From the looks of it, professional golf belongs to the phalanx of young stars that seem mature beyond their years. Korea's 18-year-old Noh Seung Yul took the challenge to his countryman and PGA winner K.J. Choi in the Maybank Malaysian Open, showing that his flawless swing is matched with a strong head on his broad shoulders. If there is an Asian star waiting to break out, it must be Noh.

While the Koreans battled it out on the renovated Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club course in a sweltering Malaysian Sunday, The Honda Classic, played half a day later also presented golf with a look at the future. Twenty-eight year old Camilo Villegas proved that his two-win 2008 season was no fluke. Though he spent most of last year away from the winner's podium, his strong start to 2010 produced a six-shot victory at this event, pipping another twenty-something upstart Anthony Kim in the process.

What this all points to - particularly in the absence of other would-be stars like Sergio Garcia, Charles Howell III and Luke Donald - is that currently, the younger kids on the block seem to have the upper hand in terms of success. The group which includes Noh, McIlroy, Villegas (at the upper end of the age scale), Kim, PGA rookie Rickie Fowler, England's Chris Wood, and of course, Ryo Ishikawa (left at the WGC-HSBC Champions 2009) is set to take over where Harrington, Els, Goosen, and Singh left off. (Note: Vijay's top-10 finish at The Honda Classic, however, hints that there is still some kick left in this 47-year-old, who incidentally, is more than twice Anthony Kim's age. His son Qass, turning 20 this year, is older than both Noh and Ishikawa.)

The Woods-Mickelson tussle for number one might be the main card for the year (if and when Tiger returns), but in its absence, there is every reason to expect that the slack, or lack of interest from golf fans, may find a saving grace in the battle among the babes - barely old enough to drive, but drive the ball a country mile.

Today's young pros are hardly the same as those who emerged in the last one or two decades. Armed with flawless swings, psychological soundness, and puritanical fitness regimes, they've got all bases covered (and of course, they each have their very own website and social network following). Those in the late thirties should pay heed not to focus too much on Tiger's return. If they get too caught up with that, they just might miss the speeding train of youngsters zooming by.

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