Els' Sony win heralds an interesting year in 2004
IN: News | US PGA | Sony Open in Hawaii (2004) | Wrap | by Bruce Young | 20 Jan 2004
Ernie Els' Sony Open win this past weekend opens up some rather interesting questions for the 2004 PGA Tour season.
Already committed to a longer campaign in the US and less focus on Europe this year, Els has made the start that may well see him challenging Tiger for the number one position in the world, if not statistically, then perhaps morally. He was the last of the two to win a major (2002 British Open win) and last year in just seventeen starts on the USPGA Tour, won twice and was outside the top twenty just three times. It may just be that Ernie's intention of playing more in the US highlights a desire to challenge Tiger and their duel this coming year may well prove to be one of the great rivalries in golf.
Els' win in Honolulu where he had an absolute classic duel with Harrison Frazar, was his fourth playoff win on the USPGA Tour in six attempts. His only losses in playoffs came against Woods at the 2000 Mercedes Championship and against Mike Weir in the 2001 Tour Championship. The win would be his 13th on the USPGA Tour which, when added to his 34 elsewhere, makes him the games most prolific winner in recent years aside from Woods.
Els has shown a great capacity to win under any conditions. He has had victories throughout the USA from Hawaii to Florida, in the mountains of Colorado, in California and in the North East, where his two US Opens titles came. That of course excludes the wins he has had outside of the USPGA Tour where he has won in South Africa, Australia, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and Britain. He is arguably the most adaptable player in game.
His growing self belief, which gained momentum around the time of the 2002 British Open, has seen him complete his best year in 2003 and with this further win behind him to start 2004, perhaps this is now the time to expect a genuine challenge to Tiger Woods for the mantle of the world's leading player in 2004.
Harrison Frazar's brilliant back nine of 30, after such a slow start on Sunday, has indicated that the glimpses of occasional form he shows may well be rewarded with his first USPGA Tour win before too long. Since joining the tour in 1998 he has been runner-up three times. It has been his inconsistency that has proven his downfall but after this start his first year ranking of 63rd in 1998 may finally be surpassed in 2004.
Aaron Baddeley, who was runner up in 2003, was the leading Australian, his second round 72 costing him any chance of seriously contending but it was again a solid start to the year for him. It was his first start for some time without the services of New Zealander Anthony Knight on the bag. Knight had joined Baddeley in the middle of 2002 as Baddeley strived to gain his card via the Buy.Com Tour and although they are no longer a partnership the experienced bagman deserves much credit for assisting Aaron to the level he has now reached in the US. Instead of enjoying the high life in Hawaii, Knight was caddying for Peter Fowler at the Holden New Zealand Open.
Stephen Allan was not able to capitalise on his brilliant start and finished 27th, but he continues on from where he left off in 2003. His performance to regain his card via non-exempt status speaks volumes for his character and do not be surprised if Allan is one of the Australian winners on the USPGA Tour in 2004.
Mark Hensby, with his USPGA Tour card back for the first time since 2001, was 31st with Rod Pampling and Andre Stolz in 54th place and John Senden 64th. For Stolz, who finished runner up to Peter Lonard on the Australasian Tour money list in 2003, this was his first start as a member of the USPGA Tour. It was also his first tournament start anywhere since injuring his wrist at the Master Card Australian Masters six weeks ago, so to make the cut was a solid start.
One final note on the Sony Open is the amazing performance of Michelle Wie. Putting aside the relative arguments of a 14-year-old, male or female, competing at this level, Wie's performance has left the golfing world struggling to come to terms with not only the way she played, but the way she handled herself.
Even if it had been a 14-year-old male producing this sort of effort to beat home 48 players over the first 26 holes of the event, the golfing press would have struggled for the superlatives necessary to describe such, but for a 14-year-old girl to have achieved the feat is beyond description.
When it is considered that she tied with players such as Jim Furyk and Stuart Appleby and beat home the likes of Adam Scott, Scott Hoch and many other quality players it puts her deeds into perspective.
It would be nice to think that she focuses in the near future on creating records in female amateur golf which she will no doubt do, rather than taking on the men on too many occasions. It is clear however, from the way she finished off the event she has the game and temperament to take on the men in her later teens.
It further proved the value of an angle when promoting regular PGA Tour events and the people at Sony will no doubt be convinced that their decision to offer Wie an invite proved a smart decision.
