PGA's young guns proving they belong
POSTED: Sunday, January 18, 2009
The thing you notice most are all the fresh faces.
They were everywhere at this week's Sony Open in Hawaii. Inside the ropes trying to make a living. At the range working on their game. In the media center explaining how they got here.
TODAY'S TEE TIMES
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Not so long ago, this PGA Tour age bracket caught some flack for not keeping pace with golfers in their 40s. But Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas, who played at last week's Mercedes-Benz Championship, are leading a youth movement that the old guys may find hard to counter.
In 2007, only seven tournaments were won by a golfer in his 20s, with 11 victories going to the 40-and-over set, including Fred Funk's win for the senior circuit. But last year was a different matter.
Led by Kim and Villegas, who each captured two events, 15 tournaments were won by the young guns. The graybeards had nine tournament victories, with Kenny Perry and Vijay Singh leading the way with three wins each.
At this week's Sony Open, 20 tour members in their 20s made the cut, with the 40-and-over crowd managing only half that many on a course where youth is not always served. Waialae is one of those old-fashioned layouts where thinking outweighs bombing. Being able to hit it far is not as important as finding the fairway.
Five tour rookies in their 20s were able to do just that by playing through to the weekend. They are Webb Simpson, Marc Leishman, Brendon Todd, Spencer Levin and Casey Wittenberg. And while they don't normally drive the box-office window, it's a lot like watching Hawaii Winter Baseball and being able to say, “;I saw him at Hans L'Orange.”;
Simpson received some early press after finishing in a tie for second in this week's opening round. He is now tied for 13th entering today's final 18 holes with a steady 70 for a three-day total of 6-under 204.
The Wake Forest graduate is a well-known commodity for those who follow amateur golf closely. While future NFL and NBA stars are well-monitored while playing in college, golfers live a life of relative anonymity while on campus.
For the 23-year-old Simpson, it was good for him to see his name atop the leaderboard before Shigeki Maruyama moved him into a tie for second with a late first-day charge.
“;It gives me confidence for the rest of the week,”; said Simpson, who finished in a tie for seventh at Q-school. “;I was a little nervous. I've played a total of seven PGA Tour tournaments and that helped a lot, to know what to expect. Now, there's a sense of comfort I felt there, more than my first couple of tour events as a pro.”;
Overall, there are 28 rookies on tour this year, with 10 never having played in a tour event, including Leishman and Todd. Both made the cut this week, with Todd shooting a 66 yesterday to move into a tie for 26th at 4-under 206. Leishman managed a 70 yesterday and is currently tied for 41st at 2-under 208.
Some more-famous 20-somethings are vying for the championship today, including Charles Howell III, who is tied for sixth at 8-under 202, and Kevin Na and Adam Scott, who are both tied for 10th at 7-under 203.
“;The young guys are making a name for themselves and I knew they eventually would,”; Howell said. “;They're some excellent young players coming out. You see them out here every day.”;
