| 2015 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
What
Rory McIlroy tees off at the 18th at Augusta National Golf Club. Will 2015 be the year he breaks his Masters duck and completes the grand slam?
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We take a look at the venues and likely contenders at this year’s major championships which, with the exception of Augusta National, have a distinctly links-like feel to proceedings. 46
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All eyes will be on McIlroy’s Grand Slam bid and a personal Augusta redemption for his final nine-hole collapse in 2011, and for good reason. McIlroy was dominant in 2014 with four huge wins.
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Look for Adam Scott, the 2013 champion, to be in contention down the stretch at Augusta 48
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or the second year in succession, the golf world will watch on with baited breath at a rare chance at history, courtesy of Rory McIlroy’s victory in The Open at Hoylake last year.
Lifting the Claret Jug set off the countdown to April 2015 where a career Grand Slam of all four majors awaits the Northern Irishman if he can somehow capture the Masters Tournament this spring. While all the focus will be on McIlroy, it should not be forgotten that there will in fact be not one but two Grand Slam opportunities in successive majors as Phil Mickelson will again attempt to claim that elusive US Open title, to add to the Masters, Open and US PGA titles he’s accumulated over the past decade. Lefty’s first attempt at the Grand Slam came last year at Pinehurst but was never a factor. Then again, was anyone really a factor with Martin Kaymer leaving everyone trailing in his wake? Perhaps with the pressure off, 2015 could be Mickelson’s year, but how incredible would it be should both McIlroy and Mickelson capture the first two majors of the year in order?
MASTERS TOURNAMENT All eyes will be on McIlroy’s Grand Slam bid and a personal Augusta redemption for his final nine-hole collapse in 2011, and for good reason. McIlroy was dominant in 2014 with four huge wins, including The Open and US PGA Championship, and is the best credentialed player to tackle the challenge of Augusta National, bar possibly Bubba Watson. Tiger Woods was the last to win the Grand Slam when he won his first Claret Jug at St Andrews in 2000, the year he claimed the final three majors in succession followed by the Masters in 2001 to hold all four majors at once. Woods attained the Grand Slam inside four years as a professional. Should McIlroy win in 2015, he will accomplish the feat inside eight years and join Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen in the Masters-era Grand Slam club. Other likely contenders for the Masters: Adam Scott – all the experience in the world at Augusta nowadays and just needs the putter to fire, as it did in 2013. Bubba Watson – in the right conditions and frame of mind, Watson makes Augusta National look like his personal backyard. Could win four or five of these before he’s done. Jordan Spieth – runner-up on his debut last year, Spieth excelled at the end of 2014 with hugely impressive wins at the Australian Open and Hero World Challenge. The best player in the game under the age of 25, Spieth has the talent and now seemingly the temperament to earn one of those coveted Green Jackets. HKGOLFER.COM
Henrik Stenson – see Adam Scott. Very similar golf games: tremendous ball striker who just need to hole a few putts. Well and truly overdue for his first major: in fact, alongside Sergio Garcia he’s the best player without one.
If Mickelson is going to claim his national Open, Chambers Bay could be his kind of place ... in 2013 he proved to all that he can win in windy and bouncy conditions.
