One-Hit Wonder or Future Star?

[Terry Lavin]

Schwartzel seems like he has the type of swing and the mental makeup to be a consistent winner on the international stage.

Then again, we had high hopes for his countryman, Trevor Immelman a few years back.  I also had hoped that Graeme MacDowell would keep up the pace after the Open last year, but other than the Ryder Cup, he's not done all that much.  The same could be said for Oosthuizen and perhaps even Martin Kaymer.  I know the competition is fierce on tour.  I know that it's hard to win multiple times in a career, much less a year, but will Schwartzel prove to be a consistent winner or will he fade?

[Mark Pearce]

I think Schwartzel will win another Major.  I'm very confident Kaymer will but he has never played well (I don't think he has ever made the cut) at Augusta.  McDowell is less than 12 months from his first Major, so a little early to write him off.  He will certainly contend again and might win but he isn't as good a bet as Kaymer or Schwartzel.  Oosthuizen seems a bit too comfortable for me and, of the names you mentioned, is my favourite to prove to be a one hit wonder.

[Tim Martin]

I like his chances to win another major. To run the table on 15,16,17 and 18 is pretty heady stuff. Seems as if he has all the physical tools as well as a calm demeanor. To be able to draw on his final round going forward will certainly benefit him.

[David Camponi]

1 hit wonder, maybe another major one day; the stars for the most part were always stars, people keep waiting for the next Tiger; the next Tiger will do somewhat what Tiger did before he became "Tiger". 3 straight US Jr. 3 Straight US Ams, the most accomplished player under the age of 20 of all time. 

[jeffwarne]

I'm just hoping we don't see him doing creepy commercials for Transitions eyewear.......

[Will MacEwen]

When guys win a major, they always look like they could win multiple ones.  I never would have figured the likes of Couples and Leonard to only have one.  Maybe the second is harder to win than the first?

[Matt_Ward]

Will:

Love and Couples are two of the great underachievers in the last 25 years.

When I saw Love break 270 to win the '97 PGA I thought for sure there would be no less than 4 majors
in his card. That was the ionly one. I can also remember his great final round to win the Player's when the wind
and cool air blew everyone else away. Nothing seemed to work for him accept in those briefest of moments.

The same for Freddie - just never hungered for the top spot -- in fact, lkiely wanted to avoid the fanfare that'goes
with it.

Plenty of guys can win one major -- few, very few, ever win a 2nd one.

Just proves to all how great the record of Lefty is -- and how even GREATER the record of Tiger is.

[Tom_Doak]

The difference between winning no majors and one, or between one and three, is sometimes very thin.  You can often play well enough to win and, if you're unlucky, have another guy play better.  There's a difference between that and not being able to finish the job.

Love and Couples had something in common, they were not great [or even very good] putters when the pressure was on.  I had never seen Schwartzl play before yesterday, but that, at least, does not seem to be a problem for him.

[PThomas]

Will:

Love and Couples are two of the great underachievers in the last 25 years.

When I saw Love break 270 to win the '97 PGA I thought for sure there would be no less than 4 majors
in his card. That was the ionly one. I can also remember his great final round to win the Player's when the wind
and cool air blew everyone else away. Nothing seemed to work for him accept in those briefest of moments.

The same for Freddie - just never hungered for the top spot -- in fact, lkiely wanted to avoid the fanfare that'goes
with it.

Plenty of guys can win one major -- few, very few, ever win a 2nd one.

Just proves to all how great the record of Lefty is -- and how even GREATER the record of Tiger is.

Matt - I always wonder how much the tragic loss of Davis' father took out of him....same with Ernie and his child's autism

and Freddie's personal life has been kind of rocky...

[Matt_Ward]

Tom:

Have to correct you -- Vijay is no better a putter than either Love or Couples yet won more and was better consistently.

In terms of pure overall talent I would place Love right up there with just about anyone who had 20 wins or less and at least
one major.

One other thing -- any person who can break 270 at Winged Foot / West when only a handful previously had broken 280 there showed plenty of talent. The sad part is how little else was achieved for him -- and for Freddie.

Paul:

Hard to say but I think his Dad's death inspired his play at the '97 PGA. No one can say for certain but on pure talent these two guys
should have won more -- much more. All of the talk about these young guys is great but frankly I don't want to hear another word about Rory until the kid can step it up -- to shoot 80 in the final round with a FOUR STROKE lead is a mega apple in the throat.

