2013 Annual

The Year In Retrospect

Contributor: Doug Ferguson

The most memorable golf result of 2012? That would have been in the Ryder Cup, when Europe appeared left for dead on Saturday afternoon and it looked like the Americans would take an 11-5 lead into Sunday’s 12 single matches. Ian Poulter then made five straight birdies to pick up a late point and captain Jose Maria Olazabal’s European team rode that momentum the next day to match the greatest rally in Ryder Cup history, with Martin Kaymer holing the clinching putty to a 14½-to-13½ thriller.

McIlroy became the first since Woods to win consecutive major championships by at least eight shots when he won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Bubba Watson made a remarkable escape from the trees right of the 10th fairway – the Rolex Shot of the Year – in a playoff to win the Masters.

Webb Simpson won the U.S. Open on the strength of others’ mistakes. Ernie Els failed to qualify for the Masters for the first time in 20 years, and right when it looked as though he was headed to the twilight of his career, Els was on the receiving end of a stunning collapse by Adam Scott to capture the Open Championship for his fourth career major victory.