- In her first tournament at the top of the Rolex Rankings, Lydia Ko outlasted the field at a tough golf course to win the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open. She was the heavy favorite going into the tournament and ended up being the player to make the fewest mistakes at the end of the tournament.
- I am going to make another bold prediction right here - I think Rory McIlroy loses the number one position in the world before Lydia does. Some people seem to forget that Lydia is still only 17 years old and is still improving, and even as she's improving she's still the best player in the world. We are about to enter the Era Of Ko, and people are going to need to form a line behind her.
- This is going to be a good year for Amy Yang. Her two top 10 finishes already have her inside the top 10 in the Race For The CME Globe, and her steady play will help her at some tough events throughout the course of the year. Yang only has one win in her career, but that will change before the end of 2015.
- I don't know if Ariya Jutanugarn will get better with experience or not. She always finds herself in contention, but her erratic play takes her out of it come Sunday. If she can figure it out, she will win a bunch of tournaments, but she won't be able to win at the big stage if she continues to hit the golf ball in places where it doesn't belong.
- The greatest rookie class of all time had four players in the top 10 this week. Jutanugarn, Ha Na Jang, Charley Hull, and Minjee Lee all had a good week this week. Jutanugarn and Jang continue to lead this rookie class, as they have been solid all season. For Minjee, it was her first top 10, but she's only going to get better as the season goes on. The biggest beneficiary has to be Charley Hull, who is playing on limited status. Every dollar counts for Hull, who will be looking to earn her card for next season despite not playing a full schedule.
- It was a tough field and tough conditions at Riveria, and yet it was relative unknown James Hahn who walked out as the champion. For those of us who follow golf a little more closely, Hahn's first win isn't that surprising. For the past two years, Hahn looked to be on the brink of something great, but inconsistencies in his results prevented him from taking that next big leap. He's now in the field at the World Gold Championships and the Masters, so Hahn career has officially been kickstarted. I think Hahn could very easily contend at a major.
- What rust? For the second straight week, Dustin Johnson was in contention to win after spending six months away from the game. To be fair, Johnson's good finishes happened at Pebble Beach and Riveria, two golf courses that perfectly suit his game, but another golf course that fits his game is Augusta National. He is starting to play some great golf at the right time.
- Paul Casey's second victory will happen this year. This one may have gotten away from him, but he is playing some solid golf, so I have no doubt that Casey will leave 2015 with a trophy.
- If you are Retief Goosen, you should keep this week into prospective. Sure, you had the opportunity to win on Sunday and ended up shooting a 75 to take yourself out of it, but you also managed to finish in the top 10 after playing really well for three days. Retief will be upset for a day, but should take this event as a springboard. He is on the verge of winning again, and could have pulled it off this week had Riveria not been a bear of a course.
- Golf tournaments, take note. Riveria was incredibly difficult and the winner won at six under par, and the drama on Sunday was among the best television we have seen on Tour this year. You don't need a golf course where twenty under par wins - make the rough a little higher, put in some tough pins, and you'll get a great golf tournament with some Sunday drama.
- There is a great story brewing across the pond. Anirban Lahiri just won his second event of the season on the European Tour, outlasting the field at the Hero Indian Open. He has risen to 34th in the World Rankings, has booked a trip to Augusta National, and has all but wrapped up a spot on the Presidents Cup team. Lahiri is already the best Indian golfer in history, and he has the opportunity to show the entire golf world his talent as he drives down Magnolia Lane. All of this success comes a year after winning twice on the Asian Tour. The sky is the limit for Lahiri.
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