Column: PGA forecast includes Tiger teardrops

Most professional athletes can attest to age affecting their ability to perform well.

With the increase in age comes younger talent that wants to break into the spotlight.

This season, like last season, you will see that change in the Professional Golf Association.

Tiger Woods earned more than $94 million during  the last 14 seasons.

This weekend, Woods will play in his first tournament of the year at the Farmers Insurance Open on the Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

Last season wasn’t a very good year for Woods, as he didn’t even place in the top three at the 12 PGA events he played in. He also earned only $1.29 million, which put him 72nd on the PGA Money List for 2010. Last October, Woods lost his No. 1 overall ranking for the first time in 281 weeks to Englishman Lee Westwood.

“It’s going to be interesting to see if he can return to his status,” IU men’s golf coach Mike Mayer said. “I’m not talking about his status as the number-one player in the world, but I’m talking about status among his peers.”

The fear of being in the same tournament as Woods has changed because he isn’t as dominating in tournament play like in previous years.

Most people wonder if the sex scandal affected him last season — and it did.
I attended the 2008 and 2010 U.S. Opens and saw that the Tiger fanbase had decreased because of how poorly he played.

No one can say that athletes are perfect since they are human beings, but in the spotlight before the scandal, the most recognized athlete in world was seen as “Mr. Perfect.”

Now, many have lost a role model and younger kids have lost that “someone I’d like to be when I grow up” image of Tiger.

However, age could also start affecting Woods on the course. His age will increase
and the young talent will increase in years to come.

Of course, the PGA Tour’s “Top 100 players to watch in 2011” has Woods and Westwood first and second, respectively, but who else is in the Top 10 and younger than 30?

That’s right: four players (Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Martin Kaymer) who performed well enough last year to reach the top-10 list.

“What you see is that increase in the volume of talented players,” Mayer said. “You are seeing it in the junior level, collegiate level and the professional level.”

Other young golfers on the list include No. 15 IU alumnus Jeff Overton, No. 17 Anthony Kim and No. 18 Hunter Mahan.

“I don’t think there is any question that the PGA is the number-one tour from a talent standpoint and a financial standpoint,” Mayer said.

The top international players will come to America to play collegiate golf to increase their chances of making the top tour in the world.

“All of the Europeans are coming here to play college golf,” Mayer said. “The opportunities here to develop their game are here in the States.”

This weekend will be the first test of Tiger’s long road ahead to compete at the highest level to win.

There will be sparks of the Old Tiger this year, but a field of young talent, international players and other well-rounded golfers will make it much tougher on Tiger to reclaim the No. 1 spot.