Americans reflect on major title drought
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Shanghai Daily, June 22, 2011
While the European Tour celebrated its fifth successive major champion after Rory McIlroy's astonishing eight-shot victory at the US Open, American golf grappled with an unprecedented title drought.
For the first time since the Masters was launched in 1934, United States players have failed to triumph in five consecutive majors. Not since 1994 has a year gone by without an American holding at least one of the four grand slam crowns.
Northern Irishman McIlroy coasted to victory in record-breaking style at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, on Sunday to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Graeme McDowell, who clinched last year's US Open at Pebble Beach.
Following McDowell's major breakthrough, South African Louis Oosthuizen won the 2010 British Open, Germany's Martin Kaymer landed the 2010 PGA Championship and South African Charl Schwartzel claimed his first major at the Masters in April.
European players also rule the roost at the top of the world rankings where they occupy the leading four spots - Luke Donald, Lee Westwood (both of Britain), Kaymer and McIlroy - for the first time in nearly 20 years.
With former world No. 1 Tiger Woods a shadow of the dominant player he once was due to assorted injuries, loss of form and the break-up of his marriage, things appear to look bleak for Americans at the top.
However, as 1997 PGA champion and next year's US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III pointed out after tying for 11th at Congressional, success in golf often comes and goes in cycles.
"Everything goes in streaks," the 47-year-old said over the weekend at the US Open. "We might be talking about how four Americans win the next four (majors)."
Love also felt that the recent increase in European players competing on the US circuit had to be taken into account. "They're half of our (PGA) Tour now," he said. "I think you can give Seve (Ballesteros) a lot of credit, Seve and Bernhard Langer, for letting the Europeans realize that they can work hard, come over here and compete with the Americans."
Spaniard Ballesteros and German Langer were part of the heavyweight major-winning European quintet which emerged in the late 1970s.
Kaymer, 26, who won his maiden major title in last year's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, felt the slide of Woods since the end of 2009 had been a significant factor. "I think that the Americans struggle a little bit, since Tiger has been - how do you say? - a little down," he said. "Since then nothing has really happened."
Woods won the most recent of his 14 major titles at the 2008 US Open, although fellow Americans Lucas Glover (2009 US Open), Stewart Cink (2009 British Open) and Phil Mickelson (2010 Masters) have since enjoyed success.
