Youth is the trending topic, but don't count out veterans

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Don't be surprised to see Davis Love III play well this week at Harbour Town. He's won here five times.

The kids are fearless. They're eclectic. And most of all, they're talented.

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They grew up watching Tiger Woods run the tables and throw fear into a field. They played his video game. They practiced making that winning putt and beating him and Phil Mickelson.

And now? They're tough, resilient and winning. As in four of the last six PGA TOUR events.

Which brings us to today's question -- Should the 40-somethings, the grizzled veterans, if you will, be worried?

Maybe yes. Maybe no.

But mostly ... just maybe.

We bring this up on the perfect week -- The Heritage. The defending champ is Jim Furyk, who turns 41 next month, and the field is full of vets like Ernie Els, Scott Verplank, Davis Love III, Steve Elkington, Lee Janzen, Jerry Kelly and Joe Durant. To name a few.

And there's the 30-something set, led by Luke Donald, Bo Van Pelt, Graeme McDowell, Mark Wilson and past Heritage champs Stewart Cink, Aaron Baddeley and Boo Weekley.

The course? Harbour Town doesn't favor bombers. It favors the best player that week. The guy who dons the tartan plaid jacket Sunday? It might be one of those early-week asterisks -- think a world ranking of 120-plus -- or it might be a vet.

Golf goes in cycles and the trending topic these days is youth. The average world ranking of TOUR winners this year is 152.9. Guys whose names you might have -- but more likely might not have -- noticed in the results earlier in the year.

But it won't last.

You saw Mickelson take the Shell Houston Open field to task three weeks ago with rounds of 63-65 on the weekend for a three-shot win. Yes, Chris Kirk, representing the kids, was tied for second with Verplank, but Steve Stricker, Baddeley and Robert Allenby were right there, too.

Yes, 28-year-old Charl Swartzel stunned us at the Masters. But 14 of the next 17 names on the board? 30-something and up.

We wouldn't be surprised to see a Cameron Trinagle or Bobby Gates or Rickie Fowler break through this week, although, in the case of the latter, Oklahoma State orange and red tartan are a mind-numbing, not eclectic, combination. But Fowler's tie for eighth last year? Seriously tempting.

But if we had to bet the farm? Look the other way. Vets are the new asterisks. While we all get caught up in who's next, they're lurking. Waiting for their chance.

Harbour Town -- like Fort Worth's Colonial Country Club or Muirfield Village -- is a course where a little local knowledge goes a long way. Experience is key. And that doesn't mean just knowing line-of-sight with the lighthouse.

Think DL III, who has won this tournament five times. Or Cink, who has won twice. And all the way back to Payne Stewart who won back-to-back in 1989 and 1990, then finished second to Tom Kite when THE TOUR Championship was played at Harbour Town in 1989. What about Hale Irwin, who won three times, including 1994 when he was two months shy of age 49?

Love and Cink? Both could win again. Seriously. Els has shown flashes of good play this year. And Furyk? A successful defense wouldn't be out of the question. He's had a pair of top-10s this year.

As for the 30-somethings? Start with Van Pelt and Donald and keep going.

The older crowd? They're more set in their ways. They want guys like Ben Crenshaw or Ben Hogan or Jack Nicklaus in their foursomes not Kevin James or Jim Carrey. They're more Beatles or Stones than Lady Gaga. They dress more conservatively. They ski and snowboard, but leave the risky stuff to their kids.

They've been around the block a few times and know, not just the courses, but how these golf cycles work.

There will always be spates of winners -- international, young, old, blond or major champs. There will always be vets like Irwin or Jay Haas or Greg Norman who play deep into their 40s and keep on winning. And there will always be kids nipping at their heels, threatening to upset -- and upsetting -- the status quo.

In the 1990s those kids were Woods and Mickelson. Heck, Mickelson and Verplank won events as amateurs. Young pups. Eager. Talented. No fear.

And, no surprise, they're still here, just a little older and wiser. Yes, these vets are all looking over their shoulders. At least a bit. But they're also looking ahead.

Trending topics are, well, trends.

Trust us. They're all poised and ready to start another trend. Soon.