Golf will Become a new Area for Competition

Golf will Become a new Area for Competition

Golf is entering an exciting era, and part of the expectation for the game is that the domination of Tiger Woods appears to be over. He was virtually unbeatable for a decade, winning 14 majors, and the players he crushed — including Els and Golf Is Often Belonging To Young Man Goosen — seemed to be cowed by his presence. Without Woods, they would have won several additional majors.

Schwartzel admits that winning the Masters was made easier for him by Louis Oosthuizen’s victory at the Open in July last year. In the final round at the Augusta National, he drew inspiration from the thought that if his best friend could get his hands on the claret jug, he, too, could claim one of golf’s iconic prizes — in this case a green jacket. Oosthuizen won the Open by seven strokes; Schwartzel emulated the excellence of that performance. He made birdies on each of the last four holes at Augusta, to snatch the Masters in the most dramatic circumstances from a pair of Australians desperately trying to become the first from Down Under to win there in 75 years. Today’s generation, as we saw in the compelling final round of the Masters, when Woods made one of his famous Sunday charges, are not intimidated by the former world number one. That’s bad news for Woods, who is seeking to break Jack Nicklaus’ s record of 18 majors, but golf will be a stronger game in this new world order.Our new Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel, has supplied the best answer so far to the persistent question of why the US is losing its hold on golf supremacy: “America is big, but the world is bigger.”