Review of the year 2012 - Part 3(a): THE TOURS IN 2012 JANUARY-MARCH

T H E   T O U R S   I N   2 0 1 2   W I T H

T H E   N E W   E L S   A N D   G O O S E N

In 2012 there isn't one world tour for golf, not officially anyway. The PGA Tour likes to think of itself as the biggest and best tour in the world, and it is undoubtedly the richest. And the European Tour is without question the most global tour in golf, enhanced by its co-sanctioning programme with the Asian Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour and OneAsia. Increasingly players are becoming members of both the PGA Tour and European Tour, this enables the top players to play on five continents, in all of the World Golf Championships and Major Championships and earn FedEx Cup points for the PGA Tour and money for the European Tour Race to Dubai.

Rory McIlroy was without question the player of the year in 2012, as I discussed at length in the first part of my review of the year. He won both the PGA Tour Money title and the European Tour Race to Dubai. He played 24 official tournaments in 2012, 7 which counted for both tours, 9 regular PGA Tour tournaments and 7 which counted solely for the Race to Dubai. McIlroy played in 7 countries on 3 continents, whilst being the best player in the world, he wasn't what you would call a world player.

That honour in 2012 falls to South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. Between them they played in 38 of the 50 weeks of the worldwide season, with Schwartzel competing in 30 tournaments and Oosthuizen appearing in 31, between the two they have played on five continents and they both finished in the top 20 of the Race to Dubai and the Official World Golf Rankings.

J A N U A R Y

The 2011 Masters Champion was eligible to compete in the very first tournament of the 2012 PGA Tour season in Hawaii, but continuing a trend over the last five years the Hyundai Tournament of Champions struggled to recruit the winners of the world's biggest tournaments. Schwartzel decided to start his season the following week in South Africa, but for the remaining players that did enter the championship at Kapalua on the island of Maui in Hawaii, it was an exciting week which ended on a Monday. In an attempt to boost the tournament's visibility on television at a time when American Football has its college bowl games and the NFL Playoffs are starting the PGA Tour decided to start the tournament on Friday and finish on Monday, but this still did not persuade the likes of Schwartzel, McIlroy or Darren Clarke (the first 3 major champions of 2011) to make the trip to Hawaii. Instead the field was headlined by 2011 PGA Champion Keegan Bradley and former world number two Steve Stricker, Bradley had three solid rounds and a final round 8-under-par 65 to finish at 11-under-par in 16^th place. For Stricker though it was a parade of excellence, highlighted by a stunning ten under par second round of 63. The American won by a convincing 3 strokes from Martin Laird finishing on 23-under-par for his 12^th PGA Tour win.

The European Tour began its 2012 Race to Dubai with three tournaments in South Africa, the first of which was played opposite the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, the Africa Open at the East London Golf Club. Schwartzel was hotly tipped to win a Major, but it was his great friend Louis Oosthuizen who claimed a big one first, the 2010 Open Champion was defending champion at East London. In one of the lowest scoring tournaments in European Tour history, the top 6 players were all at least 20-under-par and the cut was 5-under, Oosthuizen prevailed with a stunning 27-under-par total of 265 for four rounds on the par 73 course, just 2 shots shy of fellow countryman Ernie Els' record low four round total for the European Tour.

Schwartzel made his season debut in his home town at the Joburg Open, a title he had won for the last two years running. The low scoring start to the season continued in Johannesburg, but unfortunately for Charl it was just a little low, despite rounds of 72 and 68 over the East and West courses at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington he missed the cut, which was at 4-under. With the star name out of the reckoning Branden Grace took full advantage to claim his first European Tour victory, beating Jamie Elson by one stroke just 6 weeks after securing his card at the European Tour Qualifying School in Spain. It would not be the last win for another South African star of the future in 2012.

Grace and Schwartzel then joined Oosthuizen and several European Tour giants for the Volvo Golf Champions at the magnificent Links course at Fancourt, near George on the Southern Ocean coast of the Western Cape. What followed was perhaps the most dramatic regular European Tour event of the entire year. Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts had a putt at the 72^nd hole to force his way into a play-off, but in many ways the 2012 Volvo Golf Champions was a changing of the guard for South African golf. The final round had more leaders than Newcastle United have had in the last 10 years, and seven of the top ten had won Majors, Fancourt served up yet another feast of fantastic and thrilling golf, following the 2003 Presidents Cup and 2005 South African Open. Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts and Joburg Open champion Branden Grace held the overnight lead at -10, with Charl and Retief Goosen just 1 stroke back, European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal 2 adrift on -8 and 3-time Major champion Padraig Harrington on 7-under.

