Players Of The Decade: Rory, Inbee And Of Course, Bernie

He started the decade as a bright-eyed 20-year-old with boundless talent.

He finished the decade as its best performer and it shows on his impressive resume.

Yes, Rory McIlroy is our Player Of The Decade.

He has 18 PGA Tour wins and another half-dozen non-overlapping European Tour wins.

He has four major championships and is a Masters victory away from the career Grand Slam.

He’s won The Players, two FedEx Cup titles and three Race To Dubai titles.

He’s far from finished as he continues to improve his short game and putting, two facets of his game that lagged behind the rest of his impressive shot-making arsenal.

Rory’s becoming more consistent, his power with the driver is supersonic.

Take his overall game, add some maturity and experience and Rory’s got a chance to be the best performer for the next decade.

INBEE WAS THE BEST IN WOMEN’S GOLF:

This one was easy, really easy.

Inbee Park is the women’s Player Of The Decade.

Consider her beyond-impressive resume:  19 LPGA wins, seven major championships, three Ladies European Tour wins, four LPGA of Japan wins and one measly Korean LPGA win.  Add to all that, the 2016 Olympic Gold Medal.  She’s won enough awards to fill anyone’s trophy room.

At age 31, she’s past her prime on a tour that is becoming crowded with young talent.  She was consistently a top five player but has fallen to 14th in the Rolex World Rankings

She’s still a threat to win with that swing of hers that may have the slowest tempo of any championship player — male or female.

Whenever she’s been in the hunt down the stretch, she’s had the look of a quiet assassin.  She’s a marvelous ambassador for the women’s game.  Many of the South Korean stars on the LPGA Tour haven’t taken the time to learn to speak English — not the case with Inbee.  She’s articulate and comfortable with interviews — no interpreter necessary.

For the decade, Inbee’s been simply The Queen Bee.

BERNARD LANGER — TOTAL SENIOR DOMINATION:

We’ve saved golf’s most dominant player of the decade for last.

Bernhard Langer is our Senior Player Of The Decade and no one else came close.

Bernie had 30 of his 40 senior wins during the decade.  He won 11 senior majors and is now at the top of that all-time list.  He’s won the Charles Schwab Cup a whopping five times.

He’s just five wins away from tying Hale Irwin as the winningest senior of all time.  At age 62, it won’t be an easy feat for Langer but he’s proven time and again that he is virtually ageless on a tour where guys used to “hit the wall” when they were past 55.

Overall, Langer’s career record is an eye-opener.  He’s got 115 professional wins.  He’s the second winningest player on the European Tour with 42 victories.

Langer is the picture of intensity on the course, he’s a calm competitor when the pressure is on.

He’s been extraordinarily healthy, his body size and weight about the same as they were 30 years ago.

All that remains for him is that chase to 45 senior wins.  Does he have enough gas left in the tank to tie or possibly pass Hale Irwin.  Don’t bet against it.

So there you have them — our three Players Of The Decade.

Editors Note:  We want to take a moment to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2020.  The state of the game of golf remains quite healthy although participation on the grass roots level still needs an infusion of young players.  So here’s to more birdies and more rounds with your friends this year!