Familiar, Yet Distinct
NO WONDER THE PGA Tour is going to shorten its season--who can possibly absorb all that has happened in the past 12 months? Remember way back in February, when Phil Mickelson was the most dominant player in the game with back-to-back blowouts at Phoenix and Pebble Beach ? Remember all the pre-Masters hype about the so-called Big Four? Neither do we.
Luckily, golf's two best players, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam, gave the season some definition with their usual hegemony, but the more things appear to stay the same, the more they change. On the PGA Tour there were surprises big and small in the form of Jason Gore and Fred Funk, both of whom graduated from fan faves to big-time players (or Players, in the case of Funk).
Sorenstam is on her way to owning every record in the book, but in 2005 she was only the third or fourth most compelling woman in golf.
So enjoy 2005 for all of its bloated glory. Next year the big story will be about the next year, as the Tour finalizes its shorter, flashier schedule for 2007 and beyond. But that's getting ahead of ourselves. --Alan Shipnuck
BIGGEST NