I’ll be honest with you.  I’m a huge Tiger Woods fan.  I think television coverage numbers in 2018 bear out that there are many other people who watch golf specifically when he is playing.

That being said, I’m going to look back at the golf season in 2018.  Tiger will be the focus, but some other things definitely piqued my interest.  I’m not going super deep on any of these with a shot by shot analysis.  I just wanted to remind you of some things in the season you may have forgotten about.

2018 Majors

The major season was a great one!  Patrick Reed won the Masters in front of thrilling final rounds from Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth.  Love him or hate him, Reed definitely gets golf fans talking.  I’m not a fan, but the finish at Augusta was compelling.

Brooks Koepka continued his brilliant performances in major championships by winning the US Open and PGA.  The PGA was an incredible tournament to watch with low scores all over the place.

My favorite major was The Open Championship.  Big names were in the mix and the course setup was perfect for an interesting event.  In the end, Francesco Molinari emerged as a worthy champion.

Other Tour Events

The rest of the calendar year provided some great golf, but one tournament (non-Tiger division) stood out.

Phil winning again in Mexico was awesome to watch.  The great golf in the closing stretch from Justin Thomas made Phil earn the win.  JT was holing shots from the fairway and pushing Phil to the wire.

Emergence of Bryson

Bryson DeChambeau was a known name before this season.  But the mad scientist had a breakout season.  He won three times to make a legitimate push to win the FedEx Cup.

Before this year he was known for his single-length clubs and analytical approach to the game.  At the end of the year, he’s still known for those things but now he is known as a legitimate Tour star and winner.

Tiger Woods

His season was more than anyone could have expected.  My hope going into the season was for him to get through the year healthy.  He seemed to accomplish that feat.  I don’t know how long it will continue, but I was glad to see it in 2018.

On the golf course, he provided some incredible moments.  He got in the mix at Valspar and Bay Hill and threw in some other solid finishes.

Then came the British Open.  Tiger got the lead on Sunday.  He hit a vintage Tiger shot out of the deep bunker on 10, sending the ball straight up to reach the green.  Molinari played solidly and took advantage of Tiger’s mistakes, but it was fun to watch.

Yet again at the PGA, Brooks Koepka was in control.  However, Tiger shot some vintage numbers capped by a Sunday 64 that had Bellerive buzzing.

The real capper was win number 80 at East Lake and the Tour Championship.  It was old-school Tiger.  He got the lead and then on Sunday he plodded along and let others make mistakes.  That final round was reminiscent of so many Sundays past where he squeezed the air out of a tournament.

The massive crowd following him up to the final green was a cool moment to see on TV.  It clearly meant a lot to Tiger and the whole scene had him emotional.  In case anyone forgot how big of a comeback this was, 2018 perfectly illustrated it.

I’m not going to rank comebacks because I think that’s a waste of time.  What Hogan did was remarkable.  So was what Tiger did.  2018 was a great comeback from arguably the greatest player of all time.

Ryder Cup

Eh, do we really need to discuss this?  Europe kicked our ass in Europe.  Rinse and repeat.

Oh yeah, but P Reed did go off on the team after the event.  His comments were a bad look for him.  I think he may have lost some fans and his haters were emboldened.  I’m not a fan and the comments rubbed me the wrong way.

This and That

Phil had a rules issue at the US Open after he played green hockey with his ball on the outrageously fast greens.  His explanation after was pure Phil.  Check it out here.

Matt Parziale, the firefighter from Massachusetts, got his name out there.  We got to learn about his awesome amateur schedule, practice rounds with Tiger, and competing in majors.  Matt had quite a year!

Overall 2018 was an exciting year for golf.  More young players emerged including names like Cameron Champ and Sam Burns.  The old guys played well including Phil, Tiger, and Rose.  Hopefully 2019 can provide similar thrills.  I think that it will!