The Skysports.com golf team review another memorable season in golf.
We look back on another hugely memorable 12 months in golf
It's been another memorable year for golf - especially for the home players with Luke Donald securing both Money Lists and Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke winning majors.
Dave Tindall and Mark Kendall review the season... from 1-18 of course!
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Player - Luke Donald
This can be a tricky category to call with an outstanding candidate often emerging on each tour. Donald solved that problem by winning the Money Lists on both sides of Atlantic! Luke's historic feat featured a WGC Matchplay victory in Arizona, a play-off triumph in the European Tour's flagship event - the BMW Championship at Wentworth - which took him to world number one and a dramatic win in the PGA Tour finale at Disney that gave him the first leg of the Money List double. In 26 worldwide starts he made the top 10 in 20 of them, a level of consistency that made him a class apart in 2011. Top of his 2012 wish-list. A first major.
Rising star - Tom Lewis
Golf is littered with sad stories of hugely touted next big things failing to live up to expectations. But Lewis proved in 2011 that he was something extra special and could justify the hype. First, he shot to global attention when sharing the day one lead in The Open at Royal St. George's before going on to win the Silver Medal for leading amateur. And when some so-called experts questioned his decision to turn pro, Lewis answered them in stunning style. On just his third start in the paid ranks he took victory in the Portuguese Masters, thus securing his card for the next two seasons. It was no surprise that he rounded off 2011 by being named Rookie of the Year. Lewis, from Welwyn Garden City, now wants to become the most decorated player at his club. It's a big-ask though as the man he's trying to surpass is six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo!
Most thrilling finish - Charl Schwartzel
Luke Donald's stunning back-nine charge which won him the title at Disney and the US Money List deserves a mention as does Tiger's birdie-birdie finish to finally return to winning ways at the Chevron. But the clear winner was the slight South African who crushed his rivals at Augusta with a breathtaking closing burst. A play-off looked a certainty as the leaders bunched up on the back nine but Schwartzel seized the day in stunning style by finishing birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie to kick clear and win by two. The Masters has seen some memorable back-nine charges but Schwartzel's four-birdie finish to win the Green Jacket re-wrote the record books.
Moment - Darren Clarke
The mercurial Ulsterman used to be a perennial pick for Open punters trying to put one over the bookies but some flat performances in recent years suggested his best chance had gone. But the links skills Clarke had honed growing up in Northern Ireland had never left him and everything clicked during one glorious week at Royal St. George's. Clarke was always up with the pace and by round three had moved into a one-shot lead. History gave mixed clues as to what would happen next. From similar positions Clarke had been sometimes brilliant but often woeful but on Sunday in Sandwich he closed the deal in convincing fashion. Walking up the last he held a three-shot lead and a tap-in five at the 18th gave Clarke the iconic moment he must have dreamed of - saluting his army of fans and hoisting aloft the Claret Jug.
Most improved - Webb Simpson
At the start of 2011, Simpson was ranked 213th in the world and not particularly near the top of best promising young player lists. But after posting a tied eighth in Phoenix in early February he elevated his game to new heights and produced a level of sustained excellence that saw him finish second on the PGA Tour Money List and rise to the top 10 in the world rankings. He landed a breakthrough first win at August's Wyndham Championship and followed it up two starts later at the Deutsche Bank Championship - the two highlights of an incredible tally of 21 top 25 finishes in 26 starts, 12 of which were top 10s.
Comeback - Sergio Garcia
Sergio's slide from enthusiastic boy wonder to prematurely jaded veteran has been tough to watch over the last few seasons but 2011 saw the smile return and the trophies too. After dropping hints that the old mojo was coming back Sergio returned to the winners' circle by running away with the Castello Masters on the course he grew up on and followed it a week later by finally posting a first victory in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama. An honourable mention for Thomas Bjorn who enjoyed a three-win season not long after contemplating retirement. And, after ending a hard-to-imagine two-year win drought and falling outside the world's top 50, maybe Tiger Woods deserves a nomination too after his late-season victory in the Chevron World Challenge.
