No Ryder Cup to celebrate, hardly any Tiger Woods to watch, yet 2011 was still an interesting and eventful year for golf.
Four first-time major winners perfectly illustrates the overwhelming impression that the guard appears to be changing in the sport - yet the most celebrated of those four winners was a 42-year-old who many believed had long since passed his peak.
Then, at the end of the year, there were comeback wins for old stalwarts - most notably Sergio Garcia (twice) and Woods himself - that suggest 2012 could prove an intriguing war between a coming generation and one that is determined not to be kicked out of the door.
The year itself began with a dispute over the world No. 1 spot, with Lee Westwood beginning 2011 on top of the pile. He would soon be surpassed by Martin Kaymer after what is becoming a customary win for the German in Abu Dhabi, but then Kaymer too would be usurped when Luke Donald swept all before him (including Kaymer) at the WGC-Accenture World Match Play. The Englishman would go on to consolidate his position at the top, in what would prove to be a landmark season for him.
The year's four majors told a story of their own, with all living up to the hype. At The Masters in April, Rory McIlroy entered the final round with a four-shot lead after three days of blistering play. That final round had everything - Woods playing his way into contention, a chasing pack applying pressure to McIlroy - before the Northern Irishman cracked on the back nine in stunning circumstances, with a horribly hooked tee-shot at the 10th proving the start of his downfall as he would go on to card a round of 80. It was left to South African Charl Schwartzel to profit from McIlroy's demise, as he birdied the final four holes of the tournament (after chipping in twice in the first three holes of his round) to edge both Adam Scott and Jason Day to claim the prized green jacket.
At the next major, however, McIlroy would get his revenge - finishing the job he started at the US Open to claim a breathtaking eight-shot victory. It was a performance for the ages at Congressional, with the youngster blowing away the field and showing events at Augusta were merely a blip.
McIlroy was also expected to contend at the Open Championship weeks later, but it was another Northern Irishman who walked away with the Claret Jug. Darren Clarke profited from a lucky draw and a well-suited links game to take an early lead at Royal St George's and never look back - holding off Dustin Johnson and Thomas Bjorn (a three-time winner in 2011) to claim a three-shot victory that was greeted with as great an outpouring of well wishes as the game has seen in a long-time. Clarke's subsequent performances (embarrassing at best) may not have suggested he was the best champion, but he was certainly the most popular.
Then, at the US PGA, big names failed to make an impression on the leaderboard as a journeyman pro, Jason Dufner, and PGA Tour rookie, Keegan Bradley, were left to fight it out at Atlanta Athletic Country Club. Dufner looked to have victory sewn up until a meltdown at the par-three 15th cost him a run of bogeys to finish, and Bradley held his nerve in a high quality play-off to mark himself out as one to watch in future.
Outside of all that, however, history was being made in an entirely different fashion. Four wins around the world enabled Luke Donald to become the first player ever to (officially) win the money list on both the European and PGA Tour. It was a impressive achievement for one who had often been accused of lacking the stomach to win on a regular basis.
Other events at the end of the year kept golf's profile on the up - with Bill Haas' miraculous shot from the water a fine way for him to win the $10m FedEx Cup. It was Woods' victory at the Chevron World Challenge that has casual fans looking towards 2012, however - after missing much of 2011 through injury, is the 14-time major champion finally ready to resume chasing Jack Nicklaus' record?
Player of the Year: Luke Donald
All things considered, it has to be Donald. Yani Tseng may have just completed one of the most dominant seasons in golfing history on the women's tour - but there are real questions to be asked about the standard of opposition she faces. Donald, meanwhile, has committed a passable impression of Woods this season, winning four times in total and only missing out on two others at the final hurdle.
Having committed to a gruelling regime of fitness training over the winter, Donald came back for the 2011 season with a hardened mindset and a more flexible body. The combination has proved devastating to his rivals, with victories at the WGC World Match Play, BMW PGA Championship, Scottish Open and oddly titled Disney Childrens' Network Hospital all testament to that fact, while he only lost in the final of the World Match Play Championship in Spain and after a playoff at The Heritage.
His escapades earned him a staggering 540 world ranking points, almost more than any other player has earned in two seasons - let alone one. The feat is perhaps more impressive due to the fact he did so without winning a major - yet it is exactly that omission that remains his biggest problem.
Statistically, Donald's dominance is beyond argument - but he still needs to win a big one before that becomes obvious to the wider public.
Other nominees: Yani Tseng, Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy.
Surprise Package: Webb Simpson
At the end of 2010, when his previous caddie left to work at a youth ministry, Webb Simpson hired Joe Tesori to be his bag man for 2011. The two met, and Simpson told Tesori that he had aspirations to be mentioned among the world's best players and challenge for the world No. 1 spot. Tesori's response was telling: "You must have a very good mind, because your mechanics are not very good."
