18 is a significant number in golf; as in a number of holes in a round and as in the current (and stalled for who knows how long) handicap of yours truly. Okay, maybe not significant, but a convenient figure, nonetheless, with which to waste this valuable space on the following list of bold and inane predictions.
A former editor of mine once told me that lists and Q&A's are two laziest forms of journalism. Well, if a list is good enough for the venerable Rick Reilly (see December 3rd issue of Sports Illustrated), then it sure is good enough for me. Here it comes.
- A left-handed golfer will win a major, and, yes, it will be his first one. But it may not be who you think.
- Tiger Woods will return, although he's never really left, and capture six events plus two majors.
- Mark this down. Tiger will win; Mercedes, Pebble Beach, TPC, the Masters, Byron Nelson Classic, the Western Open, the PGA and the Canadian Open.
- With two majors going to Tiger and one to a lefty, the other remaining one will go to an international player. Candidates are Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke.
- Charles Howell III will win a couple of tournaments and finish in the top-10 on the money list. Forget sophomore jinx; this guy is for real.
- Team USA will win the Ryder Cup, hands down. There won't be any need for a 1999-like comeback.
- Vijay Singh will break out of his winless streak that lasted entire 2001 season.
- Here's an easy one; Robert Allenby will win a tourney-in a playoff.
- David Toms, 7th-ranked player in the world, will continue to develop as a world-class golfer and crack the top-5 on the World Golf Ranking.
- Chris DiMarco will be a huge factor on the Tour, and will make Curtis Strange wish he'd picked DiMarco as one of captain's picks on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
- Sergio Garcia will keep winning but won't win a major until and unless he cuts down the number of waggles before every shot. Counting his waggles and regripping has become a favourite time-killing activity among fellow pros in clubhouses. We're not asking much, Sergio. How about down to a single digit?
- Ty Tryon will wear out his novelty by his 18th birthday in June, by the time when he will be eligible to become a full-time PGA Tour member. It's one thing to have shot 66 in the final round at the Q-School, but it will be quite another to keep his Tour card. Over the last three years, less than one-third of those who obtained playing privileges through the Q-School managed to keep their card the following season by finishing among the year's top-125 money winners. Ty won't be able to play often until after he turns 18, and it could well be a case of too little, too late by then. Plus, come late spring, he should be reading To Kill a Mockingbird for final exam review rather than yardage books from Tour stops.
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