Olazabal birdied the opening two holes to reach 10-under, and following poor starts by Grace and Colsaerts the 2-time Masters champion found himself in the lead. Schwartzel and Goosen birdied the second hole to also reach 10-under and by the middle of the front nine we had five players covered by just a couple of strokes. Ernie Els had started the day four back on -6, and with four birdies and 2 bogeys he had improved his score to 8-under with 9 to play. Els and Oosthuizen teed off half an hour ahead of the leaders, both needing low final rounds to challenge for the title, Louis made birdies at 4 and 9 along with a bogey at 5 to sit alongside Els at 8-under, just 2 adrift of the lead at that time, with 9 to play. A further birdie at 11 for the 2010 Open Champion pulled him level with Grace on 9-under, and bang in contention for a second title of the season. But his chances were dramatically dashed with a double bogey six at the par four 12^th and a quadruple bogey 8 on the par four 14^th, without these two disastrous holes Louis would have posted 12-under in the clubhouse.

In stark contrast to Oosthuizen's demise Ernie Els produced an eagle and two birdies to post the clubhouse target at 12-under. Following a double bogey finish to the front nine Retief Goosen was 8-under, but a further bogey at the 12^th looked to have ended the former US Open champions chances with so many other top players in contention. Incredibly following an eagle and 3 birdies in the final 6 holes Goosen matched the clubhouse target at 12-under. Goosen's playing partner also struggled on the 12^th making double bogey, but then also eagled the 13^th and made successive birdies at 14 and 15, and with 3 to play including 2 par fives it looked like the Masters champion was set to match Goosen. But he managed to par both par fives and bogey the 17^th to finish at 10-under.

Despite two of golf's legends sitting in the clubhouse at 12-under it still appeared that they would be passed by at least one of Colsaerts and Grace. Both boarded the 18^th tee knowing a birdie would either win it or guarantee a playoff. Incredibly neither would birdie and even more amazingly the Belgian made bogey to miss out by one stroke. Grace had a putt to win it but narrowly missed, and following a thrilling and dramatic final day the Volvo Golf Champions would be settled in a playoff between the new kid on the block and South Africa's two greatest golfers since Gary Player. The sudden-death playoff would begin at the par five 18^th, and wouldn't go any further. Grace and Goosen found the fairway from the tee, with Els finding the left rough and forced to lay up. Els would fire to 15 feet in three, while Goosen found the front right of the green and failed to chip close resulting in a par. Grace would find the front right of the green and two putt for birdie, leaving Els with a mid range putt to extend the playoff. He would fail to convert leaving Grace with a tap in and his second title in two weeks and a healthy lead atop the Race to Dubai.

If the first three weeks of the season was the starter then the main course of the year began in Abu Dhabi, Charl joined Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Jason Day, KJ Choi, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Sergio Garcia for the strongest ever regular European Tour event outside the World Golf Championships and Majors. Schwartzel finished in a respectable tie for 17^th but was not at any point throughout the week a threat to the lead following 3 rounds of 70 and 1 of 72. The major story revolved around Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, but several of the European Tour's less distinguished, but nonetheless successful, players were not to be outshone in yet another compelling edition of what has now become the leading Middle East swing event. Tiger did however hold a share of the lead, at 11-under, with Robert Rock, two strokes ahead of McIlroy and Peter Hanson. The Swede Hanson folded like a cheap tent with a 78 on Sunday, but that could not be said about the man from the Midlands.

Robert Rock had previously won once on the European Tour in nine full seasons and had only recorded 22 top ten finishes out of 226 tournaments on the tour, he was expected to wilt under the pressure of the spotlight playing with the former world number one. Three birdies on the front nine along with 5 pars in the first 8 holes settled the Englishman down and cemented his lead at the top. His short game kept his round together on the back nine and despite making a bogey on the 72^nd hole the World Number 117 held off the late charge of Rory McIlroy to claim his second European Tour title.

