The Outlook for 2007 – International Players
For the purpose of this writing, I’ll refer to “international players” as those players that are non-U.S. and non-European-born. This does include players from Australia, South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand, and Asia. I was aware that the international players were well-represented in the top-30 of the year-end money list, but I had no idea how much. As shown in the table below, the international players comprised 50% of the PGA Tour’s top 30. That’s incredible when you really analyze the numbers. And this doesn’t include the likes of Michael Campbell and Mike Weir, both of who have won majors in the last few years.
As is incredibly obvious, the international contigent is extremely strong and is only getting better each year. So what’s on tap for next year? Vijay sounds like he’s fixed his swing problems and will be a force to reckon with. Retief Goosen and Ernie Els are both looking to come back very strong in 2007 primarily because of their poor performances of the last couple of years.
I’m not convinced (yet) that Ogilvy and Immelman are the real deal. They need to have a good 2007 to secure their positions on the money list. I think Appleby is a darkhorse that might break through and win a major in 2007. He’s got excellent length and a great short game, so don’t be suprised if he’s hanging around come Sunday at the Masters.
| Rank | Player |
| 4 | Vijay Singh |
| 5 | Geoff Ogilvy |
| 7 | Trevor Immelman |
| 8 | Stuart Appleby |
| 12 | Rory Sabbatini |
| 17 | Rod Pampling |
| 19 | Retief Goosen |
| 26 | Stephen Ames |
| 27 | K.J. Choi |
| 28 | Ernie Els |