[James Boon]

Matt,

When it comes to the young guys, at least Rory has been in contention several times now and won twice as a pro, both in pretty good fields. If you are going to not "want to hear another word" about any of them then surely its time for Rickie Fowler "to step it up"? I'm not knocking Rickie, but there's been plenty of hype, and an interesting wardrobe, but it would be great to see him actually win something!

Terry,

Regarding McDowell not doing much since his US Open win, other than the Ryder Cup... Since his US Open victory he has also won the Andalucía Valderrama Masters and the off season Chevron Challenge. So not much then but it would be good to see him doing better this year.

As for Schwartzel he looks like he should be able to go on and win more. With a tight leaderboard like there was yesterday, finishing with 4 birdies was awesome, no other way to put it!

Cheers,

James

[Kalen Braley]

The list of one and done major winners is pretty long...and will continue to grow.  I suspect he'll be in this group too.

Some notable one and done'rs, all of them very fine players:

Stewart Cink
Mike Weir
Jim Furyk
David Toms
David Duval
Tom Lehman
Corey Pavin
Davis Love 3
Justin Leonard
Steve Elkington
Tom Kite
Ian Woosnam
Jeff Sluman
Bob Tway
Hal Sutton
Criag Stadler
Tom Wieskopf
Lanny Wadkins

........and on it goes.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_major_golf_championships

[Terry Lavin]

Davis Love III didn't have an underwhelming career because his dad died; he had a so-so career because he folded under pressure.  He did win a PGA, but that seems more like a majorette than a major, unless a player has won one of the others.  He has enormous talent, but never really delivered in the way his talent suggested he might.

[Mike Nuzzo]

I'm just hoping we don't see him doing creepy commercials for Transitions eyewear.......

The draws on a major winner are substantial.
It even proved to be too much for Tiger.
Cheers

[PThomas]

The list of one and done major winners is pretty long...and will continue to grow.  I suspect he'll be in this group too.

Some notable one and done'rs, all of them very fine players:

Stewart Cink
Mike Weir
Jim Furyk
David Toms
David Duval
Tom Lehman
Corey Pavin
Davis Love 3
Justin Leonard
Steve Elkington
Tom Kite
Ian Woosnam
Jeff Sluman
Bob Tway
Hal Sutton
Criag Stadler
Tom Wieskopf
Lanny Wadkins

........and on it goes.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_major_golf_championships

man, who'd have thought that guys like Weiskopf, Wadkins, Sutton, etc would only win 1 major? who would have thought that Norman would NEVER win the Masters?

I certainly think Rory will win some...but who knows?  if he would have won yesterday his confidence would be thru the roof..now...who knows

and his tee shot on 10:: YIKES!  I wonder if anyone has ever hit it there

[Matt_Ward]

Terry:

Hold on a second -- the PGA has a better field than The Masters and the pedigree of courses played in the recent era is bulletproof. WF/W where Love won is a bonafide top ten great. End of story on that front. Love delivered on his talent -- in certain and narrow situations -- the final round at the Player's is a good example of that. Just did not do it consistently.

James:

Sure, throw Fowler in the bunch -- I'm getting tired of his clown color outfits. Looks great for the circus but on unless you can show me some really strong numbers to offset the rainbow patterns the situation is quite in need of prioritires.

Let's get back to Rory OK. The guy puked on himself at TOC last year -- then shot 80 -- GOT IT -- 8-0 -- in the final round of a major with a F-O-U-R stroke lead after 54 holes and still in a good position after 63 holes.

Until he can win when it counts the fawning about this guy needs to take a much clearer assessment. By the way this is the same dude who was barking about Tiger and how he doesn't faze him and others -- trust me -- the kid melted like butter yesterday. 80 in a final round at a major when everyone else is moving forward is a big time disappointment.

[Greg Tallman]

The sky is blue...

[Sean_A]

I feel for Rory.  He was just about holding his own under extreme pressure (though I am not convinced he would have won).  That 10th was a kick in the gut.  We are only talking about being maybe five yards off-line and to end up where he did was harsh luck.  Still, he played the rest of the hole too aggressively and it cost him dearly.  The meltdown on 11 & 12 will have to just be written off as being in shock.  He seemed to push every putt during this most unfortunate part of the round and later.

