Carlos Torres, Kieran Clark and Fred Altvater at Back 9 Report tackled the daunting task of ranking the biggest stories in golf last season and offered their unique perspectives on the last show of the year.
15. The International Crown LPGA Tour team event was huge success and the Spanish women upset the favorites from the U.S. and South Korea.
14. Golf is becoming more diverse. Charles Sifford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for breaking professional golf’s color barrier and women are ascending to positions of power in golf’s hierarchy.
13. Lexi Thompson was just one of several young women that found success on the LPGA Tour last season. She won her first major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in March by outdueling Michelle Wie in the final round on Sunday.
12. Jordan Spieth had a solid year on the PGA Tour, even though he failed to win. He finished with a pair of wins in Australia and in Florida to end his year and set him up for a huge 2015.
11. Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els may be reaching the back nine of their careers. Ernie fell outside the Top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking and Phil only posted one Top 10 finish all year.
10. Butch Harmon took on Rickie Fowler as a student and Fowler responded with four Top-5 finishes in all four of the major championships. Other than Rory McIlroy, Fowler had one of the best 2014 campaigns.
9. Bernhard Langer finished inside the Top-10 in 18 of his 21 starts on the Champions Tour in 2014. He won the Charles Schwab Cup going away and put up one of the best rounds of the year at windy Royal Porthcawal in the Senior Open Championship.
8. Another German golfer, Martin Kaymer captured his second major title and dominated the field on a very firm and fast Pinehurst #2. He put on a short game clinic and played with complete confidence on the very difficult Donald Ross masterpiece.
7. Christina Kim authored one of the best comebacks of all time. She won for the first time in 10 years at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational to complete her recovery from a severe mental illness. It was definitely the feel-good story of the year.
6. Michelle Wie finally gave golf fans what they have been waiting for. She had two wins in 2014, including her first major triumph, the U.S. Women’s Open in Pinehurst. She also finished runner-up to Lexi Thompson at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and seemed to be in contention in every event she entered.
5. Tiger Woods’ neck and back injuries required surgery and kept him off the golf course and out of the winner’s circle in 2014. He has fallen to No. 29 in the world and his performance at the Hero World Challenge in December, left much to be desired.
4. Ted Bishop was a strong leader of the PGA of America and accomplished many positive goals during his tenure as president, but a moment of anger and frustration led to inappropriate social media comments and cost him his reputation and job.
3. Rory McIlroy should win comeback player of the year, if they still gave out that award. After a less than successful 2013, McIlroy won two majors plus the WGC-Bridgestone and added the Race to Dubai to his career resume. He is the most dominating and recognizable star in golf right now and sits atop the OWGR.
2. Lydia Ko at the tender age of 17 has taken over women’s golf. She won three titles in her rookie season including the $500,000 first-place check for the CME Group Tour Championship and the $1 million bonus for winning the Race to the CME Globe.
1. The Europeans won the Ryder Cup for the seventh time in the last nine competitions. Paul McGinley and his lads put a whoopin’ on Team USA. The Americans looked bad in losing and they acted even worse jumping on their Hall-of-Fame Captain Tom Watson.
It was ugly from the start and it got worse as the week wore on. Now we have a task force to choose the next captain and the PGA of America has some serious work to do to revive the defeated American team.
The 2014 golf season offered plenty to hold golf fan’s attention. The majors were competitive and exciting. There is a gaggle of young women the LPGA Tour to challenge the established stars and American women made a huge comeback this year in winning a host of LPGA events. Bernhard Langer’s exploits on the Champions Tour will likely not be seen soon replicated.
Top it all off with the bizarre aftermath of the Ryder Cup and the downfall of Ted Bishop, it was a season to be remembered.
You can download and listen to the full 90-minute Back 9 Report at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/edraft/2014/12/17/the-back-nine-reports-2014-top-stories-in-golf