Well, anybody would be considered peaked if they had to follow up 9 wins.
I think his best golf is behind him, but he is so skilled that he still has wins in him. Don't forget, he plays lots of events and with his game against weaker fields he will still take home trophies.
I'm with TOJ on this one. The list of guys who've had their best years in their 40s is a very short one. He turns 43 this month. 2004 was the "peak" for VJ. He's not done winning and he could have a couple more great years if he gets his putter under control. No more 9 win seasons, though, until he hits the senior circuit.
I wish him all the best i just believe he has peaked. he shoudl IMO focus harder on the majors now for the next few years and add to his growing legend. The guy has played every week this year thus far. What like 5 straight weeks? Hes a machine i give him that and i respect his work ethic tremendously.
It's kind of difficult to imagine Vijay winning nine tournaments in one season again, or overtaking Tiger for the world's #1 spot. So, in this respect, it makes sense to say that Vijay has peaked.
But I suspect that Vijay will be a major force in world golf for at least another three or four years, and it's likely that the great Fijian will win another major championship.
I think he's probably peaked. Then again, no one works on his game with more commitment than he does, so it's possible he'll "find it" and hit a streak that seems unreal.
As for legend, he took the number 1 spot away from Tiger Woods for awhile. No one else can lay that claim. He's earned his spot as a golf legend.
When your best season is 9 wins in a season including a major, it's pretty safe to say you've peaked. Vijay had problems late last season when his normally rock-solid ballstriking went a bit awry. He'll find his swing sometime but the balky putter will still hold him back. He'll still win tournaments though...possibly 3 or more this season.
Vijays putting killed him last year. He could have easily won the British Open and several more tournaments last year with better putting. As far as him "peaking" it's hard to say. He is still one of the best players on the world but at the level he plays at if one component of his game is off it's going to cost him opporturnities to win tournaments.
As others have said Vijay's putting is a glaring weakness. He was winning all those tournys cause his birdie putt was a 2 or 3 footer. And even then he'd miss a few of those.
Maybe he was in the zone for 6 months, or got really hot when he did, but frankly I don't see him recapturing the glory of 2004.
Unless he can somehow figure out how to make 10 and 15 footers more consistently and not miss those 2 footers so much then you won't see him posting W's anytime soon. As for winning another major - um, yeah, sure. If Ben Curtis and Rich Beem, et al, can win majors, then sure, anything is possible.
As others have said Vijay's putting is a glaring weakness. He was winning all those tournys cause his birdie putt was a 2 or 3 footer. And even then he'd miss a few of those.
Maybe he was in the zone for 6 months, or got really hot when he did, but frankly I don't see him recapturing the glory of 2004.
Unless he can somehow figure out how to make 10 and 15 footers more consistently and not miss those 2 footers so much then you won't see him posting W's anytime soon. As for winning another major - um, yeah, sure. If Ben Curtis and Rich Beem, et al, can win majors, then sure, anything is possible.
I don't think he'll ever equal 2004 again either, but I don't believe you just equated VJ's chances with those of Curtis & Beem. I'll give you everyone named Curtis or Beem... Rich or Ben too, for that matter, and I'll take VJ in the next 20 majors.