Tiger Woods struggled on Sunday to post a round of level par 72 to finish in a tie for third place. To play in Abu Dhabi meant that for the first time in his professional career he opted to play in a tournament opposite Torrey Pines. Despite his absence the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open proved to be as dramatic as any it is long and illustrious history. Kyle Stanley had long been highlighted as a young talent for the future and for the first three days he produced sustained excellence, with round of 62, 68 and 68 to open up a five shot lead after 54 holes. Brandt Snedeker started Sunday seven behind Stanley, and a round of 67 looked to have been good enough to secure a second place finish and a solid start to the season. Even with bogeys at 11 and 12 Stanley looked safely set to claim his first win, and a 3 shot lead on the par five 18^th meant that it was all over for Snedeker. Maybe not.

Not wanting to take any unnecessary risks the leader laid up for his second shot, taking a disaster out of the equation. “I'm kind of in shock right now” Stanley said following what can only be described as, a, disaster. His 77 yard pitch shot spun back off the front of the green into Devlin's Billabong and following his drop, pitch shot and 2 putts he had made a catastrophic 8 and incredibly the Farmers Insurance Open would be settled in extra holes. Unquestionably Snedeker had the momentum and his mind was clear, unlike the scrambled mess that was Kyle Stanley. They halved the first hole in par fives, but the agony for Stanley was ended at the par three 16^th when Snedeker made 3 to his 5 and unbelievably the man from Memphis had won for the third time on the PGA Tour. An astonishing week ended in bewildering fashion, it would surely be the last we saw of Kyle Stanley.

F E B R U A R Y

In Qatar the Middle East Swing continued on the European Tour, and Paul Lawrie continued his resurgence by claiming a second win in the deserts of Doha, putting him in contention for an automatic place on the European Ryder Cup team. In the same week, also on a course in a desert was a markedly different event. To be honest at the Qatar Masters you get crowds of a few hundred each day if you are lucky, the Phoenix Open is known as the Greatest Show on Grass, it is the Indianapolis 500 of golf. The most attended event in golf is among the top ten attended sporting events every year, it is a little bit of Ryder Cup in an individual tournament and the event has grown existentially since moving to TPC Scottsdale in 1987. The Phoenix Open has provided so many dramatic and iconic moments in PGA Tour history from the Duel in the Desert between Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard in 1996 to Tiger Woods' hole in one in 1997 and Mark Calcavecchia's record low score in 2001. But what transpired in the 2012 Phoenix Open will be remembered for some time to come. It showed that the golf gods do have a heart and that Kyle Stanley has an even bigger one.

Report from PGATour.com

Kyle Stanley knew exactly how Spencer Levin felt. Taking advantage of Levin's final-round meltdown, Stanley rebounded from a devastating loss to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday, overcoming an eight-stroke deficit in a comeback as unlikely as his collapse last week at Torrey Pines.

"I really feel for him, experiencing that," Stanley said about Levin, echoing what Brandt Snedeker said about Stanley last week. "You don't want to wish that upon anybody. He's a very good player. Way too good of a player to not bounce back or recover." Stanley closed with a bogey-free 6-under 65, holing a 4-foot par putt on the par-4 18th to finish at 15-under 269. He earned 500 FedEx Cup points, enough to put him atop the latest standings, and $1,098,000 for his first PGA TOUR title. "You go from a very low point to a high point," Stanley said. "I'm not sure I expected to maybe recover this quickly. ... I think the biggest challenge was seeing if I could put last week behind me. I think I did."

Levin, six strokes ahead entering the round and seven in front after one hole, shot a 75 to finish two strokes behind Stanley. "It just wasn't my day, obviously," Levin said. "But I gave it away, simple as that. You have a six-shot lead and lose, you gave it away. My hat's off to Kyle. He played a great round. He went and got it. But if you've got a six-shot lead and don't win, then I think it's on the player with the lead, for sure." In tears seven days ago in San Diego after blowing the big lead -- dropping the final strokes with a triple-bogey 8 on the final hole -- and losing to Snedeker in a playoff, Stanley cried again Sunday -- this time tears of joy.

Two weeks which if you hadn't seen them you'd never believe them. Two weeks which were thrilling, dramatic, exciting, heartbreaking and heartwarming. Two elated players, two devastated players, one was both, but the game was the winner from these two weeks. Incredible entertainment, and not involving any of the top 10 players in the world.

The Middle East swing came to a close with, it can be argued, a third unlikely winner. Rafael Cabrera-Bello became the third successive Spanish champion after Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alvaro Quiros, holding off Lee Westwood for a second European Tour win. Meanwhile in a week where we had a third successive fantastic double-header of golf on opposite sides of the Atlantic we had the first major showdown of the season. For the first time since 2001 Tiger Woods entered the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-am, things have changed in golf and in Tiger's life since his last Pro-am appearance. Rounds of 68, 68 and 67 put Tiger in contention for a second Pebble Beach Pro-am title, rounds of 70, 65 and 70 put Phil Mickelson 1 ahead of Tiger at 9 under par. Both however trailed journeyman Charlie Wi by 6 and 7 shots respectively going into the final round, the two rivals were paired together in the penultimate group and as much as they were looking for help to win the tournament most saw the head-to-head as a showdown for the title.

