This article is part of our Golf Barometer series.
UPGRADE
Darren Clarke: It's probably a one-hit wonder given where he is in his life and his career, but so what? Clarke's calmness got him through this major victory as much as anything else, and you have to love someone who bestows champagne to the media after a tournament. If you don't like Darren Clarke, your life has gone horribly wrong somewhere.
Sergio Garcia: Another solid outing that sort of flew under the radar, a T8 at a major. Garcia's finally learning how to get out of his own way, how to stop making excuses after the fact or looking for them before anything even goes wrong. He's going to surprise a lot of people in the next act of his career.
Anthony Kim: Maybe it was good to play out of the states for a change, less entourage, less distractions. A T5 on this stage sets him up well for the rest of the summer, and hopefully the playoffs as well.
Tom Watson: Here's another old-timer putting on a clinic. Watson turns 62 in a couple months, for crying out loud. He shouldn't be making cuts at majors, let along contending (second at the Open in 2009, T22 in 2011). Watson is the greatest links player we're ever going to see, someone who always knew that the worse the weather was, the better his chances would be. Don't sweat the bounces and the bad breaks, just take what the course gives you and grind
UPGRADE
Darren Clarke: It's probably a one-hit wonder given where he is in his life and his career, but so what? Clarke's calmness got him through this major victory as much as anything else, and you have to love someone who bestows champagne to the media after a tournament. If you don't like Darren Clarke, your life has gone horribly wrong somewhere.
Sergio Garcia: Another solid outing that sort of flew under the radar, a T8 at a major. Garcia's finally learning how to get out of his own way, how to stop making excuses after the fact or looking for them before anything even goes wrong. He's going to surprise a lot of people in the next act of his career.
Anthony Kim: Maybe it was good to play out of the states for a change, less entourage, less distractions. A T5 on this stage sets him up well for the rest of the summer, and hopefully the playoffs as well.
Tom Watson: Here's another old-timer putting on a clinic. Watson turns 62 in a couple months, for crying out loud. He shouldn't be making cuts at majors, let along contending (second at the Open in 2009, T22 in 2011). Watson is the greatest links player we're ever going to see, someone who always knew that the worse the weather was, the better his chances would be. Don't sweat the bounces and the bad breaks, just take what the course gives you and grind your ass off.
Stevie Williams: Working with Tiger Woods is challenging on a good day, and it's probably exasperating on the bad days. And lately, Woods hasn't been playing much. Williams probably won't regret the parting of the ways; he'll get more regular work, and less stressful work.
HOLDING STEADY
Phil Mickelson: Normally you'd take a T2 at a major as a wonderful sign, especially given that Mickelson normally can't do a thing at the Open Championship. But what's with Lefty missing all of those short putts? Is it a mechanical flaw, or have the yips slipped into his game? Maybe he's not going to push 7-8 majors after all.
ESPN: From a pictures and graphics standpoint, their coverage was excellent. The talent in the booth did a solid job as well. But the constant commercial interruptions wrecked the flow of the event. The viewer will take more in-game soft selling at the expense of leaving the stage completely.
DOWNGRADE
Lee Westwood: The longer this goes on, the more we wonder if he'll ever get over the major hump. Not making the cut on this side of the pond is embarrassing. He's still a wonderful ball striker, but no one wants to wager a nickel on his putter.
Geoff Ogilvy: The T4 at the Masters was one big tease, he hasn't done anything since (three piddly checks, and two MCs in the majors). Ogilvy looks like an inexperienced car thief on the tee box, hoping the next new tweak or idea is going to be the one that sparks something and gets the engine running. Lower your expectations for the balance of 2011.
Ian Poulter: He didn't get any wind breaks on the second day, but it was surprising to see him wilt with a 78. Normally he's someone who handles an off track very well. Poulter was having a reasonable, if not great, year until the last two majors, where he slammed a pair of trunks. Time to refocus, big guy.
