Establishment (Stewart Cink) vs. New Breed (Bubba Watson)

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LA QUINTA -- One of the themes for the 2011 PGA TOUR season is the competition involving the Establishment vs. the New Breed. How will the established players -- those with significant TOUR experience and long-standing championship pedigree -- fare against the young, hungry up-and-comers who are looking to nudge their way into the TOUR's elite?

Each week, PGATOUR.COM will select two players -- one from the New Breed and one for the Establishment -- and analyze their chances heading into the tournament. We'll then track which player has the better score for his team, and keep a running tally throughout the year.

This week, we've selected Bubba Watson for the New Breed and Stewart Cink for the Establishment.

ESTABLISHMENT AGE: 37 YEARS ON TOUR: Starting his 15th full season on TOUR. TWITTER FOLLOWERS: 1,201,911 OVERVIEW: The veteran from Georgia Tech found it hard to build on 2009's career-defining victory at the British Open. He only had three top-10s, which was a career-low, and his earnings of $1.5 million were his lowest since he failed to hit seven figures in 2002. His best finish of 2010 came when he lost in the quarterfinals of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship to tie for fifth. That should come as no surprise considering he was second and third, respectively, there the previous two years. Later in the year, Cink took that match-play prowess to the Ryder Cup where he contributed 2 1/2 points. Cink will be looking to make his fourth straight (and fifth overall) Presidents Cup team this fall. STATE OF HIS GAME: The Bob Hope Classic is Cink's first tournament of the season, and given the ice cold temperatures and snow that has blanketed the Atlanta area, Cink is probably enjoying his sojurn in the California desert. How ready he'll be is another question. But when he's on his game -- like he was in 2008 when he posted two seconds and one third in his first five events -- Cink can get out of the box fast. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Cink hasn't played in the Bob Hope Classic since 2008, opening his season instead by spending two weeks in Hawaii. But he wasn't eligible for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions this year, and Cink is playing in his 11th Bob Hope Classic. His best finishes came in his first two starts -- a tie for ninth in 1997 and sixth in 1998. He's finished in the top 25 there in his last two starts. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Cink will certainly be tested with five rounds on tap -- particularly considering those rounds often take over five hours with the pro-am format throughout the week. (At least he's savvy enough not to be awed by the celebrities on hand.) Cink has shot under par in his last 15 rounds at the Bob Hope Classic but he knows he needs to go really low to contend. Click here for a 2011 preview of Cink   NEW BREED AGE: 32 YEARS ON TOUR: This is his sixth full season on TOUR. TWITTER FOLLOWERS: 63,402 OVERVIEW: The exuberant Watson is coming off a career year that saw him win for the first time and reach a three-hole playoff at the PGA Championship before falling to Martin Kaymer. The emotional victory at the Travelers Championship came in his 122nd start as Watson made up a six-stroke deficit to beat Scott Verplank and Corey Pavin in a playoff. Watson dedicated the victory to his father, Gerry, who was battling lung cancer and later died in the fall. Thanks to the runner-up finish at the PGA, the big-hitting Watson played his way onto his first Ryder Cup team where he teammed with another rookie Jeff Overton -- America's "boom baby" -- to win their opening Four-ball match at Celtic Manor. STATE OF HIS GAME: Watson showed early in 2011 that he wasn't going to throttle back when he hit a driver off the deck on the 18th hole at Kapalua to set up a 10-foot eagle in the first round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. He went on to tie for 25th there, but Watson failed to break 70 that week on a generous, wide-open layout. He'll need to do better this week. HISTORY IN THIS EVENT: Watson nearly picked up the first win of his career at last year's Bob Hope Classic, which marked his fourth straight appearance in the event. He led after the second and fourth rounds, then closed with a 66 that wasn't quite enough to beat Bill Haas. Watson nearly holed a chip on the 90th hole but finished one stroke back when Haas two-putted the same hole for birdie. His second-round 62 tied Watson's career low and set the Silver Rock course record. OUTLOOK THIS WEEK: Watson will certainly be confident given what happened at last year's Bob Hope Classic. He comes to Palm Springs rested, too, after taking last week off. But Watson knows that he'll need to eliminate the mistakes -- he had six double bogeys at Kapalua -- and go deep into the 60s each round if he's to have a chance to win. Click here for a 2011 preview of Watson

Establishment vs. New Breed: 2011 results

Here are the results of the previous matchups this year

ESTABLISHMENT Score/Finish Tournament NEW BREED Score/Finish   Ernie Els 4 under (T-42nd) Sony Open Jason Day 8 under (T-20th) Steve Stricker 20 under (T-4th) Hyundai TOC Dustin Johnson 14 under (T-9th)