Of course, this is and was disrespectful to Wi and others capable of winning on the majestic links of Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula. However, the double-bogey start from the Korean opened the door for the chasing pack, which was lead by Mickelson. Further bogeys at 5 and 6 along with a birdie at 7 saw Wi reach the 10^th tee at 12-under-par. This was in complete contrast to a superb front nine from Mickelson crowned with a magnificent eagle at the par five sixth, reaching 14-under-par and holding a two shot lead with 9 holes to play. The duel between Woods and Mickelson was becoming a drubbing. The 4-time Major Champion was 5-under and the 14-time Major Champion was 2-over, Woods needed a back nine from his peak to stand any chance, it didn't materialize. The pair reached the par 3 twelfth hole, and a chink of light for Woods when Mickelson miss-hit his tee shot and ended up 30 yards short of the green, having to traverse the deep bunker at the front of the green. Woods then preceded to find said bunker with his tee shot. Mickelson played his approach to around 30 feet from the hole, and then astonishingly Woods holed his bunker shot for a birdie two, with Mickelson facing a long par putt it looked like a three shot swing towards Woods was possible. Incredibly Mickelson holed his putt, the fist pump that followed said it all.

The former World Number Two was destroying Woods, and he would go on to bury him in golfing terms with further birdies at 13, 14 and 18 to complete a dominant 11 shot win over Tiger and a fourth Pebble Beach title and fortieth PGA Tour win of his career by 2 strokes from Charlie Wi. This was a humbling defeat for Tiger, who had not won an official PGA Tour title in two and a half years, I even said at the time that I thought Tiger's era was over. I could still be correct in the long term, but it is yet to be determined. It certainly felt as though it was the end of an era on that Sunday at Pebble Beach in February.

Mickelson then went from one course he loves to another and the oldest tournament in California on the PGA Tour, the Northern Trust Open or as it should be known, the LA Open. Riviera Country Club is one of America's gems and yet again its magnificent course provided the canvass for an astounding week of golf which came to a crescendo on Sunday in a three-man playoff between Mickelson, Bill Haas and Keegan Bradley.

This was an LA Open from the good old days when the tournament was sponsored by Nissan and the crowds were huge and the atmosphere at 18 was like a Major. Mickelson and Bradley began the final round atop the leader board on 7-under-par, 2 ahead of FedEx Cup Champion Bill Haas with 18 holes to play. Haas started 20 minutes before the leaders and had the chance to post a score and made a perfect start with birdie at the first, sixth and tenth to reach 8-under. Mickelson made two birdies and two bogeys to sit at 7-under and 1 behind Haas through the front nine holes. 3 bogeys and 3 birdies saw Bradley stuck at 7-under as well and the leaders found themselves chasing on the final nine holes. The conditions weren't easy on what is a testing course at the best of times and all three of the leaders struggled on the back nine, Haas made bogeys and 12 and 13 and reached the final two holes knowing he needed at least one birdie to set a demanding target. The son of Jay made birdie at the par five seventeenth and par at the par four eighteenth to post a 7-under-par total of 277. Following 1 birdie and 2 bogeys apiece on the back nine both Mickelson and Bradley came to the final hole requiring birdie to stop Haas from lifting the trophy.

The scene was set and the two delivered in a thrilling finale to the 72 holes of the Northern Trust Open.

The two-time LA Open champion Phil Mickelson played his approach marginally too long and left him self a 24 foot curling putt from the back fringe, an unlikely chance of claiming a second successive PGA Tour win after his superb performance at Pebble Beach. Having seen Mickelson's approach it was probably understandable if Bradley came up short and that was the case, leaving himself some 13 feet up the hill for a birdie. The scene was reminiscent of the glory days of the Los Angeles Open, but it looked almost certain that Bill Haas would collect a win without needing extra holes.

