The Limerick Summary: Battle Lines Are Drawn

Winner: To Be Determined

Around the wider world of golf: The season gets back in gear this week.



Golf gets underway all over the world this week, whether it's the European Tour playing in South Africa or the PGA Tour in Hawaii. But the bigger story may be the 'Battle of the Ages' that appears to be shaping up this year.

When you get right down to it, there are maybe a dozen tournaments that mean more to the men than all the rest. You have the majors, the WGCs, and then the 'Flagship Events' and Tour Championships for the PGA and European Tours. But a quick look at the defending champions in 2016 -- and their current ages -- tells a fascinating story.

The Majors:

• Masters: Jordan Spieth, 22
• US Open: Jordan Spieth, 22
• Open Championship: Zach Johnson, 39
• PGA Championship: Jason Day, 28

The WGCs:

• Cadillac Championship: Dustin Johnson, 31
• Dell Match Play: Rory McIlroy, 26
• Bridgestone Invitational: Shane Lowry, 28
• HSBC Champions: Russell Knox, 30

Flagship Events:

• THE PLAYERS (PGA): Rickie Fowler, 27
• BMW PGA Championship (ET): Byeong Hun An, 24

Tour Championships:

• Tour Championship by Coca-Cola (PGA): Jordan Spieth, 22
• DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (ET): Rory McIlroy, 26

Zach is the old man -- or, as the analysts seem to prefer, 'wily veteran' -- at age 39 while no one else is older than 31. And while older players did win in 2015 -- Davis Love (51) and Alex Cejka (45) come to mind -- and other vets played fairly consistent golf, 2015 was clearly the year when the younger players flexed their collective muscle.

The analysts are convinced that 2015 was a watershed year when the reins of the tours changed hands and the veterans will now be relegated to also-ran status. And yes, I know the media guys love to say that "the golf ball doesn't know how old you are" but we fans all know that they don't believe a word of it. You can tell because they repeat it as if they have to say it, plus they roll their eyes.

But I'm not so sure that's true. Although Tiger rewrote the book on power golf and all the kids have taken it to heart, there's more than one way to play this game. (To use a younger example, remember how the media guys kept saying Jordan wasn't long enough until he embarrassed them into saying he was.) The old guys are starting to figure this out as well, and 'short-knockers' like Zach will become one of their role models as they reassert themselves this year.

So this week's Limerick Summary -- the 'opening act,' as it were -- simply lays out the parameters of this brewing battle. It will be interesting to see how soon the old guys make their own statement this year!

The youngsters were hot stuff last year
But now Twenty-Sixteen is here.
The kids have to prove
They can stay in their groove
When the vets mount a charge from the rear.

The photo came from this page at PGATOUR.com.