Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
Inside the Ropes
|
||||
 Some PGA Tour players with Southern California ties have capitalized in his absence; others haven’t. With the PGA Championship and FedEx Cup playoffs looming, there are still plenty of chances for everybody to reap the spoils with Woods M.I.A. Here’s how the stocks of eight local players stand down the stretch: Phil Mickelson In 2008, Lefty has two PGA Tour wins and over $4 million in earnings. Not too shabby, huh? Since Woods went down, Mickelson went overseas and notched a tie for 37th at the Scottish Open and a share of 19th place at the British Open. The San Diego native needs to do more without Numero Uno in the fold. Consistent top-20 finishes in majors (he’s 3-for-3 in that regard this year) seem nice, but are unsatisfactory for the world’s No. 2 player. The 38-year-old ruined his first sans-Tiger major chance with an opening 79 at Royal Birkdale, and if he doesn’t meet the pressure at this month’s PGA Championship, he’ll officially have a disappointing campaign — even if he wins the FedEx Cup. Stock: DOWN Anthony Kim Besides middle-aged marvel Kenny Perry, no Tour player has helped himself more without Woods than Kim. First, he validated his dominant May victory at the Wachovia Championship with an equally impressive triumph at the AT&T National last month, complete with a congratulatory call from tournament host Woods. Then, the 23-year-old Los Angeles area native, who had never played an overseas links course, went to the British Open and finished tied for seventh despite taking at least 31 putts in each round. In less than a year, Kim has emerged as a perennial major favorite and, barring injury, will maintain that status for a long time. Stock: UP Hunter Mahan After a solid showing at the U.S. Open, Mahan came out a week later and nearly defended his title at the Travelers Championship with a tie for second. The 26-year-old Orange native may have only one career win, though he prides himself on his performances in majors — so his missed cut at the British last month is a shame, especially considering he finished sixth at Carnoustie in 2007. With superb driving skills, he is still one of the PGA Tour’s most promising young players and has to be considered a favorite to return to the winner’s circle in 2008. Stock: EVEN John Merrick Sure, the Long Beach resident didn’t qualify for the British Open and hasn’t made much noise since tying for sixth at the U.S. Open. But Merrick has still taken massive strides in 2008 and should keep doing so as long as he keeps gaining tournament experience, especially with bigger events remaining on the calendar. Stock: UP John Mallinger It’s hard to call Mallinger’s sophomore campaign a disappointment, considering he’s making a lot of cuts and is poised to retain his ’09 PGA Tour playing privileges. The Escondido native must improve his ballstriking if he wants to be a contender. While he is statistically one of the circuit’s top putters, he is near the bottom in greens in regulation. But like Merrick and Mahan, the 28-year-old Mallinger has youth on his side and should be patient in developing his game. Stock: EVEN Pat Perez Perez is on pace to finish inside the top 50 on the money list in 2008 and register his most lucrative season. But that first victory still hasn’t come, and the more mature San Diego native is well aware of that vacancy. The stats suggest this could finally be the year, since he is firmly inside the top 10 in the Tour’s all-around ranking. Stock: EVEN Kevin Na The 24-year-old began 2008 with loads of promise, reaching the first page of the leaderboard at both the Sony Open and FBR Open, but hasn’t been heard from much since. Wielding an oh-so-sweet swing, Na has posted only one top-20 finish since the FBR. Lofty expectations could be getting the better of the Diamond Bar resident. Stock: DOWN Charley Hoffman The Poway native has been all over the map in 2008, and it’s unclear whether he’ll regain the form that brought him a victory at the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Hoffman has a trio of top 10s in 2008, including a tie for eighth at the Hope, but also missed 10 cuts in his first 20 events. The good thing for Hoffman is that he’s fully exempt for next year, so he has time to iron things out. Stock: DOWN Eli Miller also writes a weekly blog at southlandgolfmagazine.com. Reach him at emiller@churmmedia.com. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
