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Vijay Singh tees off on the fourth hole during the Pro-Am of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii. (HUGH GENTRY/Reuters) |
Ready or not - and apparently some notable players are in the latter group - the 2008 PGA Tour season gets underway today amid the erratic weather of Maui. You know, one day it's 78 degrees, the next day 79.
That's a warm thought as we navigate through snow, slush, and cold rain, but if you're wondering what happened to the Tour's offseason, forget it. It's officially over, all 59 days of it, though truth be told some don't think it's long enough, so they've extended their breaks by calling in their regrets to this week's Mercedes-Benz Championship at the plush Kapalua Resort. That's right, a week of tropical warmth wasn't enough to entice Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Padraig Harrington to accept their spots in the winners-only field, so the $5.5 million season opener will go on without Nos. 1, 2, 7, and 8 in the world.
Granted, that's akin to baseball's Opening Day being devoid of games involving the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs, but it's the sort of landscape the PGA Tour has become accustomed to. Woods may be the engine that drives the Tour, but he'll sit and idle for nearly two-thirds of the tournaments.
That, however, is not an indictment of his commitment; it's a tribute to his athletic genius.
"Really, what Tiger has done, I don't think anybody can fully [appreciate]," said Mark Calcavecchia, one of 31 who'll tee it up at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, a reward for winning at least one tournament last season. "No one will ever know how amazing [he] actually is."
Always, there seems to be a wrinkle to Woods's upcoming season, from his quest for major championships to his adjustment to marriage to the handling of his father's death to his embrace of fatherhood. This year is about how he has managed to produce more with less, opting for fewer tournaments and less practice, and adding to his brilliance.
While he averaged 19.4 tournaments and 5.6 victories from 1999 to 2005, Woods's numbers for 2006 and 2007 were 15.5 and 7.5. Impressive figures that don't take into account the fact that he set a personal best for earnings ($10,867,052) a year ago, but surely reinforce the notion that the game's best player has no match.
"It seems to me there's such a big difference between Tiger Woods and the rest of everybody," said Steve Stricker, another Kapalua entrant who would have won the inaugural
Stricker's assessment is supported by the current world rankings, in which Woods has a lead of 10.9 points over No. 2 Mickelson. To appreciate how huge a margin that is, consider that the 998th player in the standings, someone named Vicente Blazquez, is only 8.67 points being Mickelson.
"I think the world rankings got it about right," said Stricker.
But the world rankings don't require perfect attendance, so with Woods and his 13 major championships (five shy of the Jack Nicklaus record he covets most) and 61 wins (21 more will tie him with the career leader, Sam Snead) on vacation, the PGA Tour will push off on its 45-week season. Maui offers arguably the perfect starting point, its flavor of paradise offering a gentle slide into a schedule that will feature a whopping $278 million in prize money spread out among 48 official tournaments. Woods figures to again dominate the competitive landscape, but there are a number of other story lines:
Joining just about every other professional sports organization, the PGA Tour has adopted an anti-doping program. Testing will not begin until July 1, so players have been given plenty of lead time to see if the medication they are taking allows them to test cleanly.
"Common sense. Just back off on the alcohol and painkillers and ibuprofen stuff like that and you'll be fine," said Calcavecchia, 47. Then, he laughed. "Certainly, nobody is going to accuse me of doping up. I'm the fat test."
The second go-round with the FedEx Cup offers a slight change. Instead of four consecutive playoff events, there will be three in a row, then a rare off week (Sept. 11-14), followed by the Ryder Cup (Sept. 19-21), after which the fourth and final playoff tournament, the Tour Championship, will be held.
Again, $10 million in bonus money will go to the winner of the FedEx Cup, only it won't be deferred payment like it was in 2007. Instead, $9 million will be cash, the other million in an annuity.
As of yet, there have been no changes to the FedEx Cup with regard to point distribution or size of fields for the playoffs.
The sixth
Often, players have to take a side trip to check out a US Open site, but that's not the case this year. All they'll have to do is tee it up at the Buick Invitational (Jan. 24-27) at Torrey Pines, because the South Course will also host the US Open June 12-15. (Woods, by the way, will attempt a fourth straight win at the Buick Invitational as that will serve as his season opener. It will also be Mickelson's 2008 debut.)
But most of them will take a back seat to anything that involves Woods, who is so secure as the world's top-ranked player, the debate centers on who is next. Mickelson is ranked second in the world, but he is 37. Ernie Els is 38. Retief Goosen will be 39 Feb. 3. Vijay Singh will be 45 Feb. 22. Younger stars such as Aaron Baddeley (26), Scott (27), Justin Rose (27), Sergio Garcia (28 on Wednesday), Trevor Immelman (28), Charles Howell (28), Paul Casey (30), Luke Donald (30), and Geoff Ogilvy (30) have amassed great fortune and fame, but nary a hint of threat to Woods's dominance.
So, who will step up to challenge Woods?
Calcavecchia shrugged and said, "I'm sure there's some 16-, 17-, or 18-year-old right now that's going to be the next one we know about."
In other words, the landscape is devoid of any serious threats to Woods's reign. As the 2008 season prepares for liftoff, it remains his golf world.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
