Capelle On Golf

2008 Masters Coverage - thru 4/15

The golfers who play for history have major milestones riding on each big four championship. Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, and a long list of majorless wanna be greats are looking to get the monkey off their back so they can begin to make a serious move on the history books.

Single major winners like Jim Furyk, Geoff Ogilvy and Padraig Harrington, all members of the WGR top 12, are longing to join the double majors club and exit that huge long jam of single major winners.

Going into this year’s Masters, Retief Goosen is the only double major winner in the field with a real shot at gaining admittance to the ultra exclusive triple major winners club. Should he win, he’ll join the eight other players of the Modern Era (1958-now) with three major titles.

The familiar names of Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, and Vijay Singh are in a heated competition for recognition as the second best player of the Woods Era. Another major would strengthen each player’s position and enable the lucky winner to join Ray Floyd as a four time champion.

When you consider that the majors well ran dry for far greater players such as Arnold Palmer (34) and Tom Watson (33) at a younger age that this threesome, the next major could be the major that separates them from the other two for good.

Now let’s take a closer look at our second bananas. Please keep in mind that all references to their relative position among the greats include only the Modern Era.

Ernie Els ‘ Third Leg
Another major would extend Els’ major winning span from eight years (‘94-‘02) to 15 years (’94-’08), putting him fifth on this key measuring stick. He would tie Ray Floyd for ninth in majors won with four, making him a solid choice for the top 10 of the last 50 years. A Masters title would make him the eighth player to win three different majors. Finally, a third different major would leave him just a PGA title short of the career Slam.

Phil Mickelson as a Triple Masters Champion
A victory at this year’s Masters would enable Mickelson to join Nicklaus, Woods, Palmer, Player, and Faldo as the only players to win three or more Masters. This heavyweight roster of champions would then own 57 majors. A fourth major would move him ahead of Els and Singh into a tie with Floyd, making him, not Els, the leading contender for a spot in the Modern Era’s top 10. At 37 he would have the time and the momentum to move further ahead of his rivals.

Vijay Singh’s Last Hurrah
Vijay Singh has been playing well of late, so he is likely to add to his career total of 31 PGA Tour victories. Still, at age 45 one more major would be a big bonus at this point in his career. He’s missed the cut in three of his last six majors, and failed to make the top 10 in the others. A win at the Masters would improve his major winning longevity record from six to ten years. A second Green Jacket would make him one of only 12 players to win two or more in the Modern Era. And, most importantly, he would join Floyd with four majors. This would force Els and Mickelson to win at least one more to tie him which, as I said before, is no sure thing.