Backspin: More on golf's youth movement; Rory bounces back

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Another week, another 20-something winner on the PGA TOUR.

Never mind that a 17-year-old won for the second time in his career on the European Tour (more on that in the Back Nine).

Golf just keeps getting younger, whether it was 26-year-old Charl Schwartzel winning the Masters two weeks ago, or 28-year-old Brendan Steele getting his first career win Sunday at the Valero Texas Open.

Never mind that the other two players in the final group, Kevin Chappell and Cameron Tringale, are also in their 20s.

It used to be that golfers didn't hit their prime until their 30s and to some extent that's still true.

But consider this statistic: A player in his 30s has not won since Rory Sabbatini at The Honda Classic, a span of seven events. In that span there have been five players in their 20s to win and two in their 40s (Michael Bradley in Puerto Rico, Phil Mickelson in Houston).

The last time a player in his 30s has not won in a span of six events was in 2004, when a 41-year-old Vijay Singh won three of the six. In that stretch of the 2004 schedule, the only player in his 20s to win was Vaughn Taylor.

"The guys just have so much talent these days and, you know, when Cam [Tringale] got straight out here right out of college ... somebody to be able to do that, you know he's got a lot of game," Steele said. "The guys are household names now, they weren't at one point. That was kind of my point, is that you didn't know who they were when they first came out and got their first win, a lot of the time.

"Some of them are U.S. (Amateur) champions or other things like that where you knew their names. You kind make yourself into a household name and you got to start somewhere."

Right now, 20-somethings like Steele are doing just that.

Stock up

Brandt Snedeker: With four top-10s and more than $1 million in earnings a little more than four months into the season Snedeker could be on his way to a career year. In three of his last four starts he's finished in the top 15 and two of those were fourth-place finishes. Martin Laird: We're a long way from next year's Ryder Cup, but if Laird keeps playing the way he is he'll be a lock to make the team. Prior to his win at Bay Hill, he had three top-10s this year. Since then, he's tied for 20th (at the Masters) and tied for ninth (at the Valero Texas Open). Fredrik Jacobson: Very quietly, the Swede has put together a nice month with three finishes in the top 15 in his last four starts. Mostly, it's been due to his play on the weekend with a few very solid rounds. Two of those starts netted a T9 (at Bay Hill) and a T5 (at TPC San Antonio).

Stock down

Michael Sim: Sim is discovering what a lot of other guys have: Winning on the Nationwide Tour is easier than winning on the PGA TOUR. In seven starts this year, Sim has made just two cuts. He's 48-over par for the year and has failed to finish below par in any tournament he's played this season. Mike Weir: This isn't exactly anything new, but Weir has had just a miserable season. He missed his sixth cut of the year last week, shooting above 80 for the second time with an 83 in the second round in Texas. He's battled wrist and elbow problems, but he is working with Mike Wilson again in hopes of turning his game around. At this rate, however, it looks like it's going to be a while. Chris DiMarco: Speaking of veterans on the downside of their careers, DiMarco, save for one event, has been in a slide all year. In 11 starts, he's made just three cuts. Included in that are three straight cuts after his tie for 11th at Bay Hill. In DiMarco's last six rounds, he's a combined 21-over par.

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Rory McIlroy came up short again in the final round, this time in Malaysia, but there were two major differences between what happened there and what happened at Augusta National. First, he didn't shoot a final-round 80. He shot 68 and was simply beaten by Matteo Manassero. Second, his final-hole bogey came because McIlroy's only chance to force a playoff was to make birdie from well across the green. He ran the putt past the hole in his attempt to make it and the one coming back really didn't matter. The bigger point is that he bounced back well for someone who'd just endured one of the biggest Masters meltdowns in history and then flew halfway around the world to honor his commitment to play in Malaysia. "To shoot the scores that I did considering the traveling is a pretty good effort,'' McIlroy told The Guardian. "I'm disappointed with the result but everything else was positive. I'm proud of myself at how I picked myself up from last week."

