Established names not daunted by rise of young PGA TOUR stars

GAINESVILLE, Va. – Much has been written about the kids on the PGA Tour's block. And rightfully so.

The world's top two players – No. 1 Rory McIlroy, a pup at 26, and No. 2 Jordan Spieth, a Texas-sized kid of 22 – have taken over the headlines and the game during the struggles of Tiger Woods.

Especially when the former No. 1 who dominated his peers for more than a decade looks like a very old 39 as he did in Saturday's third round of the Quicken Loans National at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Woods was back on Friday with a 66, done on Saturday with a 74. Either way, he still moves the needle like no other. It's just now the red shirt is no longer feared.

But back to McIlroy and Spieth, who have won four of the last five majors and led many to opine that it's a new age for professional golf, the torch having been passed down by the game's elders. It's a fair assessment, for the kids are strong and hit it long. They're cool and rich. They putt without fear, they're full of game and they're inspiring the millennials just as Woods inspired them.

Spieth is the All-American kid who has won four events, two of them the first two majors of the season, and he knocked on history's door at the home of golf in the British Open, where he came one shot shy of a playoff on the Old Course and losing out on a chance of joining Ben Hogan as the only players to win the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in the same year.

McIlroy won three times worldwide before rupturing ligaments in his left ankle. And they have been joined in the winner's circle this year by fellow 20-somethings like Patrick Reed (24), Brooks Koepka (24) Rickie Fowler (26), and Jason Day (27), among others.

Another signal of the changing of the guard took place at St. Andrews where young amateurs ran amok of the leaderboard, including Paul Dunne, Jordan Niebrugge and Ollie Schniederjans, who joined Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only amateurs in the last 50 years to make the cut in the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year. Schniederjans turned pro the next week and was making his mark in the Quicken Loans National this week.

"That's a pretty good snapshot of what's coming and guys being able to handle it a lot better," Quicken Loans defending champion Justin Rose said of the Open Championship. "The guys are definitely more equipped for sure."

Yes, the kids are good out here, and the PGA Tour's publicity machine has been driving that point home on a regular basis. But a better assessment of the current state is that by any age, the PGA Tour is thriving.

Just look back to the British Open. The three participants in the playoff are in their 30s – Claret Jug winner Zach Johnson (39), Louis Oosthuizen (32) and Marc Leishman (31).

And there's this little publicized fact: There have been more winners in their 30s (18) this year in the Tour's 38 events than in their 20s (17).

Yes, a new age has arrived on the Tour – and it's for all ages.

Two-time major winner Retief Goosen, 46 but feeling younger after back surgery, joked that it was nice the youngsters let the older players have a day in the sun on Thursday. But he has yet to concede to the younger generation.

Rose, 34, isn't going anywhere any time soon and won in New Orleans this year. Jimmy Walker is 36 and a two-time winner this year. Dustin Johnson is 30 and a few strokes shy of winning three times this year, including one eagle putt for the U.S. Open. Bubba Watson is a big kid at 36 and a winner in 2015.

And no one will tell Jim Furyk that at 45 he's too old for the game, especially seeing as he won the RBC Heritage this year.

Mickelson, a five-time major winner, certainly isn't done at 45 even if he hasn't won since 2013.

Same goes for Woods, who has fallen to No. 266 in the world but remains confident he will once again be a force on Tour. He was a force Friday in the tournament he hosts. On Saturday, after starting the day three shots out of the lead, he was miserable and fell nine shots off the pace set by 29-year-old Troy Merritt, who shot 61.

"Am I surprised? Yeah, a little bit," Woods said of his round. "I hit it like this when I was warming up. Sometimes it's one of those things; you hit awful on the range and go stripe it on a golf course. That wasn't the case here.

" … I was very patient. I fought hard today. I made some sweet up and downs, hit some really good shots. Thank God my short game is back. Now I just need to get the ball striking in there a little bit better and consistent. It's the best I felt with the putter and I rolled it so pure but I never could get the ball on the green fast enough."

The haters among his legion of followers say Woods is talking crazy, that he'll never be a contender again. Those he plays against say it's much, much too early to write him off.

Besides, he's still young. Just not 20 something.