2014 promises to be full of beautiful challenges for golf, if only because it is the year of the Ryder Cup, the Europe-USA match which is played every 24 months and which ignites the utmost competitive spirit in the hearts of players and fans. This year could be even more exciting for the Italians, because there are good hopes that two Azzurri will compete in the match, Francesco Molinari, already an expert and winner of Ryder and Matteo Manassero, making his hoped-for debut. Unfortunately, nothing can be taken for granted, because the Italian champions will have to win their place in the team on the field, but the 2013 results bode well.
The twenty-year-old Manassero won the Pga Championship in Wentworth last May, the most prestigious European title after the British Open and is now striving to further improve his performances. Molinari, who didn't win even one race in 2013, nevertheless achieved excellent placements and is now 38th in the world rankings, ahead of Matteo, 43rd.
The venue for the event will be the Monarch's Course in Gleneagles, Scotland, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus in '93 and recently revisited. The teams are still to be defined, but captains Tom Watson (USA) and Paul McGinley (Europe) have already been at work for some time. The first testing ground for candidates is the Volvo Golf Champions from 9 to 12 January at the Durban Golf Club. Only the winners of the previous season's tournaments, such as Matteo Manassero, and the winners of at least 10 titles in their career will participate.
If Ryder will therefore represent the highlight of the golf show at the end of September, the intermediate episodes of this long soap opera will all be followed thanks to a number of protagonists with the makings of stars. In fact, after years of unchallenged domination by Tiger Woods, the "championship" has several players hungry for victories: the Swede Henrik Stenson, fresh winner of the Race to Dubai and the FedExCup 2013, the Northern Irish Rory McIlory, former world number one, returned on the podium at the end of November in Australia, ahead of Adam Scott; the Australian, who is in turn a formidable pretender to the ranking throne especially after the victory at the 2013 Masters, a success that erased from his mind the bad memories of the British 2012, giving him that self-confidence and malice that he still lacked .
In this small group of privileged Phil Mickelson also stands out, the 43-year-old Californian winner of 5 majors in his career, including the 2013 Open Championship. Lefty wants to complete the Grand Slam and it is safe to bet that, again this year, he will try to storm the US Open, the only major he still lacks.
One of the first occasions to see almost all the "boys" together at work will be the Desert Classic, in Dubai, (January 30-February 2) where Tiger, Stenson and McIlory will finally offer a new direct confrontation. It can be said that the season officially begins in the Emirates, even if the golf calendar of both circuits has already started for about a month. Almost everyone has already taken to the field to start picking up some points for the Race to Dubai and the FedExCup, but the season doesn't really start without Tiger. Woods, on the other hand, has allowed himself only a couple of appearances in recent months and they are worthless for the rankings (ranking aside): one in Turkey, where, for a lavish engagement, he shot a ball from Europe to Asia on the Bosphorus bridge (and finished third in the tournament), the other in California, for a self-sponsored charity race, where he finished second to Zach Johnson. The fact is that Tiger sips his shares, but every time he manages to inflict his paw. That's what makes it number one.
The PGA USA closed its ranking with the 38 forecasts yesterday (on the occasion, among other things, of Woods' 2014th birthday) and once again Tiger is the first of the top thirty players in the world. It is true that, in 2013, he missed the coveted major, but the performance at the events he has participated in is unique: 16 starts, 5 wins, 8 top 10s, including two in the majors. A performance that earned him the scepter of number one again. In practice, Tiger only competes in the most important races, those where there are the best and where winning is more difficult, yet he succeeds most of the time. The number of tournaments played by all the other players and the potential points accumulated is by far higher, yet Tiger remains at the top. How can you not bet on him once again? The champion, on his website, also shows a certain optimism regarding the 2014 majors, which are his latest Achilles' heel, given that for 5 years he's been stuck at 14 while he wants to beat Nicklaus' record of 18 victories. “I am really excited for next year's championships - Tiger writes - I won at three of the four venues: Augusta National, Valhalla Golf Club and Royal Liverpool and at Pinehurst No. 2, where the US Open will be held, I finished third and second . But I still need to practice, grind golf and prepare my game. The majors meet four times a year and hopefully something will happen.” In short, if the body holds up, the mind is ready.
