Throughout the history of professional golf, winning has always been the ticket to fame, fortune and historical significance.Everyone knows that Bobby Jones won all four of the tournaments that were considered to be major championships in 1930. However, can anyone name the player, aside from Jones, who had the most top-10 finishes in those four tournaments'Didnt think so.Everyone knows that Tiger Woods won four consecutive majors between 2000 and 2001a feat known today as the Tiger Slam. But can anyone name the player who had the best finishes at those four majors outside of Woods'Didnt think so.Who had the most top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 1953'Who knows, and who cares'Who won the most majors during the 1953 season'Well thats easy. Ben Hogan won all three majors he attended that season.Who won the 1986 Masters'Easy. Jack Nicklaus.Who led the PGA Tour money list in 1986'Umm, does anyone have a PGA Tour Media Guide handy to look up that information'The top four players of this past generation could be considered Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.Woods won 79 PGA Tour events and 14 majors between 1997 and 2014.Mickelson has won 51 professional tournaments, including five majors and 42 PGA Tour events. Els has won 19 PGA Tour titles, four majors and 67 worldwide events during his career.Singh won three major championships, 34 PGA Tour events and 59 total events worldwide.These players won, and they won often during their prime.But something strange has happened with this next generation of professional golfers in that they apparently dont need to win often, or even at all, to ascend to the upper echelons of the game.2014 was said to have been a breakout year for Rickie Fowler.While Fowler did manage to notch impressive top-five finishes in each of the four majors in 2014, his last, and only, PGA Tour title came back in 2012 at the Wells Fargo Championship.It is quite difficult to say with a straight face that a player had some kind of a breakout year when his last win occurred two-and-a-half years ago.Jason Day is ranked eighth in the World Golf Rankings and is a fixture on most analysts' list of favorites heading into each and every major championship, yet Day has just two PGA Tour titles to his name in seven full years out on tour.Keegan Bradley is still considered by most to be one of Americas top young golfers, yet at the age of 28, Bradley has just three PGA Tour wins, the last of which came more than two years ago at the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.Jordan Spieth came on strong late in 2014 with wins at the Australian Open and Hero World Challenge.However, Spieth only has one legitimate PGA Tour victory to his name in two years out on tour, which came at the very weak-fielded John Deere Classic back in 2013.It is probably a bit premature to label a player as Americas next great hope when he has just one official PGA Tour win in two years.Even a player such as Adam Scott has won just one PGA Tour event in the past year, and that win came at the fairly weak-fielded Crown Plaza Invitational. Yet due to the fact that very few other players are winning, Scott is still ranked third in the World Golf Rankings.Now, players such as Fowler, Day, Bradley and Spieth are still quite young, so it is of course possible, if not probable, that these players will go on to win major championships and dozens of PGA Tour events.But as of right now, these players have shown very little indication that they are headed for careers even remotely as successful as the top players from the previous generation.The one exception in this winless generation would be Rory McIlroy.At the young age of 26,McIlroy has already won 15 professional events, including four major championships and nine PGA Tour titles. As we move into 2015 and Father Time adds another notch onto the belts of the games young-guns, the time has come for players such as Fowler, Day, Spieth and Bradley to reverse this winless trend.Few would question that McIlroy is more than likely going to be the Woods of this next generation.But who will be the Mickelson, Els and Singh'As of right now, the answer to that question would be nobody, but that of course remains to be seen in the coming years.McIlroy himself might want to silently cheer for some of these up-and-comers to break out and start winning tournaments, because their success over the next 10-15 years will ultimately impact McIlroys place in the game.If the one knock on Woods record is that he didnt face great competition when he was competing against players who won multiple majors and 50 or more tournaments around the world, what will historians possibly say about McIlroy competing against a generation of golfers that simply didnt win tournaments'Most of the focus heading into 2015 will understandably be directed towardMcIlroys pursuit of the career grand slam at Augusta, Woods latest comeback and whether or not Mickelson has anything left in the tank.But the one question that has been receiving very little attention heading into the 2015 season is whether or not the winless generation is finally ready to step out of the shadows and begin winning golf tournaments.To hold any form of historical significance in the game of golf, players need a lot more than just flashy clothes, top-10 finishes and a large bank account.Winning always has and always will be the only true ticket to fame, fortune and historical significance in professional golf.And now is the time for this winless generation to finally start winning.
Click here to read full news..
