Yourcaddy #6 | Page 40

It’s impossible to look back on a year in golf and not mention Tiger Woods. The brutal fact is that the American’s season never really got going at all and one look at his performances at the four major tournaments, missing the cut in three of them, sums it up. 2015 also saw Woods hit the highest score of his career, when he shot an 85 at the Memorial Tournament. It seemed as though every time there was a glimmer of hope that Woods was fully fit and could produce something, a bad shot would completely derail his round and also his tournament. Therefore, it’s difficult to pick out a high point for Woods in the 2015 season and with back surgery meaning an off-season of recuperation, it remains to be seen what 2016 has in store. In terms of the only major not won by the two players mentioned above, the Open Championship, it was one where the weather showed who was king. With heavy rain and strong winds making play difficult and impossible at times, much to the audible frustration of some players, it was left to Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen to contest a play-off at the end of the four rounds. Oosthuizen missed a putt on the final hole of that play-off and that was enough to hand Johnson his first Open Championship and second major title of his career. Rory McIlroy can also point to a 2015, which ultimately ended in disappointment. Although McIlroy came up trumps at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he played some of his best golf will that make up for his 2015 as a whole? Big things were expected of the Northern Irishman going in to the Masters but his energy levels and overall body language suggested anything but a player who was going to win the tournament. Then there was the unfortunate ankle injury which ruled him out of the Open Championship but in truth, McIlroy’s form with the putter prior to the injury had not been great and both Jordan Spieth and Jason Day were seemingly emphasising 40 | YOURCADDY MAG - ISSUE 06 the point every time they made a good putt. Expect McIlroy to bounce back in 2016. Although some of golfs big names failed to deliver in 2015, there were some great breakthrough performances over the course of the year. Matt Fitzpatrick, who was the youngest player in the field, produced a tremendous performance to claim the British Masters title and win his first professional tournament. Having won the US Amateur Championship in 2013, the first Englishman to do so in 102 years, Fitzpatrick has been earmarked for success. During the course of the 2015 season, Fitzpatrick was one of only two players to be inside the top 10 on the European tour for both driving accuracy and greens in regulation plus led the way with more top three finishes than anyone else on the tour. Looking at the PGA Tour and a number of young golfers had a year to remember, including Danny Lee, Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and Justin Thomas. With the Ryder Cup coming around in the autumn of 2016, keep an eye on these names, one or two of them may yet feature in the event.