TOUR's new generation combine skill, athleticism
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
This is not your father's PGA TOUR anymore.
Sans-a-belt slacks and plaid have given way to form-fitting European cuts and pastels as Burberry trumps Brooks Brothers. Wide belts, diamond-studded buckles and white shoes accessorize, along with the more traditional caps and visors.
And nights spent in local watering holes have been replaced by mornings in the gym -- making Gary Player look like the prophet he's always thought he was and Tiger Woods' body sculpted like an action hero.
Such flair is not without fundamentals, though, and the same young players who have altered the look of the game are now making their marks where it really counts -- on the leaderboards Sunday evening.
Going into THE PLAYERS Championship this week, 20 PGA TOUR events have been held this season. Eight have been won by a player in his 20s -- one more than the total for all of last year -- and six others have finished as runners-up. Conversely, just two players over 40 have won this year compared to nine in 2007.
"I think the notion has ... received a lot of focus the last few years about where the young players are," PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said at a Tuesday news conference. "Perhaps we're headed in a more aggressive direction of young players coming on in the cycle, and we'll see how that develops the rest of the year."
The most recent coming-out party took place Sunday at the Wachovia Championship, with Anthony Kim winning by five strokes. The 22-year-old prodigy, who skipped his senior year at Oklahoma to turn pro, has a ton of talent and confidence to match.
Kim, who made no secret of his disappointment at not winning as a rookie last year, already had two runner-up finishes in just 38 starts as a pro, including a tie for second at the Verizon Heritage last month. In retrospect, what he perceived as an affront may have worked in Kim's favor.
"I feel like I was used to winning a lot, and having come out here my first year and not having won, that was the best thing for me," the three-time All-American said. "I felt like it was a great learning experience.
"If I won, I think there's a chance that I wouldn't have practiced as hard as I am now and have been as focused."
Kim's victory was the second straight for a player in his 20s, and the fifth in the last six weeks. Adam Scott, who's 27, rolled in a dramatic 48-foot putt to beat the 25-year-old Ryan Moore in a playoff at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship the previous Sunday.
Don't be surprised if the 20-somethings make it three straight this week. In the last 10 years at THE PLAYERS, four players in their 20s have claimed the title at TPC Sawgrass, including Scott, the tournament's youngest winner when he won in 2004 at age 23.
The Aussie now has six TOUR wins. Sergio Garcia, 28, also has six victories, and the two lead the 16 players under 30 who have won at least once on TOUR. Trevor Immelman, Charles Howell III, Aaron Baddeley, D.J. Trahan and J.B. Holmes each have won twice in their 20s.
Those are hardly Tiger Woods-ian numbers, of course. The game's No. 1 player -- who had 46 TOUR wins by the time he hit the big 3-0 on Dec. 30, 2005. He's a rare talent, though, "the best that's ever lived," as Stewart Cink says and nearly everyone agrees, so comparisons are a tad unfair.
Instead, look at Woods as the inspiration. He's the man who sets the standards, however unreachable those may be, but his accomplishments shouldn't dictate pronouncements of success or failure for the rest.
"I think everyone is living up to potential," Scott said. "You've got to be careful not to get potential distorted with achievements of Tiger in his 20s, and I think everyone can easily do that, including ourselves.
"You know, when I turned pro, I thought, yeah, I'll just go out and challenge Tiger, and it just doesn't happen, unfortunately. You've got to keep it in perspective a little bit, although you've got to push yourself hard, too.
"We've probably all done really well, but we all think we can do a lot better."
Brandt Snedeker, who was 26 when he won the Wyndham Championship last year, agreed.
"I think that's what golf fans want to see," he said. "It's obviously what we as 20-year-olds want to do is try and put some pressure on Tiger and the top guys in the world and not just let it be experience playing out.
"It was great to see Scottie win (in Dallas). He hung in there through three playoff holes, made a great putt. It gives all the young guys out there more confidence when you see guys in their 20s winning and being able to get over that hump and win for the first time. And we obviously need a lot more of that out here."
Not only are these relative youngsters winning TOUR events, they are edging their way into the picture for the U.S. Ryder Cup team and possibly wedging the veterans out. In the current standings, six of the top 20 are in their 20s -- including Kim, who soared to No. 4 with Sunday's win.
"I don't know if I'm as big a part of (the youth movement) as some," said Shell Houston Open champ Johnson Wagner, 28. "But winning, having a couple of top-10s and being in the hunt for the Ryder Cup, and having a lot of American guys in their 20s having a chance to qualify for that Ryder Cup team is just incredible. I think that's what we need."
Today's young players come to the TOUR more seasoned than in years past. The top juniors can play all over the world. College programs offer more chances to hone your game. Technology and the way it complements teaching has an impact, as well.
"I think they're more fearless because I don't think it's such an unknown when they come out here," Cink said. "They've already been through the fire. A lot of them have survived it. A lot of them have felt the pain. They've felt loss and they've felt success.
"There's nothing new to them out here anymore. The difference between the TOUR and the life out here and what it is as a 17-year-old kid if you're one of the tops in the nation is not as different as it was 15, 20 years ago."
The Nationwide Tour has an impact, too. Wagner's graduating class included Snedeker and two-time TOUR winner, Boo Weekley, among others. So Wagner, a two-time Nationwide Tour winner, has drawn confidence from his peers' success.
"There's been a lot of us to win or get in the hunt," Wagner said. "So every time I see that (I think) 'Hey I beat these guys two years ago, I can beat them out here, too.' "
Immelman, the recent Masters champ, turned pro at 19 and won his first event on the Challenge Tour. The 27-year-old South African remembers the days of carrying his own bag in far-flung places and top-10 finishes that barely covered expenses.
The two-time TOUR winner knows there's a learning curve with each step up the ladder -- new courses, new cities, new places to unpack. Some adapt better, and faster, than others.
"It's extremely difficult to win out here, and I think with what Tiger does, people kind of take it for granted because he makes winning look so easy and he does it with such regularity," said Immelman, who played with Snedeker in the final group on Sunday at Augusta National.
"There's only been a few guys that have come out here, turned pro and played well and won straight away. It's just not done that often. It's just too damned difficult. ...
"That's why I think at first when there was a crop of young guys when we were coming through, you know, the media really expected us to stand up and just start winning tournaments, and it just doesn't work like that. Experience counts for so much.
"And that's why I think you'll find now as we start reaching our late 20s, guys will start getting comfortable with their games and getting comfortable with their surroundings and being able to plan their schedules, and I think you'll start seeing guys in their late 20s now starting to win more regularly and contend more in the bigger tournaments."
Immelman, whose has a Green Jacket in his closet now, is living proof -- and we may get more proof this week at Sawgrass.
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