Should you want proof that golf is a game for life, played in different venues and for all ages, digest what was going on in various corners of the world 15 summers ago.
In the Dallas area, an 11-year-old named Scott Scheffler was crushing the competition on the North Texas PGA Junior Tour. There were victories at Shady Valley, The Links at Water Chase, Lantana GC, and by eight strokes over Vince Whaley at Twin Creeks GC.
Down in Bayou country, another 11-year-old named Sam Burns was shooting 84 in the annual Shreveport (Louisiana) City Amateur. He finished top five.
In Scotland, an 18-year-old mop-haired kid from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy, was low amateur in the Open Championship at Carnoustie. Rounds of 68-76-73-72 served notice that this kid might be pretty good.
With rounds of 72-70, a 14-year-old from Kentucky named Justin Thomas finished second in his age group, third overall, at the Evian Masters Junior Cup in France. One perk for winning was that he got to play alongside Juli Inkster in a pro-am before the Evian Masters.
And on the other side of the world, in Hawaii, a 15-year-old Japanese player named Hideki Matsuyama dominated his match against Henry Park, 6 and 5, to help the visitors post a 24.5 to 19.5 win in the Hawaii/Japan Junior Cup.
Those were the stages, of course, played in the shadows. On the stage that mattered, a guy much older, the 31-year-old Tiger Woods, was collecting a fourth US PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Ho-hum as that might have been, given it was his 14th major, what surely resonated was Woods' achievement at the end of that summer. With an overwhelming performance in the inaugural FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour, Woods earned a cool $10million.
What stands out about that 2007 Tour Championship that nailed down the first FedEx Cup were the suffocating numbers. Woods won the season finale by eight strokes, it was his 61st career win and seventh of the season, and he finished the Tour Championship at 23-under 257.
"It has been a phenomenal week," Woods said, then very much at his understated best. He had, after all, also pocketed a cheque for $1.26million for winning the Tour Championship.
"I enjoyed being on a scoring streak, hitting good shot after good shot, and I felt very comfortable with my game. It felt good."
That was then and this is now, and what feels remarkable is how quickly time has passed and how surreal it is to know this: just 15 years after they were playing golf on mostly unheralded stages as kids, the 26-year-old Scheffler (he's Scottie now, unlike in 2007), Burns, 26; McIlroy, 33; Thomas, 29; and Matsuyama, 30, were numbers 1-2-3-4-5 in the FedEx Cup standings when the calendar flipped to July.
The flip side of Woods now being 46 is the fact the game is getting younger and, oh, how the current FedEx Cup standings reflect that. After Scheffler, Burns, McIlroy, Thomas, and Matsuyama, we have Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, and Max Homa.
Average age of those 10 players: 28.5.
That is more than four years younger than the average age in 2007, the first FedEx Cup when seven of the top 10 were 31 or older. This time around, eight of the current top 10 are 30 or younger.
But if this youth parade has many marchers, the warmest spotlight must be shining on the leader, the same kid who 15 years ago was dominating the competition on the North Texas Junior PGA.
All Scheffler has done in this, his third full season on the PGA Tour, is win four times and roar into the penthouse of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Not bad, this number one designation. But some might argue that Burns is number 1A, because all he has done is win three times before, and if you go back to the middle of the 2020-21 season, Burns secured victories in four of his last 29 tournaments.
The screeching noise you heard is the arrival of the Scheffler-Burns express; they are two young men who are great friends and as if to punctuate their new-found grip on the PGA Tour, they had an exclamation point of a Sunday back in May.
Locked in a play-off at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Burns poured in a long-range birdie on the first extra hole to beat his Texas friend.
Even Scheffler flashed a wide smile that day, nodding his approval to Burns, knowing there will be many more opportunities to return the favour. Perhaps even as soon as the upcoming FedEx Cup play-offs. These are the dates that matter: August 11-14 at the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis; August 18-21 at the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware; and August 25-28 at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
They are tournaments that showcase the best of the elite, and whereas you might have understandably expected them to put Scheffler in awe as a 24-year-old rookie in August of 2020, it didn't work out that way. In his second round in the play-offs, Scheffler shot 59 at TPC Boston.
He didn't win that week, but a tie for fourth set in motion a nice play-off run – tied 20th at the BMW, fifth at the Tour Championship. The three who finished immediately ahead of him in the FedEx Cup standings in 2020 – Schauffele, Thomas and Jon Rahm – are key contenders for the 2021-22 FedEx Cup as a dynamic era of young and talented performers continues into the 16th edition of this season-long race.
It is amazing, the furious speed with which these kids have progressed from junior golf to the spotlight of a FedEx Cup. Then again, perhaps there are those who saw this coming. Joel Edwards, for instance.
A veteran PGA Tour performer, Edwards was in the twilight of his career when he used to practise at Royal Oaks at Dallas where Scheffler was the brightest of a stable of talented junior players.
