ShareThisIt was pretty refreshing to see a relatively new face in golf play really clutch down the stretch at Torrey Pines and win.
Nick Watney made a bomb on No. 16, and then ripped a drive on No. 18 like all these kids seem to. He proceeded to launch a hybrid into orbit, landing safely on the green in two. A ho-hum two-putt for birdie, and victory was his.
Next stop, Augusta for The Masters in April.
Add this refreshing face to the likes of Anthony Kim. Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover, Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Aaron Baddeley, Ryuji Imada, Bo Weekley, J.B. Holmes, and Colt Knost.
These are just some of what appears now to be an extremely deep and healthy stock of rapidly maturing young players ready to step it up.
It will be interesting to watch this tour season unfold, as the crown prince (Tiger Woods) returns sometime later this spring. I'm not going so far as to say "the king is dead." Far from that. Tiger is king until someone goes a long way to prove differently.
What I am saying is this young stable is not a group that seems to be scared to win, or put on the gloves and mix it up. In fact, I think they would welcome the encounter.
The shadows are full of rumors. Is Phil Mickelson ill? Does Ernie need a gurnie? Does Retief need relief? Does Singh still have the sting?
We will see these next few weeks and head east. Augusta is not that far off. Don't change that channel. Stay tuned. It should be some great stuff.
Will Tiger return healthy and strong? Is one of these young guns ready to challenge? Will a 40-something reinvent himself?
I think between now and that little get- together in Georgia, we will learn an awful lot.
(Tom Patri is a Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher. Visit Patri's Web site at www.tompatri.com or e-mail him at tpatri@mindspring.com.)
(Golf World is a feature of the Naples Daily News in Florida.)
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