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By John Nestor
PA SportsTicker Golf Editor
The 2007 season on the PGA Tour marked the beginning of a new era but ended up feeling very familiar.
The FedEx Cup Playoffs were unveiled in September and, for the most
part, were a success. The four-event series brought most of the best
players together way more often than normal for that time of year,
essentially tied up the real season in a neat bow and was won by Tiger
Woods.
See, some things just don't seem to change. And they don't figure to for the foreseeable future.
Golf seasons are pretty much measured by majors, and the first three
were won by first-timers. It marked the seventh straight season that a
player won a major for the first time.
After Zach Johnson won The Masters by holding off Woods, Angel Cabrera did the same at the U.S. Open.
Padraig Harrington won the British Open in spite of himself, and
because Sergio Garcia has an uncanny ability to come up small in the
big moments. Then the player who always seems to step up when the time
calls did so.
Woods had his chances to win the first two majors of the season and
wasn't really a factor in his quest for a third straight British Open
title. But Woods won the most tournaments of anyone on tour and again
topped the money list - raking in nearly $11 million.
He captured the season's final major, the PGA Championship at Southern
Hills, which kick-started a run that made the 2007 season one of Woods'
best and provided a launching pad into 2008.
Starting at the Bridgestone Invitational, Woods won four of his last
five events and was second in the other. He cruised to victory in the
FedEx Cup Playoffs, winning two of the four events and then went on a
nice 10-week break.
In Woods' absence, the "Fall Series" played out. Chad Campbell, Mike
Weir and Justin Leonard all won events to at least give them hope of
recapturing their form next season, and the rank-and-file slugged it
out to finish in the top 125 on the money list.
Stephen Ames won the final official event of the season - the
Children's Miracle Network Classic - but Woods had the final word
before the year was over.
Woods broke his 10-week hiatus to host some of the world's best at the
Target World Challenge, giving the field at the event an up-close look
at what the 2008 season holds in store for the rest of the PGA Tour. It
was not encouraging.
Woods won the event, carding four rounds in the 60s. He blitzed the
field with a 62 in the second round. That's right, a 62, after a
10-week break.
Things look so bleak for the have-nots that Rory Sabbatini couldn't bear to even stick around for all four days and watch.
That win put the icing on the cake for Woods, who was there to raise
money for his foundation first, and the fact that he sent a message to
the rest of the tour was just a bonus.
"Winning the PGA Championship was the highlight, but I played
consistently most of the season and am very pleased with my progress,"
Woods said. "It was also satisfying to win two World Golf Championship
events and, of course, the inaugural FedEx Cup.
"The only disappointments were coming up short at the Masters and U.S.
Open. I put myself in position both times, but just couldn't get the
job done. I'll think about that during the next few weeks and hopefully
come back even stronger in 2008."
Read that carefully. Come back even stronger? That doesn't sound like a
player softened by marriage and fatherhood or content with his place in
the game, does it?
No, it sounds like the rest of the tour is in for a long season and
golf fans are in for a treat. While the 2007 season offered some things
that were new, the 2008 season seems almost pre-destined to be the year
of the Tiger.
That seems to have a familiar ring to it.
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