Rising Stars (and Stripes): 10 American Players Poised to Climb in the Rankings

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 2, 2011

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During the Accenture Match Play Tournament last weekend, fans of the PGA Tour couldn't help but feel that something was amiss; and I'm not talking about the freak hail storm that struck Arizona on Sunday morning.

What was just as strange—and about as startling a sight as the hail storm—was the lack of American flags at the top of the World Golf Rankings. Exactly zero in the top-four to be exact.

In fact, the Europeans can now not only claim the top four spots in the world, but half of the top-20.

Match Play Champion Luke Donald vaulted to third in the world, joining Ryder Cup teammates Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell atop the rankings.

To find the simple explanation for this European trend would be to do something that has become a popular pasttime in the last year; blame Tiger.

Woods dominated the PGA Tour and the World Rankings for so long that it masked the inconsistencies of the rest of the American-born players.

When Tiger's once insurmountable strangle-hold on the World No. 1 disappeared, it created a void at the top, one that Kaymer and Company were happy to fill.

A closer look at the rankings doesn't paint a better picture for the U.S.

At No. 5 Woods is the highest ranked American player, but who knows where his game is headed? No. 6 Phil Mickelson, No. 9 Steve Stricker and No. 11 Jim Furyk have all been mainstays in the top 10, but the trio is getting a bit long in the tooth, and their best days might be behind them.

Bottom line: It's time for the long-awaited "next generation" of American stars to start making some noise.

With that in mind, here are 10 American golfers with a chance to have not only a nice career, but reshuffle the top of the World Rankings.

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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