Last year, Jordan Spieth was simply the best player on the PGA Tour. It was an incredible year for Spieth as he bagged two majors and was a missed seven-foot putt away from the Open Championship playoff.
He capped it off with the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, making it an easy choice as to who was the Player Of The Year.
The year 2015 also brought about the rise of Jason Day, who overcame a severe bout with vertigo at the U.S. Open to win his first major at the PGA.
As the year closes, Spieth and Day are one-two in the world and rightfully so. Rory McIlroy closed his season by winning the Race To Dubai and was named the European Tour’s Golfer Of The Year.
Bubba Watson finds himself in the fourth spot followed by Henrik Stenson.
As the year draws to an end, what can the world expect from these five players going into 2016.
Let’s have a look.
JORDAN SPIETH: You would think it’s a tall task to improve on 2015. In addition to shooting 18-under at the Masters, he won the U.S. Open, was a missed-putt at the 71st hole from the Open Championship playoff and finished runnerup to Jason Day at the PGA.
In all, Spieth had five victories, four runnerups and 15 top 10s. Perhaps an area of improvement is the four missed cuts he recorded last year, including those MCs in the first two playoff events.
There are already comparisons being made to the early years of Tiger Woods’ career when Woods didn’t miss cuts.
Can Spieth win multiple majors in 2016? It’s all a matter of what the magic putter does. Unlike Day, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson, Spieth is not going to dazzle anyone with his length off the tee. But he proved to the world that great iron shots and spectacular putting can still rule to the golf world.
Look for Spieth to get another major in 2016. Two or more? Seems less likely but don’t tell Spieth that. After looking back at how he played in all four, maybe the Grand Slam is closer than we think.
JASON DAY: When Day is firing on all cylinders, he’s simply a force to be dealt with. He can launch drives in the 360-370-yard range. He’s a solid iron player and like everyone else in the top five, it’s just a matter of how the putter is clicking.
His rounds of 68-67-66-67 at Whistling Straits were most impressive. His 20-under total bested Spieth by three shots. The question for 2016 remains: Can Day bring that sort of play to the Masters? The Masters will tell a lot about where his game stands. He has the length and the iron play to give himself a lot of birdie opportunities at Augusta. He’s played well there and should be one of the pre-tournament favorites.
If his health stays good, 2016 could be a huge year for Jason Day.
RORY MCILROY: Rory finished 2015 with some big news on his personal front. He is now engaged to Erica Stoll. The two were in Paris a couple of weeks ago and the former PGA of America employee is suddenly sporting a huge diamond ring on the third finger of her left hand.
“Erica brings such a level or normality to everything. She has a calming presence,” is how Rory describes his fiancée. Rory’s been engaged before. He broke things off with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki right after they had sent out their wedding invitations. After the break-up, Rory’s game returned.
How will it go this time. Well, as his statement implied, Stoll is basically your normal American girl with a job who happened to catch the eye of the young Northern Irishman.
After finishing fourth at the Masters, he won the WGC Cadillac and the Wells Fargo.
After a tie for ninth at the U.S. Open, Rory ripped up his ankle in a pickup soccer game with his pals and that cost him the opportunity to defend his title at St. Andrews. He was still not in good form at the PGA and finished 17th. No one was more disappointed than Rory.
Rory needs to show the world that his focus is back. He needs to win at least one major this season.
Simple as that.
BUBBA WATSON: Here’s where it really gets interesting. First, Bubba has proclaimed he’ll retire once he has 10 PGA Tour wins. Then he announced he’d ride off into the sunset if he became No. 1. As far as the second statement goes, Bubba fans need not worry. He’s not going to leap-frog McIlroy, Day and Spieth anytime soon.
What Watson needs to prove is that he can win a major not named “The Masters.”
It’s great that he has two green jackets but in 2015, his showing in the majors was less than stellar. He was tied for 38th at the Masters, missed the cut in both the U.S. Open and Open Championship and tied for 21st at the PGA. That’s not a great showing for the guy ranked fourth in the world.
Fact is, if Bubba does not like a venue, it’s almost a given that he’s not going to win.
It’s all about attitude and it will be interesting to see if Watson can adjust his in 2016.
HENRIK STENSON: The big question for Henny-Stenny: Will he ever win a major. The answer is complex, yet simple — not if Jordan Spieth has anything to do with it. Same for Jason Day as far as that goes. There are two guys right there that won’t let him win one and while we’re at it, you can throw Rory McIlroy into that mix as well.
It seems like Stenson wilts on the biggest stages when the strongest players are in contention.
THEN THERE IS THE WILDCARD:
He’s not in the top five going into 2016 but Rickie Fowler wants to be. Rickie wants to contend and prove he can win a major or more than one major championship.
He made some big strides with Butch Harmon in 2015 and he went from being tagged “over-rated” to winning the Tournament Players Championship. Perhaps that is a harbinger of things to come for Rickie in 2016.
He’s the guy who needs to and wants to step up there with Spieth, Day and McIlroy.
So between the top five, there are nine major championships.
Rory has the most, four. Spieth and Watson have two each and Day broke the ice at the PGA and he now has one. Stenson has zero and he’s not getting any younger.
The 2016 season will be like the rest in the fact that the big story to be written will be who wins the majors.
Stay tuned, should be an interesting, exciting year in golf.
