Will someone finally tame the Tiger?

After watching Padraig Harrington win his second consecutive Open Championship this past weekend, it prompted me to question why none of the younger golfers are coming through to step up and fight in the major championships.

At 32 years old, Tiger Woods has been holding a monopoly on the game for the past 11 years since winning his first Masters back in 1997. Now, in the past decade, why has nobody managed to take over from Tiger? If we take a cursory glance at some other major sports, we’d struggle to find an individual at the top of the world for so long.

Michael Schumacher went on to win seven Formula One world championships, but eventually a young Fernando Alonso dethroned the German. Pete Sampras ruled the grass courts of Wimbledon seven times as well, until he came up against a young Swiss named Roger Federer, who in turn went on to dominate the men’s circuit until finally this year Rafael Nadal brought an end to the Swiss supremacy. So I ask: Why are there no young golfers coming through to challenge Tiger Woods?

Quite simply, I believe it’s because golf just does not breed winners any more. Every week the PGA Tour hosts multimillion-dollar events where players are not necessarily concerned with winning. With so much money on offer, players are being given very healthy pay cheques just for appearing at events. Now let’s be honest, if most of us were paid just to appear at work and not actually strive to perform, we’d all vanish into an abyss of mediocrity. This is exactly what is happening on the Tour.

Golf fans are becoming exclusively concerned with the antics of Tiger Woods to the extent that players who are playing week in and week out are going unnoticed, yet still earning exorbitant salaries. I offer you the example of American Kenny Perry, who is the in-form player on the PGA Tour this year, having picked up three wins. In the absence of Woods, Perry would have been considered one of the favourites going into the Open. However, the American chose to skip the Major in favour of the US Bank Championship where $4-million was still on offer. I’ll suggest that Perry had the opportunity to play against lesser-known players at the US Bank Championship while all the top players were at the Open, thereby increasing his chances of pocketing a bigger prize. If there is so much money on offer for players who are not even making it to the Majors, then I can understand why players are happy to continue on the Tour.

Looking back at the Open at Royal Birkdale, one can argue it was rather nostalgic to see 53-year-old legend Greg Norman back as a contender, but why is it that a man who has not won a competitive event since 1997 is beating all the young guns currently active on the Tour? It’s time for the next generation to come through and shine.

So who are the possible heirs to Tiger’s throne?

Looking at players under 30, Sergio Garcia (28) has for years been touted as a future world number one and Major winner, but the closest the Spaniard has come to winning a Major was when he threw away the Open in a play-off defeat to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie last year.

Australian Adam Scott (28) has 14 professional wins, but still his best finish in a Major is coming third at the 2006 PGA Championship.

South Africa’s Trevor Immelman (28) looked to be a catalyst for the young players’ emergence when he won the Masters this year, but he has since failed to replicate that form and a 19th-placed finish at the Open is not exactly going to instil fear in Tiger’s mind.

Perhaps for the next few years we will have to continue riding the Tiger success wave until the likes of Aaron Baddeley (27), JB Holmes (25) and Anthony Kim (23) can break the stranglehold.

Be that as it may, with Tiger out for the rest of year, someone else has the opportunity to make history and win the PGA Championship next month.