10 Golfers to Be Thankful For in 2015

These are some of my favorite posts from the past year in PGA Tour golf.

10. Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson isn’t everyone’s favorite golfer, but he does deliver some memorable moments on the course. He doesn’t take advice well and scoffed at a fan during the Travelers Championship. He was voted “loneliest parking lot brawler on Tour.” He frequently crushes drives like this 400-yarder at the PGA Championship. Watson also like to joke with officials and yell at his ball.

This list wouldn’t be complete without mention John Daly, so here goes. Daly wore Yankees pants and smoked cigarettes during interviews at St. Andrews. He also likes to throw down his cigarette butts on the range and smash them into oblivion. He eventually wants to be Ryder Cup captain, and we all want to see that, but Daly’s most memorable moment from this past year came at the PGA Championship when he threw his club into Lake Michigan.

We know what Miguel Angel Jimenez is good at, hole-in-ones and celebrations. Jimenez danced after a hole-in-one at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, he danced after an eagle at the True Thailand Classic, he danced after an ace at the Open de Espana, and again at the BMW PGA Championship in England. The man hit more hole-in-ones in one season than I have seen in person in my entire life. Jimenez has earned the label “The Most Interesting Man in Golf,” and likes to sleep during major tennis matches.

Zach Johnson had a pretty good year. He had ten top 10 finishes and collected his second major at The Open Championship. Johnson’s caddie, Damon Green, is one of the more entertaining characters on the course. Green danced during Johnson’s Open Championship win. We also found out that Zach doesn’t care for explosions while he’s putting.

Rory McIlroy had quite an eventful year. He threw an iron into the Blue Monster at Doral, which was later fished out by a diver. He went from first in the Official World Golf rankings to third behind Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, mainly because he ruptured a ligament playing soccer. Although McIlroy’s recovery progressed quickly, he still wasn’t able to get back to his best form for the PGA Championship. He did, however, hit a beautiful shot out of the water during the first round. Rory ended his year with an engagement to girlfriend Erica Stoll and laser eye surgery.

Rickie Fowler was voted most overrated, along with Ian Poulter, by his peers and that fueled his entire season. During the same month, Fowler won The Players Championship, which drew the third highest ratings in a decade. Fowler took some time off after his win at The Players and spent time at Baker’s Bay with then girlfriend Alexis Randrock. Fowler also bought quite a few drinks for media members. Especially after he collected his second win of the PGA Tour season at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Tiger Woods continued to provide content, even though he struggled with almost every aspect of his game at some point during the season. Hell, in January, before the season even kicked off Woods was spotted missing a damn tooth. Woods struggled with his chipping so badly at the Farmers Insurance Open that he withdrew after just 11 holes. Woods then played well enough at the Masters to work his way up into a tie for fourth at one point, but his struggles continued and it showed in his constant club drops after bad shots and cursing caught by broadcast mics. Woods even appeared to injure himself and then doctor himself back up by “popping a bone back in place.” Woods Also broke up with Lindsey Vonn and then was rumored to have cheated on her, quite possibly with Amanda Dufner, although the friendship that Jason Dufner and Woods showed after the story broke put that in it’s place. Woods didn’t fair too well at the U.S. Open where he had clubs flying out of his hands and was topping balls down the fairway. His run at The Open Championship was just as bad. Woods finished his major tournament season by missing the cut in the PGA Championship, it was the third straight major tournament cut he had missed. While Woods put on a show at the Wyndam Championship, he also realizes that the sun is setting on his career.

What Jordan Spieth didn’t win, Jason Day did. Day was a contender at the U.S. Open, where he finished ninth, but suffered from Vertigo, which was later diagnosed as a viral inner ear infection. After winning the RBC Canadian Open and dishing out high fives to the crowd, Day went on to claim his first major tournament win at the PGA Championship. Day then won at The Barclays, and again at the BMW Championship and claimed the world number one ranking.

Of course Jordan Spieth is at the top of this list. Spieth set a new 36-hole record on his way to claiming his first green jacket at the Masters. Spieth then went on to play one of the dumbest holes he’s ever seen at the U.S. Open, where he beat Dustin Johnson on the final hole after Johnson three-putted. Spieth made a run at a third major at The Open Championship, but came up short even though he and caddie Michael Greller showed lots of enthusiasm. He did stick around to congratulate his buddy Zach Johnson on the win though and then drank from the Claret Jug on his way back to the States. Spieth played well enough to be paired with Jason Day on Sunday at the PGA Championship, but Day was too good and held him off. That didn’t depress his biggest fan, his sister Ellie, and they shared a sweet picture after the tournament ended. Thanks to his success, Spieth was asked out by Miss Texas, and threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game. Spieth finished his season with a win at the Coca Cola Tour Championship, claiming his first FedExCup and earning himself over $22 million dollars. His season was so spectacular that it easily earned him Player of the Year honors and the number one spot in the world golf rankings.

It was a pretty good year for golf.

We should also be thankful for Dustin Johnson and Paulina Gretzky, who have provided a ton of content both on and off the course this season.

GOLF WINS AGAIN!