WGCs provide drama, four unique champs in 2011

text size

Lyons/Getty Images

Kaymer's golf game -- and his fashion sense -- got people talking at the first WGC event of 2011.

Back in the day, a World Golf Championships event rolled around and you could all but pencil in the winner.

Got a comment or question for Melanie? Click here to e-mail her.

Yup. Tiger Woods. He's only won 15 of them of over the years, some dramatic, others in yawns.

But they're not Tiger's WGC events any more.

The last couple of years, they've diversified. Guys like Ernie Els and Francesco Molinari have won then. Ditto for Hunter Mahan, Ian Poulter and Geoff Ogilvy.

And 2011? Well, it's been quite a little adventure.

For a while there, we were all wondering if Keegan Bradley would cap his rookie season with a third win and a WGC event to go with his Wanamaker Trophy. It would have made the last official week of the season interesting, right?

Instead, former world No. 1 Martin Kaymer goes out and birdies nine of his last 12 holes to grab the WGC-HSBC Champions away from Frederik Jacobson. Dramatic? You bet. Jacobson was a great bet until Kaymer went crazy. It wasn't Charl Schwartzel making history with four birdies to close out the Masters, but it was a longer run and just as exciting.

And don't forget Graeme McDowell, who redeemed his game after a horrid weekend at the Andalucia Masters, with a T3. Ditto for Paul Casey, who tied him and resurrected a promising season that wandered after injuries and a decision to divorce. And, right. Rory McIlroy was there too, hinting that he might be ready to jumpstart 2012.

The Kaymer story? It was the perfect bookend to a season that opened with that win in Abu Dhabi, but was filled with a lot of ok-but-not-great performances. The lone exception? Glad you asked.

Kaymer made a lot of news in the year's first WGC event -- the WGC-Accenture Match Play. He showed his fashion-forward side with that blue and white neck warmer -- a snood -- to keep his neck warm. Dashing? Debonair? Suddenly everyone was googling "snood." And, he matched up well with Ryder Cup teammate Luke Donald going into the finals. Maybe he even had the momentum -- five wins since the start of 2010 at that point and Donald had missed the first cut of the year -- and he was going to take over the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Rankings regardless of the outcome.

But it was game-set-and-everything-but-No. 1 to Donald in the finals as the Englishman set the stage for his No. 1 run with a 3-and-2 win. He didn't finish out of the top 10 again on the PGA TOUR until the U.S. Open. That and a missed cut at the British Open were the only non-top 18 finishes for him in 2011.

Next up? The redemption open. Well, the WGC-Cadillac Championships where Nick Watney put 2009's runner-up finish there -- and that closing 81 at the 2010 PGA -- to rest with a two-shot win over Dustin Johnson.

It wasn't just a battle of two of the TOUR's Young Guns, that closing 67 was affirmation, confirmation -- pick a term -- that all the oooh-ing and aahh-ing over Watney's game wasn't just talk; that he was on the short list to stay.

The win -- one of two on the year -- came after a string of top-six individual finishes and, while he wasn't a factor at the majors, he did finish T4 at THE PLAYERS.

All of which brings us to Akron, Firestone CC and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational where Adam Scott bounced back from that T2 at the Masters, added a WGC title to his 2006 PLAYERS title and upstaged Woods at a place he owns (seven wins in the last 13 years).

Actually, Scott got a lot of folks talking with an opening 62 and it only got louder when he walked away with a four-shot win. And did we mention he did it with Woods' former caddie, Steve Williams, on the bag? It was only their fourth tournament together.

Scott didn't let up all week, holding off Rickie Fowler and Donald (they were T2) and kids Jason Day and Ryo Ishikawa, who tied for fourth. And just for good measure, Scotty gave the long putter that extra cool factor and set the stage for the broomstick's first major the following week when Keegan Bradley won the PGA.

Which leads us back to Kaymer's win and his supporting cast of characters in Shanghai. Everywhere you looked, there was a story. Bradley. McIlroy. G-Mac's bounce-back. Jhonattan Vegas looking for a second win to bookend his rookie season. Scott, Bo Van Pelt. Poulter.

They may not be majors, but the WGC's certainly delivered this year, didn't they?

So going forward, put down those pencils. Anything can and will happen. Nothing's certain except great golf and great finishes.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM and can be reached at melaniehauser@gmail.com. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR. Follow her on Twitter @melaniehauser.