Who knows if this Charl chap will go on to win more majors.  I wouldn't have thought he would have a magnificent career, but all it takes sometimes is taking advantage of your good fortune - which Charl certainly did Sunday.

 
Ciao    

[Jud_T]

Schwartzel and Day both impressed yesterday, and seem to have the stuff of winners.  Might have been a blessing to have been under the radar for most of the tourney.  We'll see how he handles the bright spotlight and the big bucks now.  Also Scott could finally be dangerous with that damn broom.  I like Rory and hope he learns from this, but after a tough start he clearly folded like a house of cards under the pressure.  The next Sergio Garcia?

[Terry Lavin]

Matt,

I'll agree with you that the PGA has a much better field, but on an overall basis, I think the list of winners at the other three majors shows a far superior group of winners as compared to the PGA.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

I dont see Rory as the next Gasrcia, and one who fails to reach that dreaded Potential word.
As for Charl...been a good player for a few years now, everyone in Europe has been plugging him for a couple of years.
Another major...who knows..but other vitories over here most certainly.
Those majors are just togh..look at the list of single winners, who we would recognise as very good players, the likes of Weiskopf for instance.

They are just hard to win..Miller was restricted to two and he was almost the best of his generation.
I understand that we judge a body of work by the number of majors, but winning one is a big achievement by itself and we should not underestimate it.
Winning other big events can tend to validate a player,  as in the case of Weiskopf, so we will have to wait and see.
So much money involved now in winning a single major, how brightly does that fire burn in the belly ??

[Matt_Ward]

Terry:

The original point you raised was about Love. The guy could flat out play and when you break 270 at WF/W which NEVER was broken until then -- heck, only a few people had ever broken 280 -- that says something. In my mind, Love's four round total in the '97 PGA was vastly underplayed given the hype that Tiger received earlier that same year at ANGC when he shot 270.

The PGA is far, far better than most might imagine. Even the US Open, until the recent changes to its qualifying schedule -- was littered with far too many wannabees. The PGA has cutback on that side of things -- incurring some internal wrath - but the field from top to bottom and the courses played now speak for itself.

MWP:

Good point on Weiskopf - I remember his '73 season -- could / should have been far, far better. Great swing -- lousy temperament.

[Mark Chaplin]

I'm away training at the moment so will have to go on memory. Schwartzel won the Brabazon Trophy as an amateur at Deal by around five shots. The Brabazon is the unofficial British amateur strokeplay event. So impressive was he a number of members bet on him winning a major, I think within five years. They may have lost their bets but win a major he has.

What are the South Africans doing that the Brits and Australians are failing to do? Their young guys are getting the chance to win majors and doing so where as with the exception of Ogilvy, McDowell and Harrington we are failing. Yes I know Harrington is not a Brit!

[PCCraig]

I think he could win one or two more. He's been playing good golf for the last couple years and is a proven international winner ranked (before the Masters) ~29th in the world. Plus...he's 26 years old. I see no reason why he can't win another major.

[Bill Shamleffer]

The list of one and done major winners is pretty long...and will continue to grow.  I suspect he'll be in this group too.

Some notable one and done'rs, all of them very fine players:

Stewart Cink
Mike Weir
Jim Furyk
David Toms
David Duval
Tom Lehman
Corey Pavin
Davis Love 3
Justin Leonard
Steve Elkington
Tom Kite
Ian Woosnam
Jeff Sluman
Bob Tway
Hal Sutton
Criag Stadler
Tom Wieskopf
Lanny Wadkins

........and on it goes.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_major_golf_championships

man, who'd have thought that guys like Weiskopf, Wadkins, Sutton, etc would only win 1 major? who would have thought that Norman would NEVER win the Masters?

I certainly think Rory will win some...but who knows?  if he would have won yesterday his confidence would be thru the roof..now...who knows

and his tee shot on 10:: YIKES!  I wonder if anyone has ever hit it there

And that list is not just an example of golf in the TV age of quick riches.  The history of golf is full of excellent players only winning one major when thier potential seemed higher.  To the above list can be added:

Ken Venturi
George Archer
Roberto DeVicenzo
Tommy Bolt
Jim Ferrier
Gene Littler
Don January
Johnny Farrell
Lloyd Mangrum
Johnny Revolta
Billie Burke

All of these guys have over a dozen regular wins, but each only has a single major.

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