2011 Masters: Is the U.S. Losing Its Grip on Golf’s Major Championships?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 11, 2011

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Not since 1910 has golf's major championships been without an American holding one of the trophies—until now.

A sport the U.S. has dominated—and to many Americans more importantly—there has always been an American golfer with a major championship trophy on his mantle.

That run ended late Sunday afternoon at Augusta National when the 26-year-old South African Charl Schwartzel birdied his last four holes to win the Masters over Jason Day at 11 under par.

All of golf's major championships now belong to non-American golfers.

The Masters - Charl Schwartzel (South Africa)

The U.S. Open - Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland)

The Open Championships - Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa)

The PGA Championship - Martin Kaymer (Germany)

You can spot the trend and the power of golf begin to swing to the non-Americans in major championships in 2007. This was the first time in a long time that there was balance in the majors as two non-Americans and two Americans split the tournaments that year.

Since that year, the Americans have won no more than two majors in a year, culminating in 2011 as Charl Schwartzel won the Masters, assuring all of golf's major championships were held by non-American players.

This "non-American Swing" in golf can also be seen in the official world golf rankings. Six of the top 10 golfers in the world are non American born players. Phil Mickelson, Eldrick Woods, Steve Stricker and Matt Kuchar are the only U.S. golfers in the top 10, with only Mickelson and Woods being in the top five in the world.

This article is not being written to take anything away from what the non-American golfers are doing in the sport. Nor is it meant to bash the American players for not winning majors. It is merely stating the fact that golf has become a truly global game over the past five years, and...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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