What I'll Remember about 2010: More major surprises

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Graeme McDowell's victory at Pebble Beach propelled the TOUR into an exciting summer.

PGATOUR.COM asked its staffers and freelancers what they will remember about the 2010 season. For the archived list of essays, click here.

The leaderboard at the 2010 Masters featured the usual suspects. Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Tiger Woods were all in the top-five while rising star Anthony Kim and former champ Fred Couples were in the hunt on Sunday. Mickelson finished on top, claiming his third green jacket and, to many fans, that's the way it should have been.

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It appeared that major championship golf had returned to normal after a 2009 season which saw just one player ranked in the world's top 40, and none in the top 15 to start the season, win a major.

The remainder of the year, though, was anything but normal.

Two months after the Masters, Mickelson and Woods were again in the running at the U.S. Open, as was two-time champion Ernie Els. Once the trendy pick and 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson faltered early Sunday, one of the trio of big names was expected to seize the opportunity and win.

The battle on the back nine at Pebble Beach, however, was between two players who were relatively unknown on this side of the pond -- 2008 Ryder Cupper Graeme McDowell and Frenchman Gregory Havret, who entered the event at No. 391 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

McDowell had three bogeys on the back nine, but did just enough to shoot even for the week and win by a shot.

July's British Open had an even bigger surprise in store as South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen, who had made just one cut in eight career major championship starts, displayed Tiger-esque dominance at the Old Course as he cruised to victory.

Oosthuizen took the lead before making the turn on Friday and never looked back as he carried a seven-shot advantage into Sunday at St. Andrews. He then held off a surge from Paul Casey to hoist the Claret Jug.

More heartbreak for Dustin Johnson led to a moment of glory for Martin Kaymer in the PGA Championship, as he edged Bubba Watson in a playoff to claim the Wanamaker Trophy. The victory at Whistling Straits marked his fourth top-10 finish in five major starts, and gave Kaymer his first victory on TOUR. Considering this victory with three on the European Tour and a shot at the world No. 1 ranking, you won't find many players who had a 2010 season like Kaymer's

In 2010, the majors served as a microcosm of the 2010 season, with international players shining and the unexpected becoming the norm. While each of the champions was rated in the top 100 in the world to start the season (unlike 2009 winners Lucas Glover and Y.E. Yang), none of them, sans Phil Mickelson, ever had a victory on the PGA TOUR prior to this year.

Right now, 2010 stands out as the year international players found success on the TOUR's biggest stages. But with McDowell, Oosthuizen and Kaymer all expected to make more appearances on TOUR next year, this could be the year that one (or more) new stars were born on major stages.