20 Things We Want to See in 2017

Will the White House get its own nine-holer? Will Tiger make it 15? Anything could happen in 2017.

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The new golfing season has a hell of a lot to live up to. 2016 brought us the best Open tussle in years, the first British Masters Champion for 20 years, a British Olympic Gold medallist and, in McIlroy vs Reed, the best Ryder Cup singles ever – well, until Phil and Sergio bested it a few groups later.

This said, 2017 has a chance of, ahem, Trumping it. There is so much to look forward to in the coming 12 months, not least the sight of Tiger Woods returning to challenge the new breed of superstars battling it out at the top of the world rankings. There is also an exciting new set of majors ahead of us, including a debut for Erin Hills as the US Open venue.

Then, of course, there are the things that are a little harder to predict. Which players will break through on the world stage like Danny Willett and Alex Noren did last year? Will the advent of Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston see more golfers reveal their true personalities? Will we see a revolution in equipment and instruction? And what will having the golf loving Donald Trump in the White House bring to the game?

We’ve wracked our brains to come up with the 20 things we’d really like to see in 2017. There’s every chance some of them will transpire, while others are included more in hope than expectation. But if all of them happen, we’ve got one incredible year ahead of us.

1. TIGER BOUNCING BACK WITH A WIN

Tiger Woods is box office. When the 14-time major winner plays, the world takes notice. Ask any Tour pro who’s come through in the last 10 years who their hero was when they were growing up and (at least) 90% of them will say Woods. He’s an inspiration, a phenomenon, a legend. And he’s back!