Capelle On Golf

Morgan Pressel did it in 2007. So did Johnny McDermott in 1911. Both won professional majors before their twentieth birthday. In the last 100 years, they are the only ones to do so.

Tiger Woods, at 21 and three+ months, was not too far removed from his teens when he scored his breakthrough win at the 1997 Masters. Jack Nicklaus came within three shots of an outright victory at the 1960 U.S. Open at age 20 and five months. Two years later he scored his first major at age 22 and five months in a playoff with Arnold Palmer for the 1962 U.S. Open. Six years earlier Nicklaus had showed the stuff that prodigies are made of when he won the Ohio Open against a field made up mostly of pros. A near flawless 64 in the third round was the key to his victory.

Old Time Greats Won Early
Walter Hagen’s first major came at the 1914 U.S. Open when he was 21 years and eight months old. Bobby Jones broke the ice at the 1923 U.S. Open at age 21 and four months. Hagen, Jones, Nicklaus and Woods all won their first before their twenty-third birthdays because that’s what prodigies and Best Ever candidates do. They don’t mess around gaining experience. They win.

Today four male players have been labeled prodigies, and each one had the gumption to turn pro before their twentieth birthdays. Each has performed well enough to earn a spot on golf’s radar screen. But can one of these teenagers win a major before reaching their twentieth birthday?

European Tour Hot Shots
Oliver Fisher, at 19 years and seven months, is the oldest of the group. Oliver is currently ranked #197 in the WGR. He’s finished in the top 25 in five events on the European Tour this year, including a second at the Open de Andalucia. Three more majors remain before he turns 20 and he’s still got to qualify for them, so his chances don’t look good.

Next comes Rory McIlroy, who will turn 19 in early May. This classic swinging European Tour player is ranked #202 in the WGR. As you may recall, he shot a bogey free 68 at Carnoustie in the first round of the 2007 British Open before settling into a 42t finish. Since turning pro it appears as if he’s still getting acclimated to pro golf. Four majors will be played before Rory turns 20, so his chances winning one in his teens are not too promising.

Two Young Phenoms
Our last two hopefuls still have ample opportunities to score a major before the big 2-0. Tadd Fujikawa became the second youngest player to make a cut in a PGA Tour event at the 2007 Sony Open right after his sixteenth birthday. He finished in a tie for twentieth, nine shots back of Paul Goydos. Last week Tadd won his first pro event, the Mid-Pacific Open, in his home state of Hawaii at age 17 and three months. Eleven more majors are on the docket before Tadd turns 20, so he’s got a shot a scoring a major in is teens, a feat that barely eluded fellow Hawaiian teen Michelle Wie on numerous occasions.

Our final entry in the prodigy major sweepstakes is Ryo Ishikawa, the young phenom from Japanese. There must be something about players whose names end with ikawa. At any rate, Ryo won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup last May when he was a 15 year and eight month old amateur. Last week Ryo tied for fifth at the Token Homemate Cup, a regular stop on the Japan Golf Tour where he is currently ranked 28th. He is #397 in the WGR. No worries, for young Ryo because 15 majors are scheduled before he turns 20. This may be enough time for him to accomplish something that his idol, Tiger Woods, never did.