2. One other note about McIlroy from the Masters that's relevant to this past week. Following all the questions and well-wishes and more questions, as McIlroy made his way through the clubhouse and into the parking lot at Augusta National, he didn't shed many tears. He didn't have any woe-is-me moments. He didn't hang his head. He analyzed what happened, talking about it with his manager and later his caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald, showing the maturity beyond his years that's oft been talked about. I just think McIlroy's too good between the ropes and between the ears to let the 80 at Augusta National become his legacy.

3. As for the player who beat McIlroy in Malaysia? Get used to seeing his name on leaderboards for the foreseeable future. Manassero won't turn 18 until Tuesday and already he has two wins on the European Tour.

4. Winning often breeds winning. It's why Tiger Woods dominated whatever level he played as a junior before moving on to the next one and it's a big reason why Brendan Steele was able to close out his first career victory on Sunday. A year ago, Steele had a five-shot lead going into the final round of the Nationwide Tour Championship, shot 73 and had to win in a playoff. That experience helped settle his nerves in Texas, even if he was a little amped up in hitting his approach shot just off the back of the green on the final hole. "I definitely think it helped me," Steele said. "Just the right mindset, really trying to stay away from the outcome on each shot and for the day. That's what I tried to do all week. And so if you tell yourself that it really, you know -- it's OK if you don't hit a great shot, let's try to line it up where we want it and let it rip and see what happens. That's the kind of approach that we were taking rather than being worried about, OK, well, this is not good and that's not good."

5. As for Kevin Chappell, who played in the final group with Steele and finished in a tie for second, he had some experience on his side -- most notably caddie Andy Sutton. If Sutton's name sounds familiar, it should. He was on Ben Curtis' bag when Curtis won the British Open in 2003. Sutton retired last year but wanted to get back on a young player's bag. Sutton is good friends with Chappell's coach, Nick Bradley, and when Bradley recommended the former UCLA star to him, he took the opportunity.

6. Chappell also made a good point about what we seem to be seeing from a lot of young players these days. "Good golf travels and it doesn't matter whether you're playing the mini tour or Nationwide Tour or PGA TOUR," Chappell said. "If you're playing good golf you're going to continue to play good golf. To be honest, I don't think who's out there. It's me versus this week the Valero Texas Open golf course out here."

7. Circling back to Mike Weir's season of woes, he'll continue to play -- he thinks. "I'm scheduled to play the next three, but I'm not sure yet," Weir told reporters after a second-round 79 to miss the cut at the Masters. "We'll see. I may need to just stay and work on it. No use me being out there if I'm not able to compete. I don't want to be out there just to fill a spot."

8. Kevin Na on his 16 in the opening round last week (click here if you haven't seen it): "I wish I went back and re-teed it again and I might have made 8." I'm sure his caddie does, too. Na would have made the cut had he made an 8 on the hole.

9. I meant to make mention of this in my post-Masters analysis so I'll do so here: The last 11 majors have now been won by 11 different players. Four of those winners are American.

Forward Spin

The Heritage moved from its usual spot the week after the Masters to two weeks after, but it still has a strong field with guys like Ernie Els, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter and Luke Donald, who by the way should be considered one of the favorites for a couple of reasons. First, he's one of the best ball-strikers in the game and that's exactly the kind of player that Harbour Town favors. Second, not only has he finished in the top 3 each of the last two years, he's finished in the top 10 in each of his last four starts dating back to his win at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Next Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: The Heritage HOLE: The par-4, 452-yard 18th at Harbour Town Golf Links ABOUT THE HOLE: In this emerald-hued finale, the famous lighthouse becomes a beacon to landlubbers. A successful shot is one aimed toward the cherished landmark. The goal is the wide landing area jutting into Calibogue Sound. A word of advice on one of golf's most spectacular finishing holes: The long approach to the flag offers ample bailout to the right where the innocent-looking but insidious mounding has caused many a wannabe champ to lose a sought-after par. Kodak Challenge standings