Golfweek - Golf News Magazine

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Gearing up for the 2009 PGA Tour season? Golfweek.com is your one-stop shop. This week, we unveil our top 30 players worldwide for ’09. Next week, we go even deeper...

• Monday: Nos. 21-30	• Jan. 12: Top 10 storylines of ‘09
• Tuesday: Nos. 11-20	• Jan. 13: Top 10 new faces for ‘09
• Wednesday: Nos. 1-10	• Jan. 14: Top 10 breakout players

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Age: 35
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 27
Official World Golf Ranking: 48
2008 synopsis: Bull-rode his way into Ryder Cup lore on first tee of Sunday singles match, a 4-and-2 victory over Oliver Wilson...Went 2-0-1 at Valhalla...Successfully defended title at Verizon Heritage...Only other top-five was a fourth-place finish at Stanford St. Jude, one shot out of three-man playoff...Finished in top 25 in 11 of 24 starts...Finished top 30 in Masters, U.S. Open and PGA...Was 25th on PGA Tour money list...Had three top-10s in first five events of year.

What we expect from him: Boo will continue to be a colorful character and consistent ball-striker (22nd on Tour in GIR), but can he putt well enough (T-188 in putting average) to win somewhere other than Hilton Head?

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Age: 28
Country: England
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 51
Official World Golf Ranking: 19
2008 synopsis: Struggled one season after winning European Tour Order of Merit...Finished 81st on Order of Merit and 99th on PGA Tour money list...Had to cope with nagging back injury...Made first Ryder Cup team, going 3-1-0, including 3-and-2 singles victory over Phil Mickelson...Held at least a share of first-round lead at Masters for third time in four Masters starts...Finished T-9 at PGA Championship and T-2 at Memorial for only top-10s in 15 Tour starts...Had three consecutive top-15s during Florida Swing...Closed season in South Africa, finishing ninth at Nedbank Golf Challenge and T-60 at South African Open.

What we expect from him: If Rose is healthy again, he’s one of Europe’s top players. If not, it could be another mediocre season by his standards. He’s definitely not lacking for talent.

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Age: 31
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 14
Official World Golf Ranking: 24
2008 synopsis: Contended for his second career major at the PGA Championship, finishing T-2 to earn a spot on the Ryder Cup team...Went 1-1-1 at Valhalla...Ended ‘08 with six top-15s in final eight events, including T-7 at British Open, his best finish in a major since winning ‘03 British Open...Also runner-up at Wachovia Championship thanks to final-round 65...Had career-bests in top-10s (five), top-25s (eight), made cuts (18) and earnings ($2.61 million/17th).

What we expect from him: Curtis may not be flashy, but he thrives on tough layouts and closed out 2008 on a high note. He’ll probably be underrated again in 2009, but he’ll have enough solid starts to contend for a spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team.

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Age: 33
Country: South Africa
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 54
Official World Golf Ranking: 28
2008 synopsis: Won Australian Open in December for first victory since 2005...Flirted with 59 at Deutsche Bank Championship before finishing bogey-bogey to shoot 62...Had close calls in search for first Tour victory...Was tied for lead at Colonial before Phil Mickelson’s final-hole birdie...Failed to convert two-shot lead through three rounds at Stanford St. Jude...Finished 45th on PGA Tour money list...Struggled in majors, missing two cuts and didn’t finish better than T-48...Finished T-4 at Australian Masters and T-11 at Australian PGA in two events before Aussie Open...Closed year with T-37 at South African Open.

What we expect from him: Clark has struggled when in contention, but he’s long overdue for that first Tour victory. Look for him to finally get it thanks to confidence from Aussie Open victory.

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Age: 32
Country: England
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 31
Official World Golf Ranking: 26
2008 synopsis: Runner-up at British Open for best career showing in a major...Drew criticism for saying, “I know I haven’t reached my full potential yet. And, when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger” in January...Was controversial captain’s selection for European Ryder Cup team, but went 4-1-0 at Valhalla...Finished in top 30 in final four events of year, including runner-up at Kolon-Hana Bank 51st Korea Open, T-14 at HSBC Champions and T-8 at Dunlop Phoenix...Had hole-in-one in first round of Masters en route to T-25 showing.

