CNN
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To say that 2022 has been an exciting year for him golf It would be kind of an understatement.
Appearance of Live golf The sport has created shock waves, as feuds between the Saudi-backed breakaway series, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have dominated headlines.
on the trails, tiger wood A return to constant trauma and injuries culminated in The Open at St Andrews in July, with images of him sobbing on the 18th fairway among the year’s highlight images.
Australian Cameron Smith would go on to lift the Claret Jug, becoming the third man to win his first major slam of the season after Scotty Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick’s first wins at the Masters and US Open, respectively.
Major first-time winners have also been a topic on the women’s calendar, with Jennifer Copshaw clinching a chevron for her first LPGA Tour title before Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa lifted the Women’s British Open to her 221st career start on the LPGA Tour.
LIV Golf tensions and Woods’ fitness are two plot lines that will continue in 2023, and the year will surely introduce a series of new ones. From chasing Rory McIlroy at the Grand Slam to the Ryder Cup and Solheim, CNN is looking forward to another season for the sport of golf.
The fractures caused by the LIV Golf climb show no sign of healing soon.
A December announcement by The Masters organizers that LIV Golf players would be allowed to participate in the main event in April was met with a promise from the 9/11 survivor group to protest against “the front door” From Augusta National Place.
The pledge came less than a month after Tiger Woods named LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is stepping down.
In August 2022, the LIV series joined the Antitrust suit Along with some of its players, they alleged that the PGA Tour threatened lifetime bans on golfers who participated in LIV Golf events. This was followed by a PGA Tour counter suit in September.
Woods and Rory McIlroy were among the biggest names to condemn the new series, with McIlroy criticizing it for “tearing down” Men’s professional golf.
“I think there are ways to fix that and bring it back together. But with everything that’s going on now, I don’t see that happening anytime in the future,” he told CNN in August.
Having a group of LIV players in Augusta in April is bound to be a big subplot for the first men’s tournament of the year, with LIV Golf and Open Open champion Cameron Smith among the main contenders to grab the green jacket.
The year 2022 has been bittersweet for McElroy. Returning to playing some of the best golf of his career, the Northern Irishman won three PGA Tour titles on his way to Restoration of the No. 1 spot in the world For the first time in over two years.
His flood of top-ten finishes on the PGA Tour has been repeated at the highest level during the major tournaments, with the 33-year-old finishing no lower than eighth in any of the four major events.
However, McIlroy’s impressive consistency was strained by his own painful near misses as a second-place finish at the Masters followed. Painful fall on the last day In The Open. Having tied for the lead en route to Sunday at St Andrews, a series of missed birdie hits – and a fine finish from Smith – saw McIlroy’s hopes of ending an eight-year major drought.
Due to his form, the four-time major winner enters 2023 as the favorite to wear the green jacket at Augusta in April. Besides ending his wait for more major success, winning the Masters for McIlroy would see him join an impressive group of golfers who have achieved Grand Slam titles.
Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have lifted all four major titles. With two wins at the PGA Championship and victories at the US and British Opens, McIlroy had already put himself a green jacket away from immortality by 2014, just seven years after turning professional.
But despite having seven top-10 finishes at Augusta, McIlroy has yet to convert to the top level, including a devastating crash on the final day in 2011. The four grand slams in golf history will mark a momentous day for both McIlroy and sports.
After 17 months of playing, Woods return To sports at The Masters in April stunned the golf world.
After suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident in February 2021, it was a shock that the 15-time major winner was playing. The fact that Woods, who is clearly struggling on the hilly Augusta National track, would keep the cut was even more impressive.
Since then, Woods has been vocal about the disruptive impact of his punitive rehab process. His playing time has been wiped out, by a stretch emotional cameo At the 150 Open Championship, one of his limited outings through 2022.
In December, Woods pulled out of the Hero World Challenge citing a sore foot, and again appeared to struggle with movement during the seventh edition of The Match later that month.
As a result, it appears the 47-year-old’s presence in the tournament lanes will remain a rarity thus far He didn’t rule out Zack Johnson a place for Woods in this year’s Ryder Cup.
