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: 26
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 41
Official World Golf Ranking: 44
2008 synopsis: Ignited his team and fans at Valhalla with 2-0-3 record as Ryder Cup rookie...Had four top-10s on Tour in 2008, including T-2 as defending champion at Travelers Championship and T-8 at BMW Championship...Topped Anthony Kim to pick up offseason victory and $1.5 million at Kiwi Challenge in October...Finished 30th on Tour money list...Tied with Anthony Kim for third at the Chevron World Challenge.

What we expect from him: Mahan can cruise against weak fields like the Travelers, and he showed the full extent of his talent and mettle at the Ryder Cup. But can a bulky putter (134th in putting average) improve upon three missed cuts in 2008 majors?

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Age: 28
Country: Australia
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 23
Official World Golf Ranking: 15
2008 synopsis: Drained 49-foot putt to win Byron Nelson in playoff over Ryan Moore...Fired course-record 61 to defend title at Euro Tour’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters...Only other top-10s on PGA Tour came at the WGC-CA Championship (T-9) and Wachovia Championship (T-8)...Made cut in three majors, including T-16 at British Open...Broken pinky in May was nagging injury throughout ‘08.

What we expect from him: Majors. Year-in, year-out, Scott is widely touted as one of the best young talents in the world, but until he contends in – or wins – a major, something will be missing from Scott’s image. Along with his finger, Scott suffered a knee injury in December. Will it hamper him in ‘09?

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Age: 41
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 28
Official World Golf Ranking: 17
2008 synopsis: Followed up a stellar ‘07 with a quiet, but solid ‘08 campaign...Started the year with a playoff loss to Daniel Chopra at the Mercedes-Benz Championship followed by a T-4 at the Sony Open...Recorded a T-6 at the WGC-CA Championship and T-7 at the British Open... Good season was marred by four consecutive missed cuts at The Masters, Wachovia Championship, Players Championship, and Colonial...Finished runner-up at Tiger Woods’ Chevron World Challenge...Major difference between 2007 and 2008 was driving accuracy and putting (97th/6th in 2007, 178th/84th in 2008).

What we expect from him: One-putts. Stricker, known on Tour as one of the best on the greens, had a mediocre year with the flatstick. Power doesn’t come naturally to this grinder, and his equalizer is making putts when they matter. If he fixes his putting, Stricker can contend in majors, especially the British, where he’s had back-to-back top-10 finishes.

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Age: 35
Country: England
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 9
Official World Golf Ranking: 10
2008 synopsis: Had 12 top-10 finishes combined on the U.S. and European Tours...Finished third at the U.S. Open after missing a 20-foot birdie putt to join Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods in a playoff...A T-11 at The Masters was the only other made cut at a major... Lowlight of the season came at the Ryder Cup, where he finished with an 0-2-2 record...Finished third on the European Tour Order of Merit, his best finish since placing first in 2000.

What we expect from him: Titles. Westwood’s year was a successful one, but without a single win, some might say it was a failure for the Englishman. England has had a slew of talented players in recent years, but all (Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, etc.) have somehow gone major-less. Nick Faldo was the last Brit to win a major at the ‘96 Masters. Surprising, huh?

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Age: 37
Country: Australia
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 3
Official World Golf Ranking: 27
2008 synopsis: Tallied 11 top-10 finishes in 2008, including six top-5s...Lost in a playoff to Justin Leonard at the Stanford St. Jude and finished runner-up at Turning Stone to Dustin Johnson’s birdie on the final hole...Made the cut in all four majors and finished T-7 at the British Open...Has had a strong off-season with two third-place finishes in his homeland at the Australian Masters and Australian Open...Quietly finished 11th on the Tour money list, his second consecutive year finishing in the top 30.

What we expect from him: Allenby is the best player no one knows about and therefore does not have many expectations laid upon him. However, Allenby – second on Tour in GIR in 2008 – should be winning tournaments by the handful. Like several of the players featured in our preview, fix his flatstick (116th in ‘08 putting average), and Allenby will cruise to two or more titles in 2009.