What we expect from him: Poulter had just one top-10 before the British Open, but his season turned around after impressive performance at Valhalla. He won’t be No. 2 in the world next year, but will continue to move in that direction.

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Age: 37
Country: Australia
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 20
Official World Golf Ranking: 38
2008 synopsis: Didn’t win for second consecutive season, but was consistent, posting seven top-10s and 14 top-25s in 23 starts...Made the cut at all four majors, including top-15s at Masters and PGA and also at Players Championship...T-2 finish at WGC-Bridgestone was best of year...Finished 22nd on PGA Tour money list...Finished ‘08 on a down note, missing cut in two of three events in Australia.

What we expect from him: Appleby hasn’t won since 2006, but deserves credit for incredibly consistent play. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from poor showing in his homeland.

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Age: 31
Country: England
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 19
Official World Golf Ranking: 31
2008 synopsis: Season ended early because of surgery on left wrist after U.S. Open...Still earned $1.45 million in just 11 PGA Tour starts thanks to three top-10s and six top-25s...Opened season with T-3 at Riviera, T-17 at WGC-Accenture Match Play and runner-up finish at Honda Classic...Returned in December, finishing 11th out of 12 players at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and eighth out of 16 at Chevron World Challenge.

What we expect from him: This should be Donald’s first uninterrupted season since 2006. He ended ‘08 on a high note, shooting a tournament-low 66 in the Chevron’s final round, and said his wrist won’t be an issue this year, but he still has rust to shake off. Expect him to round into form in time for the majors, including the ‘09 PGA at Hazeltine, site of his ‘99 NCAA victory.

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Age: 35
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 7
Official World Golf Ranking: 16
2008 synopsis: Won Travelers Championship for fifth Tour victory and first since 2004...Finished ninth on PGA Tour money list thanks to five top-3 finishes, seven top-10s and 12 top-25s in 23 starts...All but one of his top-10s came in first 10 events of year. Only one after that was Travelers victory...Struggled after victory; his only top-25 after that was T-24 in limited-field Tour Championship...Played on fourth consecutive Ryder Cup team, going 1-2-0...His five top-3s were tied for third-best on Tour, helping him finish ninth on Tour money list.

What we expect from him: Despite less-than-stellar second half, Cink will earn more than $2 million for fourth consecutive season in ‘09. He may not win often, but he’s a top-10 machine.

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Age: 29
Country: South Africa
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 96
Official World Golf Ranking: 20
2008 synopsis: Won The Masters by three strokes over Tiger Woods...Did “Late Show With David Letterman Top Ten List” on how life changed since winning Masters, including “President Bush called to congratulate me on winning Wimbledon” and “Got to put my arm around Tiger Woods and say, ‘Maybe next year.’ ”...Lost three-man playoff to Justin Leonard at Stanford St. Jude...Finished 19th on PGA Tour money list with three top-10s and six top-25s...Had top-15s in five of his final six worldwide starts of ‘08.

What we expect from him: Immelman’s game may have hit a bit of a speed bump in Masters aftermath, but he’s back on track and should add to his trophy case. He has seven worldwide victories in the past six years.

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Age: 48
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 10
Official World Golf Ranking: 14
2008 synopsis: Spent year focused on playing Ryder Cup in his native Kentucky...Went 2-1-1 at Valhalla, including 3-and-2 singles victory over Henrik Stenson...His 84-year-old father, Ken, roaming Valhalla in coveralls was one of the trademark images of the week...Became oldest player in Tour history to win three times (Memorial, Buick Open, John Deere), but didn’t earn a dime in the majors...Wasn’t eligible for Masters, skipped U.S. Open sectional qualifying and British Open and withdrew from PGA...Also drew heat for calling the Tour Championship, “the worst experience of my life, just about.”...Closed 2008 by finishing second at Nedbank Golf Challenge and tying for last at Chevron World Challenge.

What we expect from him: Perry doesn’t have the Ryder Cup carrot to chase in ‘09, so don’t be surprised to see his results to drop; before last year, Perry hadn’t won since 2005. But not many players can get on a roll as quickly as him.

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Note: All images by Getty

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Posted: 1/4/2009

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