Wednesday 26 August 2015 08:15, UK
Sky Sports Golf presenter David Livingstone looks back on a remarkable year for Jordan Spieth in the majors and pays tribute to the PGA of America for an outstanding tournament at Whistling Straits.
I think this has been the best year for the majors for quite some time. We started the year with high expectations for a career Grand Slam. Could Rory McIlroy complete a full set of majors at the Masters, or would Phil Mickelson finally win a US Open?
But we ended the major season in awe of Jordan Spieth. We knew he was a very talented player, but I really didn't see this coming at the start of the year, maybe because so much of the focus was on Rory.
McIlroy had the added pressure of trying to complete a Grand Slam at Augusta and did well in the end to finish fourth. He couldn't quite get into contention at the US Open, then he had his ankle injury and he came back impressively at the PGA, so there was a Rory story throughout each major.
But Spieth gave us a huge story with his record-breaking win at Augusta and he then followed it up with a remarkable victory at Chambers Bay. He was a shot shy of the play-off at the Open, and he was beaten fair and square by Jason Day at the PGA.
It was the best set of performances in the majors in a single season since Tiger Woods in 2000, and I still can't believe he didn't win the Open. No disrespect to the very likeable Zach Johnson, who's now won as many majors as Greg Norman, but Spieth was the story.
Towards the end of the tournament at St Andrews, I thought it was written in the stars that Spieth would get the job done and win his third major in a row, and I don't think Spieth himself could quite believe he didn't win.
Comparisons with Tiger
But over the four majors, that was as close as anyone has ever got to what Tiger did in 2000. Obviously, Tiger won by record scores, but Jordan's performances this year at such a young age has been one of the best stories in golf for years.
I think Spieth was actually the favourite going into the final round of every major this year, even though he was two behind Jason Day after 54 holes at the PGA. But Day was brilliant under pressure coming down the stretch, and once he got a good drive away down the 16th, that was pretty much the clincher - even Jordan said so afterwards.
Spieth's emergence this year has ramped up the interest in the game, and with Tiger Woods struggling to regain his form, there's now a number of young rivals at the top of golf. Spieth's form would certainly have got McIlroy's attention, and maybe the intense rivalry that we've been looking for has arrived.
Rickie Fowler was top five in all four majors in 2014, but he didn't really contend this year although he did have that fantastic win at the Players Championship and looked good when winning the Scottish Open.
It's also hard to believe Dustin Johnson didn't win a major this year. He gave the US Open away on the 72nd hole at Chambers Bay, and he faded over the weekend at St Andrews after leading the Open at halfway. Then he led the PGA Championship after the first round and couldn't keep it going there either.
I'm not sure what's happening to him, but I doubt if it's a long-term problem. Dustin has been labelled a "nearly-man" many times, but Steve Flesch came out with a great line at Whistling Straits when he said: "Dustin's greatest strength is amnesia". In golfing terms, that's got to be a good thing, and I can see him landing that elusive major next year.
Popular win for Day
Jason Day's win at the PGA was arguably the most popular win of the four. There's been so much support for Jason all year, and it as nice to see him get the job done in Wisconsin. He had been in the top 10 nine times before, including the first Masters broadcast live on Sky Sports in 2011 when he was in contention down the stretch before Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to snatch the Green Jacket.
Day seems to be in contention for at least two majors every year, but after what happened to him when he collapsed at Chambers Bay, to come back from that and win at Whistling Straits was hugely impressive.
Just as impressive was the course, and I think Whistling Straits was the star of the show this year - it was a magnificent venue. The guy who sets up courses for the PGA of America is Kerry Haigh, and we didn't hear his name mentioned throughout the tournament. Compare that to the Mike Davis "vanity project" during the US Open!
Kerry set up Whistling Straits very seriously and very fairly, and he stays in the background. The course set-up, the organisation, the crowds of 50,000 every day, I thought everything about it was tremendous.
The Masters was obviously a great tournament for Jordan Spieth, but I felt the week was a little subdued compared to previous years. Maybe Spieth running away with the title took the sting out of the competition a little, it just didn't seem likely that anyone would catch him after the first day and he was always in control.
The US Open served up a great finish, but the venue was questionable to say the least. What I'll remember most from Chambers Bay is Jordan Spieth winning it, and Dustin Johnson losing it. There were some other good stories there - Shane Lowry and Branden Grace both had excellent weeks, and then Rory made a charge on the final day.
Saving the USGA
It was a thrilling last round in many ways, and that saved the USGA in my view. If it had been a dull finish, I think the USGA would have been feeling the heat quite badly because of the venue. Chambers Bay was simply not up to hosting the US Open unfortunately. How can you stage a major at a course where spectators cannot view certain parts of certain holes?
And then there was the state of the greens. Who knows how that affected Dustin Johnson on the final hole? He may have only needed one putt instead of three and he'd have won his first major. It's a shame - the USGA were trying to think outside the box by taking the tournament there, and it just didn't work.
As for the Open, I think it was tainted a little by the decision to send the players out in impossible conditions early on Saturday morning, only for them to go back in half an hour later. The R&A made a mistake - albeit an honest mistake in fairness - and then the bad weather forced a Monday finish. It really wasn't a classic Open.
Looking forward to the majors next year, I'm really looking forward to going back to Oakmont for the US Open. That was the venue for our first outside broadcast of a US Open in 1994 when Ernie Els won his first major, and 2007 was also a great week and provided a great champion in Angel Cabrera.
With the Open being held at Troon and Baltusrol hosting the PGA Championship, we'll be treated to classic courses for the majors in 2016. And if Spieth continues his remarkable form, there's not a course in the world he cannot win on and the same can be said for McIlroy and Day.
Rose to bloom?
I also think Justin Rose is going to win a major next year. He played well in each of them in 2015, and I think he'll be well suited to Oakmont and Troon in particular.
As for Tiger Woods? Even with what he's been through this year, you just never know with him. Obviously he's won four times at Augusta, but he's never won at Oakmont, Troon or Baltusrol.
I think golf is in an exciting place at the moment, and it looks like Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth will be the men to beat for a while yet. I never thought we'd be making comparisons with Tiger, but these two have been at that level over the last couple of years.
There's a new breed of young golfers emerging on the world stage, and I believe Danny Willett is one of them with great potential. There's obviously a few major contenders in America, although I don't think they've got any more Jordan Spieth's coming through!
There's the likes of Justin Thomas and Tony Finau who have been heavily touted, and they clearly have plenty of talent, but time will tell if they can display the same kind of hunger and desire shown by Spieth this year.
In the meantime, we have the excitement of the FedExCup Play-offs live on Sky Sports over the comings weeks, and the European Tour Final Series will conclude in Dubai in November.
The list of FedExCup winners in recent years makes you think twice about making predictions. We've had some surprise FedExCup champions like Billy Horschel, Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker and even Jim Furyk.
I know Rory McIlroy is missing The Barclays, but he's been focused on the play-offs while he was recovering from his ankle injury, and it would be great to see him going head-to-head with Spieth in the Tour Championship.
The one certainty for the FedExCup is that you can see all four tournaments live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
