Rory McIlroy enters 2023 as the No.1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, the third time the Northern Irishman begins a calendar year in the top spot having done it previously in 2013 and 2015.
It’s a sweet gig for the PGA Tour players at Kapalua next week as they start the calendar year with the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but three big names won’t be there.
From Phil Mickelson slamming the PGA Tour’s business model to Morgan Hoffman drinking his own urine in search of a cure for muscular dystrophy, and an almighty bust up at Cranbourne’s club champs, here are some of the most read stories in 2022.
Cameron Smith enjoyed an epic year highlighted by five wins around the world. Chief among the three PGA Tour titles he claimed was the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews, but he also triumphed at the Players Championship and Sentry Tournament of Champions in stunning fashion.
It’s been quite a year in golf. A dramatic one, if nothing else. And like any good drama, the stage was set with different characters, hitting their lines, playing their parts in moving the story along. So, now, with that analogy not tortured enough, let’s dive into to the key plot points of the year, and what they meant at the time.
Over the nearly half-century that it went by the European Tour rather than the DP World Tour it has become, the Old World circuit’s relationship with the Ryder Cup has undergone a dramatic about-face.
Tiger Woods was an instrumental voice in spurring the widespread, sweeping changes that have come to the PGA Tour, although most of that work was done behind the scenes.
Rory McIlroy’s accomplishments in 2022 were as impressive as any season in his 13-year professional career, and that was before revealing a twist that occurred in July that he had not previously spoken about.