Increased volatility was main point of emphasis heading into the second edition of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs. While Vijay Singh's early dominance quickly squelched any chance of a dramatic conclusion in the season-ending Tour Championship, it inspired a great amount of debate in a year rife with epic moments, controversies and talking points on the PGA Tour.
The year started with an ill-conceived statement by a leading Golf Channel anchor, picked up steam when it looked like Tiger Woods would go undefeated and capture the Grand Slam, recovered from a brief slump when Padraig Harrington won back-to-back Major Championships and was punctuated by an inspired performance by team USA in the Ryder Cup. Even if the Tour Championship didn't have all the drama Commissioner Tim Finchem would've liked, it certainly wasn't a dull year in professional golf.
Below I've highlighted some of the outstanding performers, places and events that helped shape the 2008 PGA Tour season.
Player of the Year
Tiger Woods won four of the six PGA Tour events he entered, including his heroic victory on one leg at the U.S. Open over feisty Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff. Problem is Woods only entered six events, hardly a broad body of work. Predicting the outcome of the remainder of Woods' season is a guessing game filled with assumptions and hypothetical scenarios. Surely had he not injured his knee, Woods was likely to have won a handful of tournaments, and possibly another Major Championship. But Woods' torn ACL forced him to sit out the rest of the season, and opened the door for our winner. I've always been irritated when fans vote players who've been injured for the majority of the season to an All-Star game and comparatively voting Woods Player of the Year is tantamount to honoring an incomplete performance.
The winner is Padraig Harrington, who didn't win back-to-back majors because he is the most talented player in the world, but because he displayed a tremendous ability to close down the stretch that was reminiscent of Woods' finest finishing moments. Nobody played better over the final nine holes of both the British Open and PGA Championship than Harrington. I've got to believe that asked if he'd rather have two majors as opposed to one epic win, Woods would've taken the back-to-back titles and admitted that the golfer who did so had a better overall season.
Winner: Padraig
Harrington
Runner-Up: Tiger Woods
Most Valuable Player
Anthony Kim's 2-over 72 at the Tour Championship wound up costing him the tournament and the perfect ending to his dream sophomore season. The 23-year-old will have to settle for over $4.5 million in earnings, a 4th place finish in the FedEx Cup standings, a Ryder Cup victory, two PGA Tour wins and a growing legion of fans worldwide that believes just maybe Kim is the challenger Tiger Woods has been waiting for.
The incandescent Kim has blended his brilliant natural ability with a more professional approach to become the hottest commodity in the game not confined to a couch in Orlando. Kim's popularity has steadily climbed throughout the season and peaked at this year's Ryder Cup in Kentucky when he helped restore a swagger to the American team that brought home the cup for the first time in nine years.
Only a Major Championship victory now stands between Kim and his ascension into the No. 2 position in professional golf that comes with the responsibility of being the primary challenger to Mr. Woods.
Winner: Anthony Kim
Breakout Player
Vijay
Singh pocketed the biggest check handed out during the FedEx Cup playoffs, but
it was Camilo Villegas who benefited most from golf's postseason. The
26-year-old Colombian shook off the disappointment of another winless season to
capture back-to-back events that featured some of the year's most talented
fields. Couple his late-season success with top ten finishes in both the U.S.
Open and the PGA Championship and it's hard to fathom many players would enter
the '09 season with more confidence than Villegas.
If Villegas hadn't finished with such a flurry, this award would've been headed to Boo Weekley's crib on the Florida panhandle. While Weekley's talent is often overshadowed by his antics and countrified demeanor, the two-time Verizon Heritage champion is a hell of a competitor and a refreshing personality. His Ryder Cup performance will be fresh in the minds of golf fans when the '09 season gets underway.
Winner: Camilo
Villegas
Runner Up: Boo Weekley
Best Moment
Twice
Tiger Woods had sizeable putts on the 18th hole at Torrey Pines and
twice he put the ball in the cup. For sheer energy and excitement, I'll take
the longer putt that occurred Sunday afternoon to force the Monday playoff.
Wood's clutch putt on Sunday drew golf's biggest television audience of the 2008
season. The Ryder Cup was outstanding, but Woods' performance at Torrey Pines
may go down as the most memorable tournament of his legendary career.
Winner: Tiger
Woods
Runner-Up: 2008 Ryder Cup
Golf Course of the Year
The historic U.S. Open on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean was like Torrey Pines South's "Hello World" moment. Heading into the tournament the questions focused on a golf course that yielded low scores during the regular PGA Tour stop it annually hosts and how that would translate into an event generally regarded as the most difficult and complete test in the game. In the end the scores were right where they needed to be, the players enjoyed the set up and the city of San Diego and the course itself got plenty of time on national television. Torrey Pines now joins Bethpage Black as a municipal golf course rock star. Next to join that group - Washington's Chambers Bay which is set to host the U.S. Open in 2015.
Winner: Torrey
Pines South
Runner-Up: Chambers Bay
Biggest Disappointment
He won two PGA Tour events (Northern Trust Open, Crowne Plaza Invitational), made the cut in 20 of the 21 events he entered and recorded 19 top 25's, but Phil Mickelson is now a man measured by Major Championships won and lost. In 2008, Mickelson wound up empty handed again in the big four, and couldn't capitalize on Tiger Woods' absence.
Adam Scott was also poised to take center stage when Woods was hurt but the young Australian only managed a single victory and wasn't a factor in any of the Major Championships.
Winner: Phil Mickelson
Runner-Up: Adam Scott
Rookie of the Year
Kevin Streelman barely made it out of PGA Tour Q-School. The former Duke golfer birdied four of his last five holes just to advance through the first stage of qualifying on the number.
He was a 36-hole contender at the Buick Invitational and his name was on the leaderboard after day 1 of the U.S. Open. Streelman finished strong with a T6 at the Wyndham Championship and a T4 at the Barclays. He earned over $1.2 million and finished at 35th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Winner: Kevin Streelman
Lifetime Achievement
If Kenny Perry never plays another round of golf on the PGA Tour for the rest of his life, that would be just fine with him. Shortly after the U.S. team clinched the Ryder Cup, Perry told NBC Sports that he intended for the event to "define his career" but it ended up "making his career."
Perry's lone goal this season was to represent his country in his home state of Kentucky and if that meant bypassing a chance to qualify for the U.S. Open and playing in Milwaukee instead of traveling across the Atlantic for the Open Championship, then so be it.
Criticism came from every direction and Perry certainly heard it but in the end, the journeyman golfer who won three times on Tour this year put the finishing touches on his golf career that he'd always dreamed of. Anything that happens PRCV (Post Ryder Cup Valhalla) will just be icing on the cake for Perry.
Winner: Kenny Perry