Tuesday, January 1, 2002

[HAWAII GOLF]

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A wish list for
the new season

Anything might happen on this
year's PGA Tour, which
starts this week

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By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press

KAPALUA >> Another PGA Tour season starts in two days, and already there is change in the wind.

The Plantation Course was designed for the prevailing trade winds, but the 32 players gathered at Kapalua for the winners-only Mercedes Championships are likely to see the Kona winds out of the opposite direction, which could lead to quite a test.

Perhaps that won't be the only change this year.

If the gap continues to close on Tiger Woods, someone else might be the PGA Tour player of the year for the first time since 1998.

The sites of the four majors will be new for most of the players -- Muirfield hasn't had a British Open since 1992, Hazeltine (PGA) hasn't had a major since 1991, Bethpage gets its first major (U.S. Open) and Augusta National has gone through the biggest renovation in its 68-year history.

Phil Mickelson might hold a 54-hole lead in a major for the first time.

Mickelson might win his first major.

Maybe he'll lose in a playoff for the first time in a major -- perhaps to Mike Weir.

With optimism as high as it will ever be, here's a wish list for the new year in golf:

>> Tiger Woods is measured against other players instead of his 2000 season.

>> The PGA Tour announces that the Match Play Championship will be played in Europe once every three years. Why should the Euros always have to travel to California to play a format in which they are only guaranteed playing one round?

>> Woods wins the Nissan Open at Riviera, the tournament where he made his PGA Tour debut as a 16-year-old -- and the only tournament he has played more than five times without winning.

>> Davis Love III finds the hunger to go with his ability.

>> John Daly slips from No. 51 to No. 64 in the world ranking just in time for the Match Play Championship, setting up a first-round match against Woods.

>> Daly recovers quickly and qualifies for the Masters by climbing back to No. 50.

>> Laura Davies wins the Nabisco Championships to complete the Grand Slam and get into the Hall of Fame -- where she should have been five years ago had the LPGA considered her remarkable record around the world.

>> Sam Snead splits the middle of the first fairway at Augusta National.

>> Doug Ford returns to the Masters -- but only for the Champions Dinner.

>> Greg Norman makes good use of his special invitation to the Masters.

>> Woods stops more often to sign autographs instead of walking past a row of fans at Mach V speed.

>> Fans give Woods a reason to want to stop, instead of acting like hooligans at a World Cup match between England and Germany.

>> Young guns stop talking about challenging Tiger until they win a meaningful tournament -- or any tournament, for that matter (Charles Howell III). The only young star who has the right to talk smack is Sergio Garcia.

>> A little less smack from Sergio.

>> Laura Diaz stops talking about the importance of sex appeal on the LPGA Tour until she wins her first tournament.

>> Boo Weekley qualifies for the U.S. Open and is paired on the weekend with U.S. Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson.

>> A British Open for Vijay Singh, and respect as the world-class player he is.

>> Validation for David Toms. True, he should have nothing to prove after winning three times last year -- including his first major -- and six times over the past three years. But to be regarded as one of the elite, he needs to affirm his great 2001 season.

>> No more validation in the Skins Game.

>> More silliness in the silly season. Golf got way too serious in November and December. Frank Lickliter cussed out Brad Faxon during the Shark Shootout. The field for Tiger's tournament was expanded because Scott Hoch complained about being unfairly left out. Save the intensity for when it matters.

>> Success for 17-year-old Ty Tryon -- on his algebra tests.

>> Weir ditches the nickname, "Mr. November." The left-handed Canadian has won $5 million tournaments in November each of the past two years, but most golfers would rather be known as "Mr. April." June, July or August are just as good.

>> The U.S. Golf Association spends more time worrying about pace of play and less time trying to limit equipment innovations.

>> David Duval acts like every day is Sunday at Lytham.

>> Scott Hoch finds something positive to say about every golf course.

>> A Ryder Cup with plenty of partisan cheering -- but after the ball lands, not before it's struck.

>> One last stand by Hal Sutton. The Hoss will be 45 and almost certainly playing in his final Ryder Cup. Look for him to be announced as captain of the '04 team by the end of the year.

>> Awards come down to the last week of the season.

>> A lefty wins a major.