Yet Simpson has surprised everyone, including his (now very rich) caddie, after a year of quite unbelievable success. He won twice - at the Wyndham Championship and the Deutsche Bank - and lost in playoffs at two classics, the Zurich and McGladrey. Armed with one of the most lethal weapons in golf, his belly putter, Simpson consistently performed at a higher level than anyone else on the PGA Tour (bar the obvious exception of Donald), going from a virtual nobody to American's pre-eminent player in the post-Tiger (and Phil?) landscape.
The task now is for Simpson to contend for a major (his best this year was T-11th at the US Open) and then make the leap to being more of a global player, as seems to be the increasing trend of the best players. Currently ranked No. 10 in the world, however, Simpson may not have to wait long to have Tesori eating his words.
Other nominees: Charl Schwartzel, Alex Noren, Jason Day, Thomas Bjorn, Tom Lewis, Caroline Hedwall.
Performance of the Year: Rory McIlroy at the US Open
RIP Seve Ballesteros (1957-2011)
- May saw the passing of the legendary Seve Ballesteros, who had been battling serious illness for a number of years.
- The Spaniard won five majors during an illustrious career that also saw him reinvent the Ryder Cup into the major sporting event that is today. His flamboyant, attacking style of play was an extension of the way he approached life, and he will be sorely missed.
The year saw many dominant performances at high-profile events, but arguably none was quite as dominant or quite as high-profile as Rory McIlroy's evisceration of the field at the US Open.
The eight-shot triumph was notable not just because McIlroy had thrown away The Masters months earlier, but because he embarrassed every other player with almost every aspect of his play. In the end he had the gallery eating out of the palm of his hand, no mean feat for a non-American in the national championship they hold dear to their heart.
His close shave with a hole-in-one at the tenth during his victory lap was a case in point, the crowd reacting with such fervour you would have thought the Northern Irishman had parted the very lake that separated the tee from the green. Golf has not seen such scenes since a young Tiger Woods, and the rush of sponsors to be associated with McIlroy after his win is only proof that further success is expected of him in 2012 and onwards.
Other nominees: Luke Donald at the Accenture World Match Play, Charl Schwartzel at The Masters, Donald at Disney Classic, Alex Noren at Nordea Masters, Sergio Garcia at Castello Masters.
Champagne Moment: Darren Clarke
Could it really be anyone else? Clarke's success was notable not just for its unexpected nature but equally for how it was received - with almost universal delight.
Clarke's tougher times have been well documented - the passing of his wife, Heather, after a battle with cancer led to an emotional Ryder Cup appearance in 2006 - so it was perhaps unsurprising to see him greeted with such genuine warmth as he plotted his way through the rain and wind at Royal St George's. Perhaps what added to it all was how unexpected his success was, the 42-year-old having shown little indication he was anywhere near his best in the years preceding his maiden major triumph (a win at the low-key Iberdrola Open apart).
He may not win another major - and his performances in big events after his win in Kent may have raised uncomfortable questions about how unlikely that week in July really was - but those are minor asides.
No-one can take those four days in the summer away from Clarke now and, perhaps equally importantly, no-one can take that memory away from the fans that witnessed it, either.
Other nominess: Rory McIlroy at the US Open, Tom Lewis leading the Open, Luke Donald clinching the PGA money title with victory at the Disney.
Flop of the Year: Tiger Woods
After 2010 was ravaged by the fallout of his personal scandal, 2011 was supposed to be the year where Woods finally returned to normality. Instead, after hinting at a return to form with a quasi-challenge at The Masters in April, Woods picked up an injury at Augusta that ruled him out for over a month.
He then returned too early - forcing his withdrawal from the Players Championship after barely nine holes. That saw him miss a huge chunk of the season, including the US Open and Open Championship, before returning for an almost comically bad performance at the US PGA. After playing a tournament of the Fall Series (something he never previously would have even considered), Woods finally gave his fans something to be optimistic about by winning his own event, the 18-strong Chevron Challenge, at the start of the December.
With McIlroy et al making their bid for dominance, 2012 must be better.
Other nominees: Phil Mickelson, Ryo Ishikawa, Edoardo Molinari, Nick Dougherty.
Quotes of the year:
"I think the perfect golf player at the moment would be the long game from Lee Westwood and the short game from Luke Donald."
As early as March, Martin Kaymer basically sums up the year in golf - although maybe with the benefit of hindsight he'd also throw in McIlroy's natural flair and Darren Clarke's luck [of the Irish].
"He was Tiger Woods before Tiger Woods."
Tony Jacklin pays tribute to Seve Ballesteros.
"It was my aim to shove it up that black a***hole."
Caddie Steve Williams causes perhaps the biggest storm of the year.
"You lick the lollipop of mediocrity once and you'll suck forever."
Rory Sabbatini comes up with a memorable phrase destined to live on in motivational speeches and self-help books everywhere.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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