Will Tiger Woods return to the British Open in St Andrews?
January 13, 2021 BEIJING TIME - Golf balls are round, the weather is unpredictable, and occasionally, the clubs are broken.
Then there's the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, it's time to predict the year ahead. So, let's get to the point. Here are ten things that are certain and must happen in 2022. The reason is simple, perhaps because these are the results we desperately want to see.
It would be a surprise if nine of the following ten things were guessed; eight were also very powerful; seven were quite good; six were also very good; five were also hard worked; four...
1. Ritchie and Zander will win again
Richie Fowler and Zander Sheophile will end their respective three-year championship drought. Fowler's last victory came at the WM Phoenix Open, while Sheopheller's last PGA Tour victory (olympic gold medals don't count) was the 2019 Sentinel Championship.
The reason Sheofele failed to win last season was because of the wrong timing, with poor performances in the final rounds of the WM Phoenix Open (71, T2) and the US Masters (72, T3) that cost him a miss out on the champions. You know he's capable of locking in a championship: pushing together to finish the last hole of the Olympics earned him gold. In the final round, his average result was 69.22, ranking 15th on the PGA Tour, but his average in the third round was only 70.28, ranking 85th, and he will make corrections to this.
As for Fowler, his journey to the FedEx Cup playoffs came to an abrupt halt for 11 consecutive years. His technique from the playing table to the green is solid, but his performance on the green is not. Not long ago, in 2017, he topped the PGA Tour's putting scores, but last season he fell to 126th, and he ended up at 134th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Now that his swing from the tee to the green was solid, Fowler had to find a way to get the putter into the hole. Once successful, he was able to turn the possibility of a title into reality, and at the Hijay Cup @Summit in October, he blasted a 63 in the third round and ended up with a T3. And he's still only 33 years old.
2. Tiger returns to St Andrews
The Old St Andrews Course will celebrate the 150th Edition of the British Open in July, when the Royal Old Golf Association and others will raise a glass in unison, and the flat old course is easy to walk.
The game is seven months away, giving Tiger Woods plenty of time to get stronger.
Oh well, two of his three wine jug trophies were won at St Andrews.
The possibility of Woods returning to the Masters surprises everyone cannot be ruled out, but our guess is that Augusta seems too rugged and dangerous as a place to return for the first time.
Also, while that doesn't require much prediction, Woods and son Charlie will compete in the PNC Championship again in December, this time, they will turn runners-up into champions.
3. Schaeffler and McNeely win their first titles
Scottie Schaeffler and Marvyk McNeely are teammates of the 2017 Walker Cup USA, both of whom will make their way into the championship lap in the same season. That year's Walker Cup Team USA was a history-making team, with other members including Colin Morikawa, Cameron Champ, Will Saratoris, Doug King and Doc Redman.
Stanford alumnus McNeely performed remarkably at the Flying Tower Championship last fall, except for swallowing four bogeys in seven holes in the third round. The weekend's 70-68 cost him a shot against the champion and was beaten by California Bay Area compatriot Max Homa (65-65).
McNeely is only 26 years old, improving every season, and he knows how to win. Victory is coming. Don't be surprised if it comes from his hometown of Northern California, as he's excelled at Pebble Beach over the past two years.
Meanwhile, it's not long before Schaeffler beat Joan Ram in the Ryder Cup singles. If he can do that, he can also win on the PGA Tour, as long as there's a week of hot putting. This season, he has finished in the top five twice, including runners-up at the Hui and Houston Open. Despite failing to win the PGA Tour's first win yet, his world ranking is close to the top 10, confirming how stable he is. At the unofficial Heroes World Challenge, he bid farewell to 2021 as runners-up.
4. Homer will win a Grand Slam or Players Tournament
Max Homa in the first round of the 2020 Players Championship.
It's true that Max Homa may be the last to believe he's a great golfer, though two of his three wins have come from big-game-quality events — the 2021 Zirns Invitational in Riviera and the Wells Fargo Championship in Quail Valley in 2019. What's more, in his journey to winning the Flying Tower Championship last fall, he showed off his cold-blooded temperament and textbook skills at 65-65 on the weekend.
Of course, winning these tournaments will help him return to Quail Valley, where he won the PGA Tour for the 2022 Presidents Cup.
This year, Homer is a figure to watch.
5. Anser and Smith lead the Presidents Cup upset
In 2019, the Presidents Cup International team was so close to victory that it gave them supreme confidence.
