{"id":378897,"date":"2011-04-12T22:57:21","date_gmt":"2011-04-12T22:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/12\/youth-take-over-in-major-championships-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-12T22:57:21","modified_gmt":"2011-04-12T22:57:21","slug":"youth-take-over-in-major-championships-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/12\/youth-take-over-in-major-championships-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth take over in major championships (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)\u2014The last four major champions are noteworthy in
\npart because of their passports. It\u2019s the first time since the Masters began in
\n1934 that four non-American players have won golf\u2019s four biggest events.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth paying attention to their birth certificates.<\/p>\n

The old man in the group is Graeme McDowell<\/a>, who was 30 when he won the U.S.
\nOpen last summer at Pebble Beach. The last three major champions were all in
\ntheir 20s\u2014Louis Oosthuizen<\/a> (27), Martin Kaymer<\/a> (25) and Charl Schwartzel<\/a> (26).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first time since 1997 that three straight major champions were in
\ntheir 20s, when Tiger Woods<\/a> won the Masters at 21, Ernie Els<\/a> won his second U.S.
\nOpen at 27 and Justin Leonard<\/a> won the British Open at 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bright future, obviously,\u201d said Jason Day<\/a>, the 23-year-old
\nAustralian who tied for second at Augusta. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of good, solid young
\nplayers coming up now, and it seems every year, they are getting younger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the last four majors represent a changing of the guard remains to be
\nseen. Woods showed signs that his game was improving with his tie for fourth at
\nthe Masters, while Phil Mickelson<\/a> won a week earlier at the Houston Open.<\/p>\n

The fact the last four major champions captured a Grand Slam event for the
\nfirst time\u2014the longest streak of first-time major winners in seven years\u2014
\nshows how tough it is to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Tiger came along, he pretty much changed the game,\u201d Day said.
\n\u201cEveryone turned into athletes. We\u2019re not flag slobs anymore. He has pretty
\nmuch changed the game for the good.\u201d<\/p>\n

NELSON HONORED: Three-time major champion Larry Nelson<\/a>, who didn\u2019t take up
\ngolf until he returned from the Vietnam War, will receive the PGA Distinguished
\nService Award.<\/p>\n

Nelson, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, will be honored Aug. 10
\nduring the PGA Championship. It\u2019s being played at Atlanta Athletic Club, where
\n30 years ago Nelson won his first major at the PGA. He also won the 1987 PGA
\nChampionship at PGA National, and the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont.<\/p>\n

He also played on three Ryder Cup teams, and went 5-0 as a rookie in 1979 at
\nThe Greenbrier.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite an honor, and I\u2019m very humbled by it,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cI have
\nbeen very blessed in my career, and have been fortunate that golf has allowed me
\nto meet many around the world, develop special friendship and serve others.\u201d<\/p>\n

What made Nelson such an inspiration was his late start in the game. He
\nspent two years in Vietnam with the Army, and didn\u2019t start playing golf until he
\nwas out of the service. He read Ben Hogan\u2019s book, \u201cThe Five Fundamentals of
\nGolf,\u201d broke 100 the first time he played and broke 70 for the first time
\nwithin nine months.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarry Nelson is one of golf\u2019s consummate champions, who performed at the
\nhighest level on many of the game\u2019s grandest stages and has carried himself with
\ndignity and grace to become one of the sport\u2019s most respected ambassadors,\u201d PGA
\nof America president Allen Wronowski said.<\/p>\n

The PGA Distinguished Service Award, which began in 1988, honors outstanding
\nindividuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including
\nintegrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf.<\/p>\n

ASIAN TOUR ON TV: The Asian Tour has reached broadcasting agreements with
\nGolf Channel that will shows its tournaments in North America, Latin America and
\nJapan.<\/p>\n

The addition of those territories will bring the Asian Tour\u2019s dedicated TV
\nprogramming to 130 countries and more than 420 million households around the
\nworld.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe standard of the Asian Tour has increasingly grown over the years, and
\nwe look forward to giving golf fans in the United States, Canada, Latin America
\nand Japan the opportunity to watch Asia\u2019s elite golfers,\u201d Asian Tour chairman
\nKyi Hla Han said.<\/p>\n

ON A ROLL: Camilo Villegas<\/a> isn\u2019t off a very good start this year. His best
\nfinish in nine tournaments is a tie for 35th in the Cadillac Championship. He
\nhas missed three cuts, been disqualified from one tournament and withdrew from
\nanother.<\/p>\n

After starting the year at No. 37 in the world, he already has fallen to No.
\n50.<\/p>\n

Put him in a major championship, though, and the Colombian seems to manage.<\/p>\n

Even though he finished last at the Masters, Villegas made the cut for the
\n12th consecutive major, the longest current streak of those who have played them
\nall. Phil Mickelson has a streak of 13 successive cuts made, although he skipped
\nthe 2009 British Open after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.<\/p>\n

US OPEN ODDS: A breathtaking Masters was not even a day old when bookies
\nbegan compiling odds for the next major.<\/p>\n

One website, www.Bodog.com, has Tiger Woods listed as a 6-to-1 favorite for
\nthe U.S. Open, which is still 10 weeks away at Congressional. Woods tied for
\n19th in the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional, although he won the AT&T National
\nthere two years ago.<\/p>\n

Phil Mickelson is the second choice at 10-to-1. Lee Westwood<\/a> and Rory
\nMcIlroy<\/a> were listed at 16-to-1, followed by world No. 1 Martin Kaymer and Luke
\nDonald<\/a> at 20-to-1.<\/p>\n

Winning the Masters has only made Charl Schwartzel a 33-to-1 favorite. Those
\nare the same odds for defending champion Graeme McDowell, who missed the cut at
\nthe Masters.<\/p>\n

DIVOTS: Tiger Woods has finished no worse than sixth in his last seven trips
\nto the Masters. \u2026 Lee Westwood (No. 2) and Ernie Els (No. 14) are the only
\nplayers in the top 20 in the world who have yet to record a top-10 finish this
\nyear. \u2026 Rory McIlroy was praised for the gracious manner in which he handled
\nhis final-round 80. The 21-year-old continued to show class when he posed for a
\nphoto with Charl Schwartzel in the green jacket on their flight to Malaysia. He
\nposted it on Twitter and said, \u201cGlad one of us has a green jacket on!!!\u201d \u2026
\nThe top five players who have earned the most world ranking points through the
\nMasters are Schwartzel, Luke Donald, Nick Watney<\/a>, Martin Kaymer and Mark Wilson<\/a>.
\n\u2026 With his tie for fourth in the Masters, Tiger Woods is leading the U.S.
\nRyder Cup points list for 2012.<\/p>\n

STAT OF THE WEEK: In the last three majors, Rory McIlroy has shot par or
\nbetter in all but two rounds. The exceptions were an 80 at St. Andrews and the
\nsame at Augusta National.<\/p>\n

FINAL WORD: \u201cI didn\u2019t think I was going to put on a green jacket before
\nhim.\u201d\u2014Masters champion Charl Schwartzel on Ernie Els. Schwartzel was a
\ntoddler when his father and Els won a club competition in South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

View original post here:
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