Maginnes: No draft on TOUR, just internal pressure

text size

Maybe you missed it this weekend, but the NFL had its annual draft. Oh, you heard about it? Yeah, probably so, since that event has enough hype to make even P.T. Barnum seem tame.

John Maginnes

MORE MAGINNES

John Maginnes archive

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Give us your take on Facebook

The drafting of players, particularly in the NFL but also to varying degrees in other sports, offer a time of hope for fans -- and a time of high expectations for the players, who will soon realize that an entire city might be riding on their athletic ability. The pressure, even before the first paycheck arrives, can be overwhelming.

Golf, of course, is a different sort of pressure, more internal. Before any of the players drafted in the NFL's first round ever put on their first professional uniform, their money and stardom are guaranteed, at least for a moment. Each golfer, on the other hand, must carve his own unique path to prominence.

Unless your name is Tiger Woods, stars do not come readymade on the PGA TOUR. Like everything else in the game, they earn their stardom through performance. Tiger entered with the hype, but he delivered quickly, winning in just his second TOUR start. He's the exception rather than the rule.

The NFL Draft is about potential and fulfilling a need for a particular team. Rarely do teams take the most noted name from the college game. The romance positions like quarterback and running back can take seasons to develop to the NFL level while large-bodied linemen with speed adapt more quickly. Consider that Tom Brady, who has entered the conversation of greatest quarterback of all time, was selected with the 199th pick in the draft back in 2000.

If there is a comparison to be made, then it is the arsenal of the golfer to the elements of a team. A young golf professional may be able to drive the ball a country mile, but unless he has the total package he will wile away years at the lower levels of the profession. The same is true in the NFL; a team that relies totally on the pass or can't stop the run is in trouble. A professional golfer with a balky putter or mediocre short game can not challenge the very best.

It is interesting to watch the development of young players and see how they improve in any sport. Eli Manning was considered to have failed to live up to his potential until his Super Bowl performance this year. By the same token, there are many golfers whose games took time to mature.

Take David Duval, one of only four players to have been named first time All-America four straight years. He turned pro in 1993 but didn't win his first tournament until four years later. What about James Driscoll and Jeff Quinney, who played each other in the finals of the 2000 U.S. Amateur? Quinney spent three full seasons on the Nationwide Tour before earning his TOUR card in 2007. Driscoll is back on TOUR this year after his second stint on the Nationwide Tour.

Golf is unique because careers are so long that a player can take decades to mature before he finds success on TOUR. But the true stars of tomorrow are the young guns who speckle leaderboards and win titles on the PGA TOUR today. The twentysomethings like Adam Scott, Brandt Snedeker, Sergio Garcia, and Ryan Moore will be joined by names yet to emerge. It's going to be fun to watch.