What an incredible season of golf 2011 turned out to be! We saw four different and first-time Major champions, saw a most consistent and dominating performance from Luke Donald which rightfully placed the No.1 crown on his head, and near the end of the year, we heard some familiar roaring from Tiger Woods.
Donald was the undisputed superstar of 2011, and, really, it doesn't matter whether he won a Major or not. While I am not denying the importance of Majors and how they define a career, I think we can definitely make an exception in Donald's case.
The Majors may be a blip that his critics can latch on to in trying to find some negatives in a spectacular season, but if you ask any professional, I can assure you each and every one of us is in awe of what he managed to achieve. To win four tournaments, manage 21 top-10 finishes in 27 starts and to win the Money List on both sides of the Atlantic — it was top-notch golf from the Englishman.
It is really difficult to pinpoint the performance of the year. Despite the fact that Charl Schwartzel made four birdies in the last four holes to win the Masters — which was just a most ridiculous way of winning a Major, Darren Clarke's most unexpected triumph in the Open and Keegan Bradley winning the PGA Championship in his very first Major start, I will still go for Rory McIlroy's thumping eight-shot romp at the US Open.
As if it was not amazing enough that he shot 16-under par in US Open conditions on a tough course like the Congressional, his achievement assumes even greater significance when seen in the light of his final-round meltdown at the Masters just a couple of months earlier.
And finally, there was the familiar sight of Tiger all pumped up and winning a tournament. The Chevron Challenge did have 17 other top-50 guys playing there.
Jeev Milkha Singh is a three-time champion on the European Tour
