Welcome to Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Jay Busbee and head writer Shane Bacon take a day's topic and smack it all over the course. Suggest a future topic by writing jay.busbee@yahoo.com, or hit us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @shanebacon. Today we discuss the fact that 40-somethings are still a big part of the PGA Tour, and who is the best out there at that golden age.
Bacon: Steve Stricker won this weekend at the Memorial. While it was only by a shot, it seemed that he never really was challenged, letting a few shots slip at the end of his rounds each day to let the field back into it. But maybe the bigger story from that win was that of the 10 wins Stricker has accumulated over his career, seven have come since he turned 40. So, I ask you good sir, who is the most talented golfer in their 40s, and who has been the most talented the decade before they were eligible for the Champions Tour?
Busbee: At this very moment? You've got to go Stricker until Phil Mickelson gets a little consistency back. What I find interesting is the way that 40 is no longer the athletic death sentence it was ... well, pretty much always. Nicklaus won at Augusta at age 46, and at the time it was billed like Moses coming down off the mountaintop, putting down the tablets and picking up the sticks. But now, I think we'll see several 40-plus major winners over the next few decades. You've got guys hitting the Champions Tour if not at a sprint, at least at a decent jog, as opposed to the weary stumble when it began. My answer: Fred Couples, at least until Stricker arrives.
Bacon: It's crazy to think that some of the biggest names in golf are in their 40s, or darn near it. Phil is 40, Jim Furyk is 41, Stricker is 44 and Tiger Woods will be 36 when this year ends. I think we've talked a lot about the younger generation, and I do believe that Manassero and company will be in charge of that new group, but is this the one sport that wiser is better? Is golf the one place where being 40 is almost a bonus, because you can finally understand your golf game? Look at names like Kenny Perry and Vijay Singh. These are people that found their stride when they landed above this number.
Busbee: Exactly. Brawn can take you a long way off the tee, but brains gets you from there into the cup. You don't need to look any farther than Tom Watson at the British Open. Once you've got a minimum level of skill ("minimum" being relative, of course), golf is a head game. And after two-plus decades of Tour-level golf, you'll have seen almost everything there is to see, and had every kind of high and low happen to you. Can you see Stricker or Furyk melting down Rory-style at Augusta? Of course not, because they've been there before. With the new emphasis on conditioning, we could see players staying relevant for three freaking decades. Think about that.
Bacon: My only counter to your argument about melting down would be Kenny Perry at the Masters in in 2009, when he, at the age of 47, seemed a lock to take home his first major championship, but bogeyed the final two holes to land in a playoff and eventually lose. I think when it comes to those type of situations, it doesn't matter if you're 18 or 84, it all depends on what is going on in your head and how you can control it. Stricker has never won a major, so if he came to the 16th hole at Congressional on Sunday leading by two shots, who knows what would come of it.
And the conditioning things is right on. I think there are certain courses that just won't allow an older guy to win, but a place like Turnberry, in the right conditions, could play directly into the hands of someone like Watson (as it did). If you're pumping iron and staying fit at 45, you can play with just about anybody.
Busbee: Ah, good point on Perry. Conceded. Last question: you think Rickie Fowler's still going to be wearing those hats in 2040?
Bacon: Only if he still has enough hair to fill them out.
Now your turn ... who is the best golfer in their 40s, and has conditioning added decades to professional golfers?
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