Nike’s New Combo Irons ( 5)
Michael Whan Q&A ( 7-10)
This would be an embarrassment of riches
if, indeed, Europe’s golf community was at
all abashed at the superiority it attained in
2010. To be sure, there are no red faces. Just
a heightened sense of confidence and, of
course, fattened bank accounts.
To wit:
w A European, Martin Kaymer, is Europe’s
new No. 1, a title conferred on the Race
to Dubai winner, which he officially
became on Sunday.
w A European, Robert Karlsson, won the
Dubai World Championship on the
second hole of a sudden-death playoff
over a European, Ian Poulter, in the
year’s last remaining meaningful men's
event on a big stage.
w A European, Lee Westwood, remains
No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
w European Tour players Graeme McDowell,
Louis Oosthuizen and Kaymer won three
of 2010's four major championships.
w Europe defeated the U.S. in the Ryder Cup.
w The European Tour’s 2011 schedule,
released Sunday, includes a full-speed-ahead 50 events, which is two more than
2010. The initial tournament begins a
week from Thursday in South Africa.
So we offer this suggestion to the best
players and top officials in the world outside
of Europe during professional golf's short
off-season:
Get busy.
Meanwhile, inside this week’s Global Golf
Post, you will find a wide-ranging Q&A with
LPGA commissioner Michael Whan in which
he candidly discusses, among other things,
the challenges and opportunities presented
by the continued rise of Korean women on
his Tour.
