GOLF:They just keep coming off the conveyor belt - bolder, better and much younger, writes Philip Reid

TIGER WOODS has been blamed for many things, on and off the golf course. On it, his propensity to spit – a habit which causes more rancour on this side of the pond than stateside – and equally his tendency to react to bad shots by slamming his club into the ground and/or uttering a four-letter word don’t go down well with the sport’s traditionalists. Off it, his business is his own.

One thing you can’t take away from Woods, though, is how he has inspired young players from around the world to seek to emulate his more acceptable side: that is, playing great golf to win great titles. And whilst we still await a mushrooming of the sport among African-Americans where basketball retains its drawing power, the proliferation of the so-called “Young Guns” on tour has much to do with the global impact made by Woods on the game.

It’s interesting to look back to the 2005 season when there was much talk of a new generation of player emerging. Just who were these “Young Guns” of six years ago? Do the names Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott ring bells? Back then, these two – touted as the up-and-coming rivals to Woods’s dominance – were 25 years of age with tour wins, but no Majors, to back up their credentials. The thing is, we’re still waiting for either one of them to win a Major championship.

Instead of a 25-year-old being considered one for the future, the 2011 crop of “Generation Next” shows how the game’s up-and-comers are getting younger and younger. The game has changed, that’s for sure. To such an extent, in fact, that the PGA Tour in America has used the generation gap as part of a marketing campaign to increase public awareness and interest in tournament golf. Called “New Breed v The Establishment” with golf fans encouraged to take sides.

Unquestionably, the emergence of so many young players has to be good for the sport. Yet, the most salient aspect of it all is that it is a global phenomenon with Europeans, Asians and Australians – not to mention the South Africans, with British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel themselves having just graduated from the “Young Guns” category – being even more prevalent and precocious than anything that the United States is throwing at us.

And this class of 2011 are a remarkably talented lot, with expectations that match their talent. In this regard, they had a good teacher in Mr Woods who set about winning titles from the time he uttered those “hello world” words on turning professional in 1996 and then the following year claimed the first of his 14 Major wins when winning the Masters at Augusta National.

At that time, Rory McIlroy was seven years of age . . . and Matteo Manassero had just turned four! As McIlroy recalled, “when Tiger sort of grabbed all our imaginations and won (the Masters) by 12 (shots) and broke so many records, it was a huge moment in the game of golf”.

As a one-time “Young Gun,” Adam Scott made an interesting and honest observation after last month’s Masters in assessing the mindset of the new breed. “You know, every generation learns from the one before and I think these guys, they have something else that I feel like myself and a couple of the other guys might not have had . . . everyone’s just getting better and better from a younger age. There’s so much more being put into the sport from all aspects that you need: physical, mental; everyone is understanding how to prepare better and everyone is really hungry and passionate for it.”

Scott added: “I think we are going to keep seeing crops of young guys popping up.”

Jason Day, at the ripe old age of 23, is at the older end of those considered the new breed. Here is a player who turned pro at 19 and won on the US Tour’s secondary circuit, the Nationwide Tour, that same season. “It’s unreal, it’s like the LPGA Tour – they’re getting younger and younger every year. It just shows how good coaching is, the science behind the game and how confident some of these young guys are coming up now,” said Day.

What is particularly notable is that the newest crop is so global, which is especially to be welcomed with the advent of golf into the Olympics for 2016. The Asian influence is particularly strong. Ryo Ishikawa, aka ‘The Bashful Prince’, is already a sporting superstar in Japan having won his first event on the Japanese Tour as a 15-year-old in 2007 and shooting a final round 58 en route to winning the Crowns tournament last year. He has already chalked up 10 wins in professional tournaments and his tied-20th finish in the Masters, his best to date in a Major, provided an indication that he is ready to take his game out of the comfort zone on the Japanese Tour.

But Ishikawa is not the only force coming out of Asia. At the end of last season, I asked the same question separately to Pádraig Harrington and to Graeme McDowell to name a young player who would likely impact on tour. Both gave the same reply: Seung-yul Noh.

The South Korean prodigy won’t reach his 20th birthday until the end of this month but, as winner of last year’s Malaysian Open, he has already shown an ability to win on tour and there is no question that he possesses oodles of talent.

The Europeans haven’t been left behind in identifying the next generation. Far from it in fact, with McIlroy – who turns 22 tomorrow – and Manassero, a two-time winner on the PGA European Tour before reaching his 18th birthday, having moved seamlessly from record-breaking amateur careers into the cut and thrust of professional life.

And yet, while it may seem increasingly as if it is a young man’s game, here’s a couple of statistics to affirm that experience, too, carries weight: the average age of winners on the US Tour this season is 32 years, and on the European Tour it is 31.

GENERATION NEXT: HEAD TO HEAD

The Irishman

Rory McIlroy

Age: 21

World Ranking: 6

What the stats say: Forget the final round meltdown in Augusta which he has put down as a lesson to be remembered. He has three tied-third finishes in the last six Majors (2009 and 2010 US PGA, 2010 British Open) which confirms he knows how to knock on the door at the big events. Only a matter of time before he makes a Major breakthrough.

The Aussie

Jason Day

Age: 23

World Ranking: 23

What the stats say: Can be slightly wayward off the tee – ranking 120th in driving accuracy on the US Tour – but knows how the get the job done once he reaches the greens, where he ranks 11th in putting (averaging 28 putts per round). Confirmed at the Masters that he has a big-game mentality.

The Italian

Matteo Manassero

Age: 18

World Ranking: 33

What the stats say:A two-time winner before his 18th birthday, he has brought the winning culture from his amateur days seamlessly into the pro game. On the numbers front, he is fifth in greens in regulation on the Genworth Financial stats on the European Tour (78 per cent) and eighth in driving accuracy (70.4 per cent) which makes him one of the very top players tee-to-green.

The Korean

Seung-yul Noh

Age: 19

World Ranking: 72

What the stats say: His season has yet to catch fire in any way, with his lowly placing in most of the key statistics providing an insight into his struggles: 67th in greens in regulation on the European Tour and outside the top 200 in driving accuracy. Noh is hitting it longer than ever – averaging 305 yards in driving – but unfortunately for him is only hitting a meagre 45 per cent of fairways.

The Japanese

Ryo Ishikawa

Age: 19

World Ranking: 44

What the stats say: A serial record breaker on his home tour in Japan – where he became the youngest winner of an event at 15, when winning the KSB Cup tournament – he has topped the money list there in 2009 and 2010 in making upward strides in the world rankings. Although he has 10 wins in professional events, he has yet to bring that A-game outside of Asia.