Adam Scott, Justin Rose and Jason Dufner all won their first major titles in 2013. Tiger Woods won five times and Henrik Stenson won the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup.
None of these, however, ranked as the No. 1 story in golf in 2013.
Here is a listing of the Top 10 stories in golf for 2013 as discussed and ranked by Kieran Clark, Carlos Torres and Fred Altvater on eDraft’s Back 9 Report.
10. Lydia Ko won consecutive CN Canadian Women’s Open titles and turned professional in 2013. She never missed a cut in the 25 professional golf tournaments that she entered during her amateur career, and won four titles.
Even though she will not turn 17 years old until April, 2014, she was granted an exemption by LPGA Tour Commissioner Michael Whan and will play full time on the LPGA Tour in 2014.
Ko made her maiden professional appearance at the CME Titleholders and won her second start as a professional at the Swinging Skirts Ladies Masters in Taiwan.
9. Rory McIlroy started out the year with a laser light show and a new $200 million endorsement contract with Nike. He was the No. 1 ranked player in the world and had won the money titles on both the European and PGA Tours in 2012.
Swing changes, equipment changes, management changes and law suits led to frustration and poor play by McIlroy last year.
He fell from No. 1 to No. 6 in the world and did not win a tournament until the Korea Open in September.
His best finish on the PGA Tour was a runner-up at the Valero Texas Open prior to the U.S. Open.
McIlroy will certainly be glad to see 2013 come to an end and look for a brighter future in 2014.
8. While 24-year-old McIlroy struggled last year, Jordan Spieth put together one of the most spectacular rookie seasons in PGA Tour history. He started the year as a 19 year old with no status on any professional tour, but finished the year as a full member of the PGA Tour with a two-year exemption.
He had nine top-10 finishes including a win at the John Deere Classic. Spieth finished No. 8 in the FedEx Cup standings, earned $3.8 million and was named the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
7. Justin Rose had been on the dreaded “Best Player to have never won a Major” list prior to his magical win at the U.S. Open at Merion Country Club.
Famed old Merion demands consistent play and Rose was up to the task. His second shot at the 72nd hole on Sunday from nearly the exact same spot Ben Hogan had executed a one-iron in 1950, was perfect and led to a par that would be good enough to give him his first major title.
6. Phil Mickelson experienced two of the best weeks of his career by winning the Scottish Open and the Open Championship in consecutive weeks in July.
The Scottish Open was Mickelson’s first win in Europe and the Claret Jug gave him the third leg of a career grand slam.
5. Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera put on a phenomenal display of golf over the last few holes of the Masters in April. Scott was victorious in the playoff and the Green Jacket became his first major trophy.
He went on to win The Barclays in the FedEx Cup playoff, ascend to No. 2 in the world and nearly win the Triple Crown in Australia at the end of the year.
4. The USA Team was a heavy favorite prior to the start of the Solheim Cup at Colorado Country Club just outside of Denver. Team USA had won three of the previous four Solheim Cups and had never lost on home soil.
Suzann Pettersen, Caroline Hedwall, Anna Nordqvist and European Team Captain, Liselotte Neumann had a slightly different plan and put a whooping on the girls from the U.S.
The 18-10 European Team victory was the largest in Solheim Cup history.
3. Henrik Stenson became the first player to ever win the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai in the same year.
From late July to the end of the season, Stenson finished runner-up at the Open Championship and at the WGC-Bridgestone. He was third in the PGA Championship and won the Deutsche Bank and the Tour Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
He continued his brilliant play through The Final Series in the Race to Dubai and culminated the year with a win at the DP World Championship in Dubai.
2. Although Tiger Woods failed to win a major tournament again in 2013, he did manage to win 5 PGA Tour events and over $6 million in prize money.
He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year for the 11th time in his career. He won the Vardon Trophy and regained the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Rankings.
1. Inbee Park won the first three consecutive major tournaments on the LPGA Tour in 2013. Only Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Babe Zaharias have equaled that lofty feat.
Tiger Woods won three consecutive majors in 2000, but he did not win the 2000 Masters.
Park’s three consecutive major victories stand out as the single greatest accomplishment in golf in 2013.
She finished the year as the No. 1 player on the Rolex Rankings and the LPGA Tour money list.
2013 was a fantastic year for golf fans and I can’t wait for 2014 to begin.