While I spend a majority of my time talking about the PGA and LPGA Tours, it would be unfair to the other Tours around the world to not get a little bit of attention, especially since their players are seen in majors and other competitions throughout the course of the year. It is only fair that, if I were to screw up predictions for the American Tours, I might as well do it for the other Tours, as well. Here are my five bold predictions for the Tours that I did not discuss.
5) Rory McIlroy will NOT win the Race For Dubai.
- Rory's massive season last year catapulted him to not only win the PGA Tour Player Of The Year Award, but the European Tour's Race For Dubai, as well. While I have already predicted Rory to win the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour this season, I do not think Rory will go back to back on the European Tour, primarily because I do not expect Rory to win a major this season, and that accounted for a majority of his points on that Tour. It's not to say Rory won't be a part of the conversation - he will still have a great year with wins on both sides of the pond, but another European player is going to rise up and win a major to propel him the European Tour's highest award.
4) Teresa Lu will reign on the JLPGA Tour.
- Last year, Sun-Ju Ahn had a fantastic JLPGA season that propelled her to win that Tour's Order Of Merit, but the end of the season belonged to Teresa Lu, who won two straight majors. Lu was too far back of Ahn to really put the heat on her, but I think Lu is just now starting to hit her stride, and she will be battling Ahn, as well as JiYai Shin, all the way until the end, where Lu will sneak through and win the JLPGA Order Of Merit for the first time in her career.
3) Hiroshi Iwata earns invitations to the Open Championship and PGA Championship.
- In order for this to happen, Iwata will have to be in the Top 2 in the Order Of Merit on the Japan Tour by the end of May, and not only do I think he will accomplish that, but I think Iwata is heading towards a season where he walks away with the title. Iwata came on incredibly strong at the end of 2014, highlighted by his third place finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions and a playoff loss to Hideki Matsuyama at the Dunlop Phoenix. I think this is the year where Iwata shines on the Japan Tour and gains the attention of the worldwide media as he plays in his third Open Championship and first PGA Championship.
2) In Gee Chun wins the KLPGA Money Title, but the world says "hello" to Gyeol Park.
- With Ha Na Jang taking up membership on the LPGA Tour and Hyo Joo Kim splitting her time between Korea and the United States, In Gee Chun has the perfect opportunity to follow up her great 2014 season with the KLPGA Money List title. That will be impressive, but it will be rookie Gyeol Park, who won the gold medal in the Asian Games for South Korea, that will receive a majority of the attention. Not only will Gyeol Park win Rookie Of The Year by a wide margin, but she will win a few times in Korea and come close to winning the Hana Bank Championship, as well as contending at the Evian Championship. It will not be long before Gyeol Park is winning tournaments in the United States.
1) David Lipsky contends in a majors - joins PGA Tour.
- Who is David Lipsky? He is a 26 year old from Los Angeles who won the Omega European Masters last year on his way to winning the Asian Tour Order Of Merit. Lipsky has been playing on the Asian Tour for a few years, but last year was by far the best of his career. This year, I expect greater things from Lipsky, who will have exemption into the Open Championship and PGA Championship, as well as several of the World Golf Championship events based on his Order Of Merit crown. I think Lipsky comes close to winning one of these events, and turns that into an exemption on the PGA Tour. Lipsky is a great talents that just needs the opportunity to shine, and I think he gets that opportunity this year.
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