Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

Martin Kaymer, the fluid-swinging German who’s been the best player on earth the last year or so, has finally reached No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. It’s final, definitive proof that golf has entered the post-Tiger Woods era.

At 26, Kaymer is the second-youngest player to capture the top ranking since Woods did so at age 21 in 1997. (The rankings have only been in place since 1986.) But he was also the first player younger than Woods to pass Tiger in the rankings, which he did earlier this year.

And he did so with a simply astonishing game. He won the European Tour’s Rookie of the Year in 2007, and since then he’s won eight times on the European Tour, including three of the last four stacked-field Abu Dhabi Golf Championships. He captured last year’s PGA Championship in a memorable playoff against Bubba Watson, and it was Watson whom he bested Saturday to take the final step to the Accenture Match Play finals and edge out Lee Westwood for the No. 1 spot.

[Follow Devil Ball Golf on Facebook right here and on Twitter at @jaybusbee.]

"The PGA Championship gave me so much motivation and so much belief that
I can win any tournament that I play," he said after Saturday’s matches. "And I think the most
important thing was that I kept working on my game, that I didn’t
stop. I didn’t want to be, I don’t know, just win once and kind of like
you don’t hear about me anymore."

Not much chance of that. Kaymer hasn’t exactly backed into this top ranking. His ascension has more legitimacy, from a victory standpoint, than Westwood. The now-former No. 1, whose reign lasted just 11 weeks, was the beneficiary of Woods toppling off the side of the earth and Mickelson failing on a dozen occasions in 2011 to take advantage of opportunities to improve his ranking.   

It’s possible we’re entering a new phase of golf, where the top ranking gets passed around a handful of players the way box-office grosses designate a new No. 1 movie almost every week. (That’s been the situation in the LPGA for much of the post-Lorena Ochoa era. But it’s just as likely that Kaymer will hold onto this No. 1 for a long, long time.

The one glaring flaw in his resume? He’s missed the cut at Augusta all three years he’s played there. He’ll have a chance to correct that in about five weeks, and if he does, there’s nobody on the immediate horizon playing at anywhere near his level.  

As for Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and the other golfers who commanded the game for the 2000s? They’ll win again, perhaps even capturing a few majors along the way. But they’ll have to fight for every hole, and guys like Kaymer won’t ever shrink in their presence again.

This is to take absolutely nothing away from what Woods and the others achieved during their heyday; golf is so competitive now that few players will come close to Mickelson and Singh’s multiple majors, and Woods’ 14 look virtually untouchable.

But for now, it’s all about Kaymer, Watson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and many other insanely talented younger golfers. We’re in new territory now, and guys like Kaymer will be running the show from here on out.

Read More Golf News from:

Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

Watch More Videos from:

at

Follow Shane Bacon on Twitter at @shanebacon.

In the world of Johnny Miller, it seems there is never a bad time to bash Tiger Woods, not even when the man hasn’t been playing in the event he’s covering for three days.

Miller, the color analyst for NBC and former U.S. Open winner, was watching as Bubba Watson was stalking an important birdie putt on the 17th hole when Dan Hicks mentioned Bubba’s decision to up his practice putting in the last year. Miller, always controversial and down to speak his mind, felt it was a good time to let Woods know what he thought of the way Tiger practices.

"This is what Tiger needs, right? Forget all those reps on the practice tee. Do it out on the tournament courses, you know. Do it under pressure. That’s what really gives you confidence. You can’t get confidence just hitting balls all the time," Miller said.

It’s an interesting dig from Miller, mainly because it doesn’t seem to make a ton of sense. Sure, we’d probably all agree that Tiger could add more golf tournaments to his schedule to allow his new golf swing a chance to be under serious pressure, but it isn’t like Woods is shying away from events.

He has played in his usual events this season already, and will be at the same ones he always attends in the coming months. Also, what in the world does Miller mean by "do it out on the tournament courses"? Go out to tournament golf courses and practice your putting? Try to putt more each week?

It seems that mentioning Tiger when he’s not around in golf events is the new Brett Favre mentions during Packers games. Like I’ve said, we should leave Tiger be until he makes some waves, like we do with everybody else on tour. Sure, Tiger isn’t the same golfer he used to be, but it isn’t like he’s trying to play poorly. I’m sure he’s grinding on the putting green just as much as he is on the practice tee.

Miller speaks his mind, and for the most part golf fans appreciate that, but it seems at this point in a match between two guys that aren’t Tiger, the context was off the mark and inappropriate. 

Read More Golf News from:

If Luke Donald has taught us anyting this week, it’s that you don’t need to be long to have success on a bomb and gouge course like Dove Mountain.

With Bubba Watson and JB Holmes tagging drives over 400 yards, Donald has played the role of the anti-bomber, smacking it our there out there around 280-300 yards with ease and using a scorching hot putter to lay waste to every player he’s faced at the Accenture Match Play.

"There’s more to the game than hitting it far," he said after his semifinal match.

That would be an understatement. After bouncing Ryan Moore, 5&4, in the quarterfinals, you almost expected his luck to run out against Matt Kuchar. Clearly that wasn’t the case, as Donald stormed out of the gates against Kuchar, going 6-up after nine holes and winning going away, 6&5. It was the kind of clincial display we’ve come to expect from guys like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson over the years, but not a guy like Donald.

But after taking a look at his match play stats this week, maybe we should be taking notice of the Englishman. So far in his five matches, he’s managed 27 birdies in 73 holes, including 13 birdies in the 27 holes he played on Saturday.

Not only that, he also set the record for the least amount of holes played by a golfer going into the final. These are the kind of stats that make you feel bad for whoever plays Donald in the 18-hole final.

There are times in a golfer’s career where he knows he’s in the zone. This would be one of those times for Donald. Who know if he shows up tomorrow and lays an egg in the final, but the way he’s played up to this point, you’d be crazy to bet against him walking away with the match play title on Sunday.

Read More Golf News from: