Well, it’s official. Golf is in a good place. If you don’t believe me, look at the last four winners of the BIG events on the PGA Tour; Rory, Rory, Jordan and now Rickie.
The Players Championship win by Rickie Fowler, and the way he did it (my goodness!) was probably the single biggest moment for any young golfer in the last few seasons. Sure, Jordan Spieth won the Masters, a major and a bigger career achievement than a victory at TPC Sawgrass. But considering all the questions about Fowler’s actual value, his dominant playoff win on Sunday could prove huge for Rickie in both the short and long terms (and it’s nice for golf as well).
So, time to open up the mailbag and have a little fun. Let’s go flag-hunting!
@shanebacon does that win prove Rickie can be in the rivalry with Rory and Jordan?
— Aaron Remsing (@ARemsing) May 11, 2015
Bacon: The one thing people easily forget about Rickie Fowler, is how he is already a rival to Rory McIlroy.
Before Sunday, Fowler had two worldwide professional wins, and both came over . . . you guessed it . . . Rory McIlroy.
His playoff win at the 2012 Wells Fargo against Rory and D.A. Points might have showed us the gutsiest shot Fowler hit prior to Sunday at Sawgrass, but people forget that Rickie beat Rory by six shots on his way to the 2011 Korea Open title.
The hard thing about Fowler in the sense of laying out a true rivalry is how nice he is and how much everyone on Tour likes him. Rory and Rickie get along, Phil Mickelson and Rory fist-bumped during the final round of the PGA Championship last year when they were right in the mix, and even Bubba Watson waited along the 18th green at the Players Championship on Sunday to give his dude a hug as he walked off the 72nd hole of regulation.
That said, we can’t deny Fowler’s talent. His evolution over the last 16 months with Butch Harmon has all been for a moment like the one he had on Sunday, when he found his zone and felt comfortable in it. Those shots he was hitting down the stretch, and in the playoff, were so impressive you would have thought Fowler had 20 PGA Tour wins, not one.
I think at this point you have to consider Rickie at least a rival to those two names. No majors, fewer PGA Tour wins, but in the big events, Fowler has been there, and he will continue to be there with a swing he can trust and a putting stroke that continues to be underrated. Fowler is the real deal, and he proved that on Sunday. And let us all have a moment and pour one out for the Fowler orange outfit. After what he did on Sunday, that thing should go the way of the Tiger mock “polo” Tiger tried out a decade ago.
@shanebacon Have we given up on a some of the "older" guys? ex) Adam, Keegan, Webb, etc. Don't seem to be part of the story line anymore.
— Sarah Endacott (@sendacott) May 11, 2015
Bacon: It’s interesting you brought this up. I was sitting behind the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday watching some groups go by. Jimmy Walker, Ernie Els and Hideki Matsuyama were the first of the heavy-hitting groups to roll to the island green. Then came Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and the eventual champion Fowler. Following them was Bubba Watson, Billy Horschel and Matt Kuchar, and after them was the pairing everyone was waiting to see: Rory, Jordan and Jason Day.
And as the crowds evaporated, as it so happens after big groups roll through certain holes, I waited to see who was next. And rolling up was David Toms, Ben Crane and . . . Keegan Bradley.
Keegan Bradley! He’s 28 years old, a Ryder Cup staple, a major champion and one of those Next Big Thing kids it seemed we always talked about three and four years ago.
But now, he’s paired with 48-year-old Toms and 39-year-old Crane in a group following the next generation of the PGA Tour. For whatever reason, that struck me as odd, and it seems pretty spot-on with your question. Is Bradley a complete afterthought at this point, just like other one-hit major wonders like Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Webb Simpson and Jason Dufner?
Golf is such a “what have you done for me lately” sport -- well, except with Tiger Woods, who got so much play by golf outlets last week you would have thought everyone else in the field withdrew and Tiger just had to complete 72 holes on one leg to claim the crystal – and, frankly, the names you mentioned haven’t done a lot for us lately.
Even Adam Scott has struggled this season, and his pairing with the man I mentioned above didn’t exactly cause waves throughout the golf circuit like the Spieth-McIlroy-Day grouping did.
I’ve said this plenty of times, but this generation of golfers is going to provide a list of one-time major winners. The talent pool is too deep for a lot of guys to snag multiple major wins, so maybe we are just in a place on the PGA Tour where you aren’t considered a generation changer unless you can take home multiple majors. Rory has done it. Spieth looks like he will. And then you have a ton of guys with one major win who may or may not have another solid tournament during one of those four weeks and squeak out another.
That said, the moment Justin Rose or Scott or Keegan win a second major, all the debate will circle around how many they will eventually win and if they are true competitors to Jordan or Rory.
Don't be surprised if Martin Kaymer wins another major in 2015.
On that same note, let me just put this is writing: When the 2015 major season ends, don’t be surprised if and when Martin Kaymer is hanging out with a third major title. Chambers Bay is a great spot for someone with the demeanor of Kaymer, someone who will accept the elements as they are. His only top 10 in a British Open came in 2010, when it was at St. Andrews, and the PGA Championship is returning to Whistling Straits, site of Kaymer’s PGA Championship playoff win over Bubba Watson.
Kaymer is only 30, and if he snags another major win along with his Players Championship trophy and WGC victory in 2011, it might be time to start talking about him being the second best player of this post-Tiger/Phil generation.
@shanebacon Will Finchem change the WAG dress guidelines after seeing what Rickie's GF was wearing yesterday?
— David Collins (@David4242) May 11, 2015
Rickie Fowler's girlfriend attracted attention with the casual outfit she wore Sunday at the TPC.