Performance - Rory McIlroy
Pop psychology suggested McIlroy would have wounds too fresh as he teed off in the US Open at Congressional just two months after his final round meltdown at Augusta. But a pre-tournament tweet from the Ulsterman saying simply #ilovemajors suggested he was raring to get straight back on the horse. Winning a major is an epic struggle for most golfers with a single shot often deciding the outcome. The chosen few have another option - establishing a lead so big that they can't be caught. Recalling Tiger Woods' jaw-dropping wins at the 1997 Masters (12 shots) and 2000 US Open (15 shots), McIlroy bolted from the gate, became the first man in US Open history to hit 13-under and by the end of round three had established an eight-shot lead. There were to be no Sunday wobbles this time and he closed with a two-under 69 to win by eight and, aged 22, become the youngest European major winner since 1872.
Shot - Bill Haas
Things not to do in a play-off: Find water. Worst time to do it: When there's $10m on the line. That was the position Bill Haas found himself in when his second shot from sand at 17 left the water rippling and the dollar signs lighting up in the eyes of play-off rival Hunter Mahan at the FedEx cup finale at East Lake. Haas got a break when he found his submerged ball in a shallow enough lie to allow him to put one foot in the water and, quite literally, splash out. The odds on getting up and down were huge and yet with an aggressive but smooth swing of the club Haas somehow pitched to within three feet, halved the hole in four and went on to win the trophy and FedExCup jackpot at the very next hole. "I got an unbelievably fortunate lie, it was basically a bunker shot and it was all or nothing," he said later.
Team - European Solheim Cup
Alison Nicholas' Europeans were the clear outsiders to win back the trophy after three successive American victories even though they had home advantage at Killeen Castle in Ireland. But proving that the sum can be greater than its individual parts, Nicholas' team showed unbelievable courage to snatch victory on a dramatic final afternoon. Teetering on the brink of defeat, the collective will to win meant Europe just wouldn't lie down and they turned the three final matches around to secure a memorable triumph. Suzann Pettersen birdied 16, 17 and 18 to beat Michelle Wie on the final green, Aza Munoz came from all square after 16 with Angela Stanford to claim victory and Caroline Hedwall fought back from two down with two to play against Ryann O'Toole to secure the half point that clinched the cup.
Controversy - Belly putters
Long putters are nothing new, but 2011 was the year that long putters - and the belly putter in particular - became a hot topic. To some, the fact that the belly putter allows you to anchor the club to your midriff and create a third point of contact means an unfair advantage. But regardless of your viewpoint, there was no argument about their success - at one point during the season four winners in the space of five weeks triumphed with 'abnormal' putters. Adam Scott with his broomstick, captured the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational before, the following week, Keegan Bradley became the first player to win a major using the belly putter at the USPGA. Webb Simpson then won the Wyndham Championship and a fortnight later his belly putter helped him clinch the Deutsche Bank Championship as well. Proof, if any were needed, that it was becoming a full blown epidemic arrived when Phil Mickelson - widely regarded as one of golf's most naturally gifted putters - chose to try out the belly putter towards the end of his season.
Year to remember - Yani Tseng
If Luke Donald dominated men's golf in 2011, then Yani Tseng simply obliterated her opposition in the women's game as she posted no fewer than 12 victories. The 22-year-old from Taiwan won all around the world from Thailand to Scotland, America to Australia, and was simply a class apart. Her haul also included two major titles - the LPGA Championship and the British Women's Open at Carnoustie - as she became the youngest player (male or female) to win five majors. Talk of her taking on the men at the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open next year was eventually quashed by Tseng herself as she turned down the invitation on offer, but the talented youngster has the golfing world at her feet.
Year to forget - Nick Dougherty
Just a few short years ago, following a top-10 finish at the US Open and a third career European Tour victory, Nick Dougherty was being talked about as one of Britain's brightest young golfing talents. But fast forward to 2011 and Dougherty now faces an uncertain future with form and confidence seemingly shot to pieces. It was to prove a year of unadulterated misery for the Liverpudlian on the course as he lost his Tour card before subsequently failing to make it through Q-School. Indeed, such was Dougherty's startling loss of form, he managed to make just one halfway cut all season - his only cheque coming as he finished tied for 45th at the European Masters in Switzerland. The Challenge Tour now beckons for the 29-year-old as he looks to rebuild his career.