Speaking ahead of the Sony Open earlier this month, the US captain discussed a potential role for Woods in the biennial event, which is set to kick off in Italy in September.
“I was just thinking about getting him in the team… if he puts up some numbers and some results, number one, where he shows some signs of competition,” Johnson told reporters.
“And then secondly, that discussion will have with the other players who are part of this team, namely him. If there is anything I trust in Tiger Woods, it is that he is very invested in this team and in future trophies.”
Come September, Team Europe will be looking forward to an exorcism at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome, which is hosting Italy’s first-ever Ryder Cup.
Team USA historically routed the Europeans on the Whistling Straights in 2021, pulling off a 19-9 victory in Wisconsin. It was the largest margin of victory in the Ryder Cup since 1979, the year in which continental players became eligible to compete in the formerly great British and Irish side.
McIlroy Tearful interview After the crushing defeat he emphasized the team’s struggles, with the Northern Irish saying they “should have done more”. McIlroy has gone from strength to strength since then, with his stellar form giving the Europeans the belief that they can block a US title defense.
England’s Luke Donald was announced as Team Europe captain in August, replacing initial selection Henrik Stenson following the Swede’s participation in the LIV Golf Series.
It’s an oxymoron in the women’s biennial event, as at the 2023 Solheim Cup in Andalusia, Spain, Team USA will scramble to prevent a hat-trick of European victories.
After back-to-back wins in 2015 and 2017, the U.S. suffered a narrow defeat in Gleneagles in Scotland before losing again at home in Inverness Club, Ohio, in 2021. Both European victories were led by Team Europe’s Scottish captain Catriona Mathew, with Pass this year’s badge to Norway’s Susan Petersen.
Team USA captain Stacy Lewis has an array of talent to choose from, with Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson and Jennifer Copshaw all having stellar seasons in 2022.
Although the latter shape favors their opponents, history favors the United States, who boast ten wins to seven in Europe.
The tournament is scheduled to kick off at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 18th.
It’s been a good year for first-time major winners in 2022. Of the nine grand champions in the men’s and women’s matches, five have been first victors.
In Scheffler, Fitzpatrick and Smith, the men’s winning trio were relatively young, all three in their twenties. Their success will serve as inspiration for a host of talented young golfers on the PGA Tour, none more than a rising star Tom Kim.
The South Korean became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win twice on the PGA Tour before turning 21, by winning the Shriners Kids Open in October, the latest in a breakout year that included a starring role in the Presidents Cup.
Elsewhere, 25-year-old Victor Hovland will look to build on a very impressive top-four finish at The Open, while Will Zalatoris will aim to end a devastating streak of near misses.
Just a year older than his Norwegian counterpart Hovland, Zlatoris has suffered brutal ends to his impressive form in recent years, finishing second three times in the past two years. Six finishes in the top 10 in 10 major appearances represents an impressive level of consistency that the Americans can do in 2023.
At just 19 years old, Atthaya Thitikul continues to make waves in the women’s game. After only turning professional for 2020, the Thai prodigy was crowned World No. 1 in October 2022 and LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year the following month after two wins in her debut season.
Similarly, Japan’s Nasa Hatooka will now be looking to add a huge victory to an impressive collection of six victories on the LPGA Tour. Another 24-year-old, Hataoka has put together a number of strong major performances, placing second at the Women’s PGA Championship and US Women’s Open in 2018 and 2021 respectively.
The greatest golf miracle ever
Masters, Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, April 6-9
PGA Championship, Oak Hill Country Club, New York, May 18-21
US Open, Los Angeles Country Club, Calif., June 15-18
The Open, Royal Liverpool Golf Club, England, July 20-23
Ryder Cup, Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Italy, September 25th – October 1st
Chevron Championships, The Club in Carlton Woods, Texas, April 20-23
KPMG Women’s Championship, Baltusrol Golf Club, NJ, June 22-25
US Women’s Open, Pebble Beach, Calif., July 6-9
The Evian Championship, Evian Resort Golf Club, France, July 20-23
AIG Ladies Open, Walton Heath Golf Club, England, August 10-13
Solheim Cup, Finca Cortesin Golf Club, Spain, September 18-24