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Phil Mickelson, seen here at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, needs to win his national Open title to secure his own grand slam of major victories 50
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US OPEN A new venue in Chambers Bay outside Seattle will give up home field advantage to absolutely nobody. Chambers Bay should play more like a windswept links than a traditional parkland Open course; in fact, the course setup will likely be similar to Pinehurst with a focus on natural rough and space off the tee. If Mickelson is going to claim his national Open, this could be his kind of place. He’s contended in what could be considered a similar venue in Shinnecock Hills in the past and his Scottish Open-Open Championship double in 2013 proved to all, himself included, that he can win in windy and bouncy conditions. Picking contenders at a venue hardly anyone will have seen is a mug’s game but nonetheless: Dustin Johnson – presuming he’s back in action and match ready, his win in the gales of Kapalua at the 2013 Tournament of Champions, and his two victories at Pebble Beach point to a potential affinity with a course like Chambers Bay. Martin Kaymer – the defending champion and the man who beat Bubba Watson for the 2010 US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, a layout with infinite similarities to Chambers Bay. But let’s see how he copes with that astonishing Abu Dhabi meltdown first. Jason Day – twice a runner-up in US Opens and tied for fourth last year. Has patience under adversity, is a fighter and a good wind player. Well and truly overdue for a run of good health too. Rickie Fowler – top fives in all four majors in 2014 resulted a breakout year for the 26-year old and placed him alongside Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only men in history to do so. Has matured into a class player to go along with the class act he clearly is. ‘US Open Champion Rickie Fowler’ has a nice ring to it. THE OPEN Sentimentally, St Andrews is the favoured venue for all the players and there won’t be a dry eye in the house as one of Scotland’s adopted sons, Tom Watson, makes his final Open appearance. Watson asked for and was granted an additional year’s exemption to close the curtain on his Open career at the home of golf. (Cue the obligatory Swilcan Bridge photo opportunity). Louis Oosthuizen was the last winner at St Andrews in 2010 and Tiger Woods on the two occasions (2000 and 2005) before that. McIlroy HKGOLFER.COM
of course, shot an opening 63 in 2010 but was brought back to earth with an 80 in howling winds in round two. The bookies’ favourites are likely to be: Rory McIlroy – the last three winning margins in Opens at The Home of Golf have been blowouts; seven strokes, five and eight respectively. McIlroy won his first two majors by eight strokes and has the game and gravitas to make it back-to-back Opens and join the greats as an Open winner around the Old Course. Lee Westwood – while we’re talking sentimentality, a Westwood win would be akin to Darren Clarke’s 2011 triumph. The Englishman was the distant runner-up to Oosthuizen in ’10 and knows the Old Course like the back of his hand. Sergio Garcia – Like Westwood, major success has eluded Garcia, despite the Spaniard contending regularly at the game’s biggest events. A fine exponent of the links game, Garcia pushed McIlroy all the way at Hoylake last year. Long overdue. Victor Dubuisson – the course record holder at St Andrews with a 62 in the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Championship, Dubuisson finished with top-10s in the last two majors in 2014 and starred for Europe in the Ryder Cup on debut at Gleneagles. As his 62 shows, his game is well matched to the Old Course and he seems at ease, almost carefree, competing against the best players in the world.
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US PGA CHAMPIONSHIP The US PGA returns to Whistling Straits, a long, potentially windswept course that certainly rewarded the stronger players back in 2010 – the top-five included McIlroy, Johnson, Watson, Jason Dufner and eventual champion Kaymer. So who do we fancy for “Glory’s Last Shot”? Adam Scott – this course should be right up the Australian’s alley. Consistently peerless from tee to green – and Whistling Straits demands accurate long-game play – Scott certainly has the tools to finish high up the leaderboard. Justin Rose – if we accept that ball striking will be at a premium at Whistling Straits, Rose can’t be discounted from adding to his tally of majors. The Englishman was at his finest when challenged by a brutal course setup at Merion in 2013. Hideki Matsuyama – it’s high time a Japanese player won a major and alongside Spieth, Matsuyama is the best player under the age of 25 in the game. Contested the first majors of his career in 2013, played a starring role in a losing Presidents Cup bid for the Internationals that same year and has been prolific winner in his short professional career. Matsuyama took another step by breaking through in the US last year and a major is the logical progression from here. 52
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Clockwise from this page: Bubba Watson in action at Whistling Straits in 2010; Hideki Matsuyama has the game to become the first Japanese player to win a major; Sergio Garcia could have won a couple of Open titles by now and will be looking forward to St Andrews this July; Rickie Fowler showed his potential by finishing in the top 5 at all four majors in 2014