Fansided

Golf year in review: Superlatives from the 2021 PGA Tour and golfing world

By Cody Williams

May 23, 2021; Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA; Phil Mickelson gives a thumbs up to the fans on the 18th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2021; Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA; Phil Mickelson gives a thumbs up to the fans on the 18th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Phil Mickelson. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

5 best 2021 golf tournaments on the PGA Tour

5. Waste Management Phoenix Open (Brooks wins but Spieth provides a thrill ride)

Holing out to take full control of the tournament was a great moment for Brooks Koepka as he won a tournament that was not a major championship (a rarity for him, obviously). That was entertaining enough, but watching the Jordan Spieth circus around him was even better.

Spieth was on his ascent but not all the way there, which might’ve been more fun. He covered more desert than Clark Griswold in the original Vacation looking for tee shots and still contended. It was a wild, wild ride but one that stuck with me for months and months thereafter.

4. BMW Championship (Patrick Cantlay feuds with Bryson, gets the last laugh)

Anytime that there is some bad blood fueling the golf, it makes it a little more spicy — and not the Brooks-Bryson type of feud.

Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau were clearly not fans of one another in the second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs but they were also duking it out at the top of the leaderboard. Then we got the duo in a playoff that was remarkable. One great iron shot after another, one missed putt after another, they went back and forth in an absolute barn-burner until Cantlay finally emerged, largely thanks to a DeChambeau error.

3. Genesis Invitational (Max Homa beats Tony Finau in thrilling playoff)

Riviera always delivers the goods, as quality venues tend to do. However, the Genesis was particularly wild this past year. Max Homa, the hometown kid on his favorite course growing up, had the chance to win but missed a gimme on No. 18 to go into a playoff. He was then in an impossible position against a tree, but fought out of it to win on what is essentially his home soil. It was a moment for the ages that shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle.

2. U.S. Open (Jon Rahm finally gets major championship glory)

For starters, the majority of the U.S. Open was quite a wild ride. However, all eyes were on Jon Rahm as he returned from a positive COVID test that forced him out of action for a few weeks but he was still the favorite at Torrey Pines. So for him to live up to that and make the weekend charge he did — all in order to capture his first major win — was something that storybooks are quite literally written about.

1. PGA Championship (Phil Mickelson wins a major at 50)

I mean, like there was going to be another No. 1 on this list?

Phil Mickelson was bad for the majority of the 2021 calendar year, specifically when he teed it up on the PGA Tour. So he was an afterthought when the PGA Championship went to a notoriously difficult venue like Kiawah Island. Yet, the 50-year-old found magic that no one knew was there and provided a scene for the ages as he captured another major victory.

Note: The Ryder Cup was not included in consideration for this list

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