Vijays and Colins of golf must compete with the best

Vijays and Colins of golf must compete with the best
Shona Manco

DECEMBER 25: Looking back at yet another golfing year, one can easily say that this has also been a year of great victories and defeats, not unlike any other before it. Tour rankings and earnings had some ups and downs, predictably so, as the professionals went about their business.

However, this year saw the top-ranked golfers dominate their tours, proving wrong the notion that golf professionals cannot dominate throughout a season. Unlike tennis or basketball, where a top-seeded sportsperson or athlete maintains his performance and his ranking, in golf, a victory can be followed by a struggle to make the cut the very next week.

On the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods had the odds in his favour almost every week that he teed up and won a creditable 11 tournaments this year as well as his second Major the PGA Championship. These victories gave him another first, that of earning more than $6 million in a single year.

On the European tour, Colin Montgomerie dominated the scene. Even though it was wonderful and moving to see Jose Maria Olazabal win the Masters for the second time, returning after an injury that threatened to leave him in a wheel chair, and Sergio Garcia take on Tiger at the PGA Championship, it was Montgomerie who maintained his dominance. And even though he carries the monkey on his back that of being among the best players never to have won a Major Montgomerie went on to top the money list for the sixth year running.

This trend also continued on the APGA tour, where Kli Hla Han, a veteran on the Tour and amongst its founder members, topped the Order of Merit. He went on to become the first Asian to break the $200,000 barrier, earning more than that in one season.

The Indian PGA Tour was not far behind either. Here the feat was accomplished by the man whose name means victory, Vijay Kumar. He won the Mahindra Rankings for the second year running and took home the Mahindra lottery.

The reasons for this domination could be quite a few. However, the most plausible being that these professionals, with the exception of Tiger who seems to play in a league of his own, have continued playing on their home turf. Montgomerie's priority was the European tour, Kli Hla Han's Asia and Vijay's India.

As younger and equally talented players strive to get cards on bigger and more financially viable tours, these guys have stayed on and achieved the highest ranks where they started. This commitment has paid off financially and remaining on one tour also has the added benefit of cutting down travelling expenses.

Patronising a tour also gives the players the confidence to compete and improve their game, mentally and physically. Rather than making the change just when they begin to get into a winning position week after week on their home tours, the Vijays and Montgomeries have done just the opposite and increased their wins, hence gaining confidence and experience. They have made winning a habit.

Yet, for all those who aspire to get to bigger venues, it's the dreams of winning the Majors like The Open Championship, the aspirations and most importantly the goal of playing on the USPGA Tour, that keeps them going. Even though staying on has its benefits, it is better to get out, gain some experience and try to go for the best. As we are constantly reminded, if you aim for the top, you can make it to the middle.

Golfer of the week
PAYNE STEWART: THIS week is dedicated to a world class golfer, whose charming personality was evident when I saw him sign his glove and hand it over to a little boy seeking his autograph at the British Open. And specially to his family who will be spending their first Christmas without him. Since there are no results this week as all the tours are taking a break, I thought we could have a bigger space for the golfer of the week.