Incredibly and dramatically both players made birdie. First Mickelson from 24 feet, the first pump every bit as big and intense as on the 12^th at Pebble Beach a week prior to LA. Then Bradley, following the incredible cheer from the fans for Mickelson's birdie, rolled in the putt for birdie and amazingly the tournament would be extended. All 3 players made par at the first extra hole, the par four 18^th, so the playoff would go onto the magnificent short par four tenth hole. All 3 players took the driver in an attempt to make birdie, Bradley found the bunker, Mickelson found a completely impossible position short of the bunker and his third went through the green into the back greenside bunker. Bill Haas pulled his tee shot into thick rough to the left and short of the green, with a seemingly impossible task he played a sensible shot to keep himself in the playoff to 40 feet, looking to two putt for the par. Astonishingly Haas rolled the right to left putt into the centre of the hole for an incredible three. Mickelson had to hole his bunker shot to prolong his interest, he came up short and Haas needed to dodge one more bullet. Bradley's bunker shot left him 10 feet from the back edge to send the playoff to a third hole. The putt grazed the edge of the cup, and Bill Haas incredibly had claimed another big PGA Tour win.

The world's best golfers, minus Phil Mickelson came together for the first time in 2012 at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain outside Tucson, Arizona. For the first time Rory McIlroy had the chance to ascend to the top of the world rankings with his first World Golf Championship, the week promised much and delivered on almost all counts.

As usual the most unpredictable week of the season produced several notable upsets, but the final four of Hunter Mahan, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Mark Wilson certainly was not a disappointment to the fans attending and the viewers around the world. One all-American semi-final between Mahan and the early season specialist Mark Wilson, and one all-European semi-final between McIlroy and Westwood. The first great head-to-head of the season went down to the wire, with McIlroy prevailing on the 17^th hole to reach his first WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship final. In all truth the match against Westwood was viewed by many as the final, and it may have taken a bit out of Rory, he certainly didn't produce the flowing golf he had for the rest of the week in the final. Hunter Mahan rushed into a 4up lead after 10 holes, and despite McIlroy winning the 11^th and 14^th Mahan prevailed at the 17^th to claim the title.

M A R C H

Following a disappointing start to the season Charl Schwartzel entered the Florida Swing searching for form ahead of the defence of his Masters title at Augusta National Golf Club. And the first leg of the swing delivered in many ways for the 2011 Masters Champion. Four good rounds on a major championship course in the company of many of the best golfers in the world, he played the final three rounds 8 under par and finished the week 7 under and 5 shots adrift of winner Rory McIlroy. A thrilling final round featuring a 62 and a 63 from Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood, but the major story was McIlroy hanging on to win for the third time on American soil and ascend to world number one for the first time in his young career.

The remaining weeks of the Florida Swing more than lived up to the drama at the Honda Classic with wins for Justin Rose at Doral in the WGC-Cadillac Championship, holding off Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy for his first WGC title. For Schwartzel it was another very promising week following his top ten finish at PGA National. Rounds of 68, 69, 70 and 69 saw him post a four round score of 13-under-par, just three shots off the winning score by England's Rose. For Louis Oosthuizen it was a bitterly disappointing week following his promising start to the season in South Africa, finishing at 5-over and a massive 21 shots off the pace. Oosthuizen then moved on to Tampa Bay and the Transitions Championship along with his countryman Ernie Els who was desperately looking for a high finish to get into The Masters. It had looked for the greater part of the final round that Els would clinch an invitation to Augusta by winning, but an astonishingly bad shot on the par three 17^th and a missed putt at the 18^th saw him squander a lead and miss out on a four-man playoff and his hopes of making it to The Masters were dwindling by the round.

Robert Garrigus, Sang-Moon Bae and past Champion Jim Furyk joined Luke Donald in the playoff, Donald needed to win to return to the world number one spot. Following the four tee shots on the par four 18^th it looked as if Donald faced a mighty task to keep his hopes alive, slightly off the fairway but in rough the world number two produced one of his greatest ever shots, a 7-iron to 6 feet. He coolly rolled the putt in with typical Luke Donald style to claim a birdie and the win. Oosthuizen finished in a tie for 20^th place. And so the Florida Swing came to its conclusion at Bay Hill, the Arnold Palmer Invitational has for many years been the venue for Tiger Woods to prove people wrong, in 2001, in 2008, in 2009 and yet again in 2012 Tiger Woods won at Arnie's place. For the first time since September 2009 Tiger was a winner on the PGA Tour, by five shots from Graeme McDowell, the man that beat Tiger in December 2010 to continue his drought.

The next part of the review of the year on the tours April to August will be published on Wednesday 19 December