. And this is only a couple of examples.

So have these curious creatures found their natural habitat? Are they opportunist hyenas making hay before another top dog materialises to head the pack? Or are these scavengers set for a rude awakening when they discover the carcasses they covet are actually wounded animals, ready to fight back?

I'm no David Attenborough, but as the golfing renews its cycle for another season, I am of the firm opinion that we are about to witness a year where fallen kings reclaim their lost kingdoms. After all, golf is invariably a game of evolution, not revolution. Something very strange has been going down the food chain of late. Leading lions have become cub sandwiches.

But enough of the metaphors, let's deal in reality. Of the top five, Luke Donald has gone from can't-win cash machine to prolific world No.1; Lee Westwood from majorless freefall to majorless productivity; Martin Kaymer from the lowly Challenge Tour to the major high table. Steve Stricker from can't get arrested to seldom bested (another win this week).

Only Rory McIlroy, at No.3, could we really have seen coming. And he still has a miserly wins-to-runs ratio for a player of his calibre (just four Tour-sanctioned victories). Two of those came last term, though, including his breakthrough major victory at the US Open. Rors is here to stay. The rest, on the hand, may have trouble backing up their career years.

Donald, miles ahead atop the rankings, looks particularly vulnerable. The affable Englishman may well continue to do what he does best - find fairways, hit greens - but the number of putts he made last season was frankly outrageous and is likely never to be repeated. Courses worldwide continue to take Donald outside his comfort zone and he appears golf's answer to Lleyton Hewitt - an excellent but limited player who managed to snaffle the No.1 ranking and a few majors in between the Sampras/Federer eras. Like a comedian who's used all his best jokes, Donald has nothing left for an encore.

But it may even be too soon to be talking about a changing of the guard in a sport where technological advances (both in terms of fitness and, more crucially equipment) allow the players a very long shelf life. So at just 36, even with a susceptible knee, don't stick a fork in Tiger Woods - he isn't done.

Woods ended 2011 playing good golf and was, above all, healthy for the first time in a long time. It showed. He finished third at the Australian Open, registered the prevailing point in the Presidents Cup and then won the Chevron World Challenge.

"I am looking to get off to a fast start in Abu Dhabi (where he will face, amongst others, McIlroy, Donald and Kaymer)," said an optimistic Tiger. Although anyone wanting to support him for US Money List honours (for which he's currently trading at [5.2] to back) should wait for his stateside return, which comes at Pebble Beach's AT&T on February 9.

Expect rebound years from a few young veterans too, if you'll pardon the oxymoron. Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott were standard-bearers for the Generation Next, destined to challenge Tiger into the 21st century and beyond. They tried. They failed. Expectation proved their undoing, particularly in the majors, coupled to a putting stroke that was more touchy than touch. Scott and Garcia plummeted (the top 100 could barely house them) and both considered their futures in the game.

Reapplication came first, the results finally followed. Scott took the WGC at Firestone and then contended at the PGA. Garcia looked solid all year, rounding it off with back-to-back victories in Spain. The secret may be out, but layers still seem keen to take them on.

Another popular - and it has to be said very profitable - lay strategy has been to oppose American wunderkind, Rickie Fowler, still to break his duck despite some gilt-edged opportunities (his fourth-round scoring probed the lows of 125th on Tour last year). However, the kid's still only 23. It's just a matter of time.

Further down the lists, pay special attention to Charles Howell III, starting at this week's Sony Open. Howell is at least top-20 ball-striker - his world ranking of 76 belying a player with real major potential. Another to have found solace with the belly putter, CH3's solid 2011 campaign could just as easily have garnered multiple wins. With the rub of the green on the greens, this could finally be the year Howell comes of age. Despite his scrawny physique, he's bomb-proof fit with a great work ethic - a top three US Money List place is not beyond the bounds and you'll get filled at a fancy price when liquidity arrives.

In short, this could be the springboard year of the bounceback - where the great and the gifted reassert their talent. They should have little to fear from 2011's break-out stars, bar McIlroy. Form is temporary, class is permanent: an old adage but a reliable one.

Support:
Garcia
Scott
Fowler
Howell

Oppose:
Donald
Kaymer
Day
Simpson

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