Why Golf Will Overcome Controversy to Have a Great Year

The latest View From The Fairway by Derek Clements...

NO MATTER what happens with LIV Golf in 2023, I believe that we are in for a sensational few months.

There is going to be a titanic battle for the top spot in the world rankings, Rory McIlroy’s latest attempt to compete the career Grand Slam at The Masters, Jordan Spieth’s bid to emulate him at the US PGA Championship, and what I expect to be a thrilling battle for the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome to cap it all off.

McIlroy still sits atop the world rankings, giving himself some breathing space after his incredibly dramatic win at the Dubai Desert Classic - achieved without having his A-game. 

But Jon Rahm is now snapping at his heels after an incredible run of form. The Spaniard says that in his own mind he is currently the best golfer on the planet, and it is difficult to argue with him. He kicked off 2023 by winning the Tournament of Champions and The American Express Championship and had a chance to make it three in a row at the Farmers Insurance Open, an event he has won twice before. And don’t forget that he also won the Open de Espana in October and the DP World Tour Championship in November.

By anybody’s standards, that is spectacular form. Except Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, it would seem. 

Chamblee said: “I can find all kinds of guys in the top three [in the world] who have ascended to the top three in professional golf that you wouldn’t qualify as a superstar. It’s a subjective metric, and it hits upon your subjectivity. At least for me, what constitutes a superstar in any sport is a sustained level of dominance and dependability over a three-to-five-year period.

“And I’m talking about racking up multiple major championships, winning by wide margins. Jon Rahm has never won a golf tournament on the PGA Tour by more than three shots. Winning the Vardon Trophy. Winning the biggest tournaments at the biggest moments and handling it with a degree of dependability. 

"His iron play is not the stuff of legend. It’s good, not great. And for him to go and blow fields away, and to win multiple major championships, his level of iron play - he has only ever led Strokes Gained: Approach one time in his career on the PGA Tour."

It is an interesting point of view, to say the least. And one that I am pretty certain is not shared by many others.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

McIlroy has been on a similar run, winning the Tour Championship in August, the CJ Cup in October and the Dubai Desert Classic in January 2023. He also won the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai.

And then there is Scottie Scheffler, who won four times in the blink of an eye in 2022, culminating with his victory at The Masters. It may come as a surprise to learn that Scheffler has not won a tournament since donning the Green Jacket, but he has been in contention plenty of times.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are also likely to have something to say in the race to be world number one in 2023.

And then there is the Ryder Cup…

I make no apologies for taking another look at how Luke Donald’s European team is shaping up. And it has to be said that that captain must be pretty pleased with what he sees when he looks at the standings.

Donald’s 12-man team will comprise the top six players from the rankings along with six captain’s picks. This was always going to be a Ryder Cup that would see a changing of the guard for Europe and Donald’s hand has been forced by the defections to LIV Golf of veterans such as Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter.

It does, of course, mean that Donald will be going into battle at Marco Simone Golf Club with several rookies in his team. 

After the Dubai Desert Classic, these were the top six European players in the world points list: 1. Rory McIlroy, 2. Jon Rahm, 3. Viktor Hovland, 4. Alex Noren, 5. Shane Lowry, 6. Victor Perez.

McIlroy, Rahm, Perez and Noren occupy the top four places in the European points lists, with Lowry in sixth place. Fifth spot is occupied by Spain's Adrian Otaegui. Tommy Fleetwood is seventh, Tyrrell Hatton is eighth, Rasmus Hojgaard is ninth, Robert MacIntyre is 10th, Jordan Smith is 11th and Antoine Rozner is 12th. Otaegui is a LIV Golf member and is highly unlikely to be considered for Ryder Cup selection, even if he does manage to hang on to one of the six qualification spots. Donald has six captain’s picks.

Also lurking are Adrian Meronk (14th), Guido Migliozzi (17th) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (18th).

I think Donald will settle for a team that comprises McIlroy, Rahm, Hovland, Lowry, Fleetwood, Hatton, Fitzpatrick, Meronk, MacIntyre, Noren, Migliozzi. And Hojgaard, don’t you?