On a different note from the last week's feature, here's a look at a few players who did not live up to expectations. Remember, 'disappointing' is a very loose and relative term.
- Tom Lehman: This wily Tour vet started the season very well with three top-10s in the first four events he entered. Then everything went downhill from there, as he would only have two more top-10s and miss the cut five times. Lehman's strong 2000 campaign put him in the thick of the Ryder Cup points race, but the trying and difficult 2001 summer, during which his wife Melissa gave birth to a stillborn baby, cost him a spot on the team. Apparently, something more important than golf was a factor in Lehman's struggle, but it seems as though his days as an elite Tour member are numbered.
- Jesper Parnevik: The fashionable Swede was nowhere near his 2000 form, largely because of chronic hip injury. His only highlight of the year was a victory at the Honda Classic. Parnevik had only three other top-10s, as he failed to move up to the upper echelon of the PGA Tour after the two-win 2000 season. Any sort of consistency eluded this otherwise talented golfer but if he can stay healthy all next year, Parnevik should continue his progress as a world class golfer.
- Phil Mickelson: It's very hard to argue about world No. 2 golfer being a disappointment, but as long as Mickelson remains major-less at years' ends, he will be regarded a failure. That doesn't seem fair, and surely, the fact that Mickelson will win at least one major in his career is almost a given (Heck, if Andy North can win two U.S. Opens, why not Phil???). Yet this year was especially a downer for this brilliant lefty, who had legitimate shots at winning the Masters, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. Of course, he didn't end up winning any of those. In the first two, Mickelson couldn't avoid big numbers in the final round, while at the PGA, he was simply beaten by a better David Toms. 13 top-10s including two wins, and over $4 million (all figures U.S.) in earnings, first in eight statistical categories-all impressive credentials. But no majors; at least not yet.
- Steve Flesch: Another lefty who had a below-average year, Flesch was expected to join the top class of the Tour after a breakthrough 2000 season, in which he finished in top-10 13 times, while earning more than $2 million without winning. More remarkably, Flesch never went more than three straight tournaments without a top-10 finish. In 2001, however, that consistency was nowhere to be found, as Flesch struggled with accuracy and had only six top-10s. Still, if Mickelson is the best player without a major, then Flesch is the best golfer without a Tour win. He will be back.
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