Villain - Steve Williams
It is a something of an unwritten golfing rule that, like Victorian children, caddies are seen and not heard. But Steve Williams was more than happy to make himself the exception to that rule as he sounded off after his, sorry, Adam Scott's victory at the Bridgestone Invitational in August. "This is the best win of my career. Honestly that's the best week of my life. I've caddied for 33 years and 145 wins and that's the best win I've ever had." Of course, what Williams really meant was that he was delighted to have stuck two fingers up at Tiger Woods after their acrimonious split, although all he really ended up doing was to make himself look rather like a jilted love-struck teenager. Williams' added to his roll of shame with some ill-judged remarks about Woods at the annual caddies' dinner in China later in the year - all in all the New Zealander might want to think about keeping his mouth in check in 2012.
Quote - Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson is widely portrayed as one of golf's more easy-going and wacky characters, but the American clearly lost some of that reputed joie de vivre whilst playing a Tour event outside his beloved United States for the first time. Having accepted a handsome invitation to tee it up in the French Open, Bubba did his best 'idiot abroad' impression and could not wait to pack up his toys and take them back to the US. ''It's not a normal tournament, there's cameras, there's phones, there's everything. There's no security. I don't know which holes to walk through. There's no ropes. I miss my home. I'll play the British Open because it's a major, that's the only reason, I'm going to go sightseeing real quick and then probably sightsee tomorrow (and) get home as fast as possible.''
Meltdown - Rory McIlroy
Ultimately, 2011 proved a year of triumph for Rory McIlroy as he finished it as world number two whilst also claiming his first major crown. It had seemed that would arrive in April at The Masters as he played beautifully for three days at Augusta to earn himself a four-shot lead heading into Sunday's final round. That advantage had dwindled to one with nine holes remaining, but McIlroy then suffered a horrendous back-nine collapse as the wheels well and truly came off his challenge. A triple-bogey seven at 10 started the rot and he would eventually sign for an 80 that saw him finish all the way down in a tie for 15th. It is, then, to McIlroy's eternal credit that he learned the lessons of that nightmare experience to bounce back at the game's very next major, claiming his first 'big one' in such convincing style at Congressional.
Celebration - Thomas Levet
Thomas Levet had waited 25 years to win his home championship, so when he clinched a nail-biting one-stroke victory at the French Open in July the celebrations were always likely to be a little ebullient. Levet had promised his manager Patrice Bartez that he would jump into the lake surrounding the 18th green at Le Golf National should he win, but having kept his promise and taken the plunge was rapidly left wishing he hadn't bothered. The 43-year-old may have made a big splash but he also managed to fracture his shin upon landing and spent the next six weeks laid up, missing the Open Championship as result. "It didn't hurt that much, but when I went into the shower and saw my ankle, I thought 'wow'," explained the Frenchman.
Round - Martin Kaymer
There are numerous contenders for this award and, although he left it late in the year, Lee Westwood made a very convincing argument with a career-best 60 in Thailand, only narrowly missing out on a magic 59. But the nod goes to Martin Kaymer for his magnificent final round 63 to win the WGC-HSBC Champions event in China. The German came from five strokes back at the start of the day, firing nine birdies in his last 12 holes to record a quite remarkable three-shot triumph over long-time leader Freddie Jacobson. The flawless Kaymer - who did shoot a 59 during his first year as a pro on a German mini-tour - came home in just 29 shots as he overhauled the Swede to secure his tenth European Tour title.
Never forgotten - Seve
Golf lost one of its brightest stars and greatest innovators in 2011 as legendary Spaniard Severiano Ballesteros succumbed in his battle with cancer. The five-time major winner was an undoubted pioneer for the European game overseas, exporting not only quite extraordinary talent but also charisma and flamboyance by the bucket-load. Ballesteros was the first European to claim a Masters title in 1980 and, having done so, paved the way for a golden era that saw Europe's 'fab five' of himself, Langer, Faldo, Woosnam and Lyle contest America's hitherto unchallenged dominance of the game. Ballesteros won a total of 87 tournaments as well as the hearts of millions of fans worldwide and his premature passing at the age of just 54 will be sorely felt for many, many years to come. His spirit, panache and fierce will to win will serve as an inspiration to golfers of all abilities for years to come.