Precocious and supremely talented, Scheffler would challenge Edwards and another PGA Tour veteran, Harrison Frazar, to random contests. Frazar confirms he lost sleeves of golf balls to a fourth-grader; Edwards concedes that "he cost me a fortune; I used to carry a bunch of quarters because I knew I'd get my butt beat [in a bid to hit practice-range poles with wedge shots]."
And if there was one thing that stood out about Scheffler back then, even beyond his uncanny golf skills, it was his appearance.
"He always wore pants. He looked like a Tour player at 10," said Edwards.
And at 11, while mowing down the local competition, perhaps Scheffler knew this brand-new FedEx Cup was someday going to be in his future.
Simpson appointed first vice captain for 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team
Keegan Bradley has selected former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson as his first vice captain for the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Simpson, who is a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, has lost all three of his appearances in the biennial men's golf competition.
The 38-year-old won the U.S. Open in 2012 to secure his first major championship win, and has triumphed in the Presidents Cup on three ocassions.
The United States will look to reclaim the Ryder Cup trophy at Bethpage Black in New York next September, having seen Europe win 10 of the last 14 competitions.
"Webb is someone who I have long admired and respected as a competitor and friend," U.S. captain Bradley said.
"He possesses a wealth of team golf experience and knows what it takes to win.
"Webb will be a valuable member of our leadership team and a trusted resource for me as we prepare for Bethpage Black next September."
"I am honoured to be chosen by Keegan to serve as a vice captain in 2025," Simpson added.
"Competing in three Ryder Cups will forever be among my career highlights.
I have no doubt that Keegan will be a fantastic captain and a tremendous leader, and could not be more excited to get to work as we seek to reclaim the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black."
The Open: Victorious Schauffele eyes career grand slam
Xander Schauffele set his sights on a career grand slam after a brilliant final round saw him claim victory at The Open on Sunday.
Schauffele managed a six-under 65 through his fourth round at Royal Troon, with a run of four birdies in six holes down the back nine seeing him pull clear.
He finished two strokes ahead of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, with Thriston Lawrence, Russell Henley and Shane Lowry rounding out the top of the leaderboard.
Having also triumphed at the PGA Championship at Valhalla earlier this year, Schauffele has become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 (U.S. Open and PGA) to win two majors in the same year.
Rory McIlroy was the last player to win those same two tournaments in one year, achieving the feat back in 2014.
Only five players have ever previously won all four majors in their careers – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.
Schauffele is looking to follow in their footsteps in the coming years, telling reporters: "If you look hard enough, you can always find it.
"It's something, when you feel like you need an extra kick in the butt, there's several easy ways to motivate yourself.
"There's still a lot of things that I'd like to do in my career, and this is a very big leap towards that. The fire is still burning, maybe brighter than ever."
Looking at the Claret Jug in his post-tournament press conference, the world number three added: "It's an honour. I've always dreamed of doing it.
"That walk up 18 truly is the coolest with the yellow leaderboards and the fans and the standing ovation. It really is one of the coolest feelings I've ever had in my life."
The Open: Rose lauds 'cold competitor' Schauffele after second-placed finish
Justin Rose accepted he had lost out to a "cold competitor" in Xander Schauffele after the American triumphed at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon on Sunday.
Schauffele shot a magnificent final round of 65 to seal a two-shot victory in Scotland, winning his second major after he also came out on top at May's PGA Championship.
Rose joined Billy Horschel in a share of second, the Englishman managing two birdies in his final three holes to close the gap.
Rose – who has gone 11 years without winning a major since claiming the U.S. Open title in 2013 – was proud of his efforts and acknowledged he had simply been beaten by the better player.
"Obviously I tried to enjoy the walk down 18 because we did an incredible job out there," Rose told Sky Sports. "I felt like we played unbelievable golf.
"But Xander, every credit to him, he made it look so easy on the back nine. He's a cold, cold competitor, but I couldn't be more proud of myself with the way I competed today.
"There was just one little spell in the round where there were putts on 12, 13 and 14 that didn't drop and that's where the momentum shifted to Xander.
"That putt on 18, to finish strong, I knew it was for second place and I think I at least deserved that for the week.
"It's okay to be beaten by someone who shoots 31 on the back nine but I gave that everything."
Fellow runner-up Horschel, who held a one-stroke lead going into Sunday's final round, was disappointed to drop away, saying: "I'm going to always fight until the end. I was rewarded with three birdies there at the end to finish tied second with a good friend, Justin Rose.
"I should feel disappointed. I had a chance to win a major. I was in a really good position. I just made a few too many mistakes today when I didn't need to.
"But we'll look back on this in an hour and I'll be very happy with what I did this week.
"I did a lot of great things that I can take on to the next few years of majors and hopefully one of these will be my time to step through the door and hold one of them."
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