Players still looking for their first European Tour win

Every Tour member will tell you how hard it is to win, more so than 10-15 years ago.  The players are younger, bigger, stronger, and better.  A lot that goes into winning is the type of golf course (long or short), weather, competition, and confidence.  Many Tour members have the talent and confidence to break their winless drought.  Some are only a few years removed from amateur golf, some are entering their prime or are already in it, and some are journeymen.  Whatever the case, there are fully-capable Tour players still searching for their first Tour win.  For many, a win will open the floodgates to multiple victories.  Here's a list of the most notable players on the European Tour who are still searching for their first Tour win:

Matthew Baldwin: The 27-year-old Englishman was in the running for the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award last season had it not been for Ricardo Santos's win at the Madeira Islands Open.  In Baldwin's first season on Tour, he finished 72nd on the Race to Dubai, with two top-10s and two made cuts in majors (tied-59th in the U.S. Open and tied-23rd in the Open Championship).  While the start to his 2013 season hasn't been too impressive, he's started to rediscover some of last year's form with four straight cuts made (best finish was a tied-5th at the Trophee Hassan II).  This season, he is ranked 202nd on Tour in putts per round (30.9).  If he's able to improve that aspect of his game, his results will drastically improve and his confidence from last season will return.  One of many talented, young Englishmen on Tour, it's going to be interesting to see how Baldwin develops over the next 5-10 years.

George Coetzee: The 26-year-old, big-hitting South African has the sky as his limit.  Currently ranked 48th in the world rankings, he will be eligible for the remaining three majors of this season.  He has had three 2nd -place finishes and five 3rd-place finishes in his short career (one 2nd and one 3rd this season).  There's not one player on Tour who's ready to win more than Coetzee.  It's just a matter of time before he breaks through, and then the floodgates will open.  He's had success in every part of the world, so it's just a question of which continent will yield his first victory.  I expect Coetzee to break through this season.

Victor Dubuisson: The 23-year-old Frenchman has played very well this season, with four top-10s to his credit.  He's ranked a career-high 105th in the world rankings and he'll obviously be looking to crack the top-100 by the time the U.S. PGA Championship rolls around.  He's fresh off a 3rd-place finish in the Volvo China Open so he'll be taking some good form into the upcoming tournaments.  Dubuisson has always been one of the longer hitters on Tour but, if he wants to take his game to the next level, he'll need to improve his putting (30.85 putts per round in 2012 and 30.17 so far in 2013).  Long courses suit the Frenchman the best, so I look for him to contend at the Nordea Masters (7,607 yards) in three week's time.


Tommy Fleetwood: Out of all these golfers listed, this 22-year-old Englishman might have the most potential.  He's gotten off to a flying start this season, registering two top-10s and has almost won the same amount of money as he did all of last season (has won €190,361 this season; won €203,699 last season).  The former #3-ranked amateur was the 2011 Challenge Tour #1.  This season, he's averaging almost a stroke and a half less than he did last season (70.88 this season vs. 71.49 last season).  The only thing holding him back is his putting, as he's averaging 30.09 putts per round and that's too many no matter how good your ballstriking is.  I'm predicting a victory for Fleetwood this season.

Jaco Van Zyl: The 34-year-old South African might be somewhat unknown to most golf fans, but he certainly knows how to compete around the world.  The majority of his success has taken place in South Africa in his career, with 13 wins on the Sunshine Tour, including three this season so far.  He's currently ranked 78th in the world rankings, but he needs to exhibit more success outside his homeland if he wants to continue progressing up the world rankings list.  Within the next couple of seasons, I expect Van Zyl to have multiple wins on the European Tour.


Romain Wattel: The 22-year-old Frenchman recently finished 4th at the Ballantine's Championship so he's taking some good form into the European section of the schedule.  Last season, he played in the final group at the Johnnie Walker Championship with eventual winner Paul Lawrie, where he finished tied-3rd.  The following week at the Omega European Masters, he finished in a tie for 2nd.  The talented Frenchman needs to keep knocking on the door and one of these weeks it will open for him.

Oliver Wilson: The 32-year-old Englishman is famous for his 2008 Ryder Cup appearance.  He's also had nine 2nd-place finishes on Tour.  Formerly ranked in the top-50 in the world rankings, he's now ranked 556th.  He has yet to make a cut this season on either the main Tour or Challenge Tour.  Still not fully recovered from a broken wrist suffered during the winter break, he needs a confidence-boosting week sooner rather than later.  Next week could be his week, as he recorded his only top-10 of the season in the Madeira Islands Open with a tied-4th finish last season.  "Ollie" has enormous potential, but he will need to make his way back to the European Tour via the Challenge Tour as his category won't allow him to play many more events on the main Tour this season.  Once he makes his way back, I firmly believe that a European Tour win will not be far off.