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Age: 38
Country: Canada
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 24
Official World Golf Ranking: 21
2008 synopsis: Had eight top-10s on Tour in ‘08, including runner-up finishes at Deutsche Bank and Memorial...Six top 10s in 12 events to close out season...Made cut in all four majors with best finish a T-17 at The Masters...He ranked 106th in driving accuracy and 109th in GIR, but 26th in putting average and 19th in putts per round salvaged season...Finished 14th on Tour money list.

What we expect from him: In 2003, Weir averaged 289.2 off the tee and won three times, including The Masters. In 2008, he averaged 284.8 and had eight top-10s. His ‘03 birdie average was 4.03, and his ‘08 birdie average was 3.40. An ounce more of power, and Weir can return to his major-champion form.

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Age: 38
Country: South Korea
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 38
Official World Golf Ranking: 18
2008 synopsis: Another steady year with five top 10s and a win at the Sony Open... Has had at least one Tour win in four consecutive seasons... Closed out the FedEx Cup with two top-10 finishes... Solid silly season saw Choi win the Skins Game and finish 7th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge... Three of five missed cuts came at the PGA, U.S. Open, and Players Championship... Was two shots off the lead entering British Open final round but shot 79 to finish T-16.

What we expect from him: Choi is a steady player with wins each of the last four seasons. Putting the South Korean in the “Best players without a major” category is by no means a stretch. Keep your eye on Choi at the British Open, where he has been near the top the last two years.

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Age: 36
Country: United States
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 4
Official World Golf Ranking: 23
2008 synopsis: Won the Stanford St. Jude in a three-way playoff for his second consecutive year on Tour with a victory... Began the year with three consecutive top-10 finishes and ended year with five straight top-25 finishes, including three top 10s in FedEx Cup events... Jump-started U.S. Ryder Cup squad with hot putter and 2-1-1 record... Made cut in all four majors but did not seriously contend... Finished 10th on Tour money list with eight top 10s and was ranked No. 8 in putting average.

What we expect from him: Like Weir, Leonard’s lack of power (156th in driving distance) is a huge disadvantage. But Leonard, whose confidence is untouchable at the moment, had an electric performance at the Ryder Cup and will use that entering the ‘09 majors. Look for him to have a huge year and contend in majors, with the British being his best bet.

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Age: 31
Country: Australia
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 26
Official World Golf Ranking: 11
2008 synopsis: Continued to prove himself as one of the world’s best with a win at the WGC-CA Championship...Rounded out ‘08 campaign with homeland win at Australian PGA and T-6 at Australian Open...Was four shots off lead entering U.S. Open final round and finished T-9... Did not rank better than 104th in driving accuracy, GIR, putting average, eagles, or birdies in 2008...Finished 31st in scoring average and 15th in money on Tour.

What we expect from him: Big things. Closing ‘08 with a win Down Under may inject some added confidence and control into Ogilvy’s game. With wins on some of golf’s biggest stages, Ogilvy has that mental edge and can run the tables in ‘09.

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Age: 39
Country: South Africa
Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking: 44
Official World Golf Ranking: 9
2008 synopsis: Redeemed himself with big win at the Honda Classic in March, his first on Tour since 2004... Announced in April he was leaving longtime swing coach David Leadbetter to work with Butch Harmon... Then missed two consecutive cuts at The Masters and Verizon Heritage but rebounded with T-6 at Players Championship... Went T-14, T-7, and T-31 at U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship, respectively... Posted two top 10s in FedEx Cup, including T-3 at Deutsche Bank... Finished 20th on Tour money list... Off-season saw him finish T-2 at Singapore Open and T-3 at Euro Tour’s South African Open.

What we expect from him: Els’ days of winning majors aren’t over, and two top-3 finishes at the strong Singapore and South African Opens have the Big Easy primed for an equally big 2009 season. Progress with Dr. Bob Rotella will give Els the mental fortitude to compete with Woods in ‘09 majors.

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Note: All images by Getty

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Posted: 1/5/2009

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