2010 PGA Tour year in review

2010 PGA Tour year in review

The 2010 season was unique in many ways. No wins by Tiger Woods, a return to form by Ernie Els and the emergence of Matt Kuchar were just a few of the storylines that set the year apart.

Three new faces pushed their way into the list of winners at major championships and Tim Clark proved with his victory at THE PLAYERS Championship that you don't have to be big to win big.

Here are some highlights from the 2010 PGA TOUR season:

Top player: Three victories on three great golf courses qualifies Jim Furyk for Player of the Year honors. Furyk won the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook, the Verizon Heritage at Harbor Town, and The TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. The latter victory also happened to give Furyk the FedExCup title -- which proves that old-fashioned Furyk consistency has never been more apparent.

Key shot: The 6-iron that Phil Mickelson struck from the pine straw, between two pine trees, on the 15th hole at the Masters will go down as one of the all-timers. Even though Mickelson didn't make the eagle putt, the birdie was enough to let Lee Westwood and the rest of the contenders realize their cause was lost.

Biggest surprise: Louis Oosthiuzen ran away from the field with a record victory at the British Open. That may be the biggest surprise winner of a major since Todd Hamilton won the Open at Royal Troon in 2004 but he'll likely have more staying power.

Most improved: Brendon de Jonge finished third on three occasions, had seven top-10 finishes, and improved his Official World Golf Ranking from No. 323 to No. 94. Now he gets to experience something new: Life without q-school.

Best moment: Why does the Masters Tournament always seem to give us so many great moments? There's no way you can possibly top the emotional overflow that occurred behind the 18th green between Phil and Amy Mickelson. Only a person with a heart of stone didn't shed a tear when watching that scene.

Best finish: Stuart Appleby was playing every week to try to regain his fully exempt status and end a four-year winless streak. He did OK, shooting a 59 on the final day to beat Jeff Overton and win the Greenbrier Classic.

Most impressive win: The victory by Rocco Mediate at the Frys.com Open was impressive on many levels. The 47-year-old won for the first time in eight years and holed out for an eagle on each day. Nice to know he'll be exempt for the next two seasons. The TOUR needs more guys like Rocco.

Best round: Didn't everybody shoot at least one 59 on TOUR this year? Regardless, the best round belonged to Rory McIlroy, who came up with a 62 in the final round at Quail Hollow to beat Phil Mickelson and win his first PGA TOUR event.

What do we have to look forward to next year? There are bound to be a few surprises to emerge at qualifying school -- and right now someone is probably working on a part of their game that will make a big difference. Fortunately we won't have to wait long to find out: The new season is only six weeks away.