The U.S. stars lost to Europe in the Ryder Cup last September, and in the Presidents Cup, they almost never lost.
However, the conditions are ripe for a big upset.
Anser was a surprise at the 2019 Presidents Cup, with a 3-1-1 record tied with Ren Chengzai as the number one scorer for the international team. Smith had just thwarted Joan Ram in the Sentinel Championship and beat Justin Thomas in the singles tournament at the last Presidents Cup in Australia to make it 1-1-1.
The two rising stars have brought unprecedented tenacity to Treve Imerman's international team, plus veterans Mark Leishman, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott and Louis Urschuren; super-stable Ren Chengzai; rising brandon Grace; and Joaquin Nieman, Mito Pereira and perhaps Garrick Higg, a team that seems to be rocking the world in Quail Valley.
6. Spieth wins the Masters or the British Open
Jordan Spieth in the final round of the Masters in April 2021.
The relationship between Jordan Spieth and the American Masters is a match made in heaven.
Good times, of course, included his first green jacket in 2015, when he was largely invincible. In '16, his path to defending his title looked smooth until a falling ball on the 12th hole cost him a chance and eventually finished with the T2; in '17, the 75 stroke in the final round slid him down to T11; in '18 he finished individually 3rd; and last season he scored a T3 after breaking the championship drought at the Valerodes State Open.
With his skills fully restored, Spieth is ready to collect his second green jacket. Also, don't forget the 2015 British Open in St Andrews, when he was just one stroke away from the extended round.
7. Mickelson wins the Kassin Cup
Last November, "Left-Handed Monster" Phil Mickelson won the Kassin Cup Tournament and joined Jack Nicklaus as the first golfer to win four of the six games at the PGA Tour Evergreen Tournament. However, Mickelson did not make enough appearances on the Tour for this 50-year-old or older to win the Kassin Cup points competition throughout the season, a distinction that was once again won by Bernhard Langer.
But this time, Mickelson will not only win sprints, but also marathons.
Of course, any prediction about Mickelson is risky. Since winning the PGA Tournament last year, he has been free to continue to compete with big-name players in big tournaments, such as the U.S. Open he has never won. He will definitely go. However, now he is also a little interested in the Evergreen Tournament and realizes that he enjoys competing with and beating his peers.
Our guess is that Mickelson will take the time to play with the younger guys as well as beat the older players. He will at least spend enough time to carry home the Championship of the Evergreen Season.
8. In addition to Ram, there are two others who will touch the first place in the world
In fact, it is a bit to say that Ram's world number one position cannot be shaken, especially after the Sentinel Championship. In that race, his card was full of birds, and he lost to champion Cameron Smith by only one stroke. Since Ram returned to world number one last summer with a British Open T3, his consistent performances have proven to be well deserved, and he is the best golfer.
however......
Ram is a man, he can't compete every week, and the talent of the top masters in 2022 is staggering. Given the momentum of Colin Morikawa, Patrick Cantley and Victor Hoveland, there will certainly be one or two players who will be able to reach the top of the world number one at least briefly. If it weren't for Morikawa playing the Waterloo-like final round at the Heroes World Challenge, he would have done it.
What if the former world number ones are back again – Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Thomas? Yes, Ram is indeed the best golfer, but there are too many top players.
9. Boones and Mitchell will join the Presidents Cup U.S. team
Sam Boones is the one who doesn't even have to think about it, just look at his recent achievements. The only surprise was that he was not selected for the American Super Team that lost to Europe in the Wuthering Heights Ryder Cup.
Keith Mitchell has been improving his precarious situation before, but is already moving in the right direction. Last fall, he won t3 at the Siger Cup @Summit and T12 at the RSM Classic. At last year's playoffs, he qualified for the BMW Championship with three consecutive birdies in the top 10 of the North American Trust.
Oh, and McIlroy also praised his skills after playing him off at the Wells Fargo Championship in Quail Valley, a pitch that will also be home to this year's Presidents Cup.
10. De Chambord will be even farther away
Bryson DeChambeau, who tee off about 400 yards, is already a two-time PGA Tour tee-off champion and reached the quarter-finals of the World Long Strikes Championship last fall. He has said he likes the atmosphere of the long-form king game and has promised to return. This time, his grades will be even better. His quest for speed and innovation wowed fans, and he is expected to advance to the final four at the next World Long Strike Championship.