Bacon: My goodness, I got more questions about Fowler’s girlfriend than I did about Tiger Woods. Maybe there is hope for golf after all!
I’m not sure how someone can tell a random fan -- and seriously, isn’t a girlfriend simply that, a random fan? -- what to wear unless you change dress code for everyone, so I think jean shorts and a frilly top will be in the cards for Fowler wins to come.
And let my marketing brain kick in here for a minute. Wasn’t this the best move Alexis Randock could have made? She’s attractive, wore something provocative for the final round and got lucky with the Fowler finish.
My only complaint about the whole situation was how incredibly obvious it was that she was mugging for camera time after Fowler had that ridiculous finish in regulation. Scared fliers don’t hold the armrests any tighter than she held Rickie as they walked to the clubhouse.
@shanebacon think Rickey meant to go right of the flag on 17 for the winner ? Great golf either way !!
— Andy Rua (@arniehogan) May 11, 2015
Bacon: Without any wind, and with the tees moved up to the very front of the championship tee box on 17, it isn’t exactly a tough shot for pro golfers.
I don’t think he was shying from the flagstick because it was a simple wedge, and Fowler can start it at the pin and if it draws a little it might still catch the slope.
The shot I think he didn’t mean to hit was the one on the 16th in regulation. That was a fairway wood, and if you watch it at impact, it really looks like he was a bit late on the contact. But like Mickelson from the pinestraw at the Masters in 2010, if the shot turns out good, just smile and act like you meant to do it. That’s what Fowler did there with the kick-in eagle to continue his incredible finish and get himself to 12-under and eventually in that playoff.
But, the shot of the whole tournament was his putt on the 18th in regulation. He had just curled in the birdie putt on 17, and that putt on the final green was much tougher. We saw plenty of guys misread that, especially Sergio Garcia, who had a birdie chance of his own on the 18th in regulation that wouldn’t have gone in the hole if they had cut it with a 6-gallon bucket. That was a tough read, and Fowler nailed it.
@shanebacon Should Tiger play a few European Tour events to boost his WGR, maybe grab a win to get his game going?
— Mike (@NYRfan46) May 11, 2015
Bacon: Mike, I want you to get a credential to a PGA Tour event, go to a Tiger press conference and ask him this question. I will pay $500 to be sitting next to you for this moment.
@shanebacon this has pretty much dream season for PGA. Young guys winning/great playoffs/rivalry potential. what can make the season better?
— Ryan (@spartygrad) May 13, 2015
Bacon: Simple; a Mickelson win at the U.S. Open.
Jordan winning at the Masters was great, Rory getting back to business at the match play was needed, and the final round of the Players was one of the best tournaments in years, so what could make all of this better? Phil Mickelson winning the one major that he can’t close to complete the career Grand Slam and give us the Guinness Book of World Records mark for most thumbs-ups by any human in history.
I think it could happen, I really do. Chambers is going to play long and going to force players to be creative around the greens. Who is better than Phil at that? For whatever reason, his flips the switch when major weeks roll around, and despite how poor he played at the Players Championship, his focus has to be on Chambers and Chambers alone.
If Tiger looked like he could win a tournament, I would put him taking home the Claret Jug at St. Andrews on this list for now, but I’ll wait until he plays some European Tour events to boost his world golf ranking. (Sorry Mike, had to do it!)
@shanebacon How incredible would it be if they added a 4 man scramble event to the Olympics?
— Cory Mossing (@CoryMoss7) May 13, 2015
Bacon: You really can’t have pros play a scramble because every team would shoot the lowest possible score and it would come down to which team holed an iron from the fairway or something.
But I still think the Olympics screwed up by not making this a two-man match play format like we’re seeing with the USGA’s newest amateur four-ball events. A stroke-play tournament might prove who the best player is that week . . . blah blah blah . . . but in the sense of excitement and fun, having two-man best-ball teams battling for their countries would have been much more fun and a cooler format.
@shanebacon Your personal rank of the Bandon courses? The hardest par on the property? Mine would be 12 Old Mac
— Derek Drish (@IronForty) May 13, 2015
Bacon: I’ve always said ranking the courses at Bandon Dunes is like ranking your kids (or so I’m told) or ranking which Kardashian you care about the least, but since you asked, here are mine (which is definitely far from the norm):
1.) Bandon Trails
2.) Bandon Dunes
3.) Pacific Dunes
4.) Old MacDonald
I really hate ranking the courses because I could play Old Mac every day for the rest of my life and die a happy man. Trails is underrated. If St. Andrews is the home of golf, Bandon Dunes is in the same neighborhood. Pacific Dunes is the toughest and most beautiful. Old Mac is literally next door to Pacific and a completely different experience. And we haven’t even mentioned Bandon Preserve, the dessert and coffee to the Shrimp Cocktail and wagyu ribeye that is the big four.
I love this place. I really do. I said it on air during the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, but calling this “work” is a real stretch. You’re getting to watch a new USGA event at the most unique and fun golf resort in the country, with players not only having a great time and enjoying themselves off the course but battling hard and playing some impressive golf on it.
I’m excited the USGA announced it is coming back to Bandon in 2020 for the U.S. Amateur. I just think this is a place that was built to host the best amateur events in the world. The USGA sees that as well, and it’s cool to see it continuing to come here and Bandon continuing the tradition of hosting event after event for amateur golf.
Shane Bacon is a regular contributor to FOXSports.com's golf coverage. Follow him on Twitter at @shanebacon.
