A New Era of Parity: How the Field Caught Up to Tiger, Rory and Phil

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 18, 2013

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Tiger Woods is still the best player in the world by a good margin, but that superiority hasn't translated into a major victory in a half decade.

Phil Mickelson hasn't won a major in more than two years and has only two in the past seven. A bright future is ahead of Rory McIlroy, but the young star expected to assume the mantle of top golfer is struggling through an extended swing change hangover.

With those three struggling, the opportunity for breakthrough performances both from new faces and golfers coming into their own is making the current landscape of professional golf one of the most competitive and unpredictable since the late 1990s.

It may also be the early stages of the end of the Woods-Mickelson era and the beginning of one that will certainly be highlighted—but not necessarily dominated—by McIlroy, as so many recently believed.



In an 11-year stretch from 1997 to 2008, Woods won an unheard-of 14 major championships. No golfer before him in the modern era won majors at that kind of clip; not Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer or Ben Hogan.

During that same run, Mickelson captured three majors of his own, added a fourth in 2010 and was undoubtedly the second-best golfer in the world for a decade. With a pair of major victories in 2011 and 2012, McIlroy emerged as the heir apparent to the Woods-Mickelson dominance.

Yet the talk of professional golf is no longer limited to these three golfers, as their extended and recent struggles have opened the door for others to not only win major championships, but to be considered among the game’s elite.

Through that door have come the likes of recently-minted U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, reigning Masters champion Adam Scott, former World No. 1 Luke Donald and 2012 green jacket winner Bubba Watson, to name just a few.



Call it perfect timing or maybe just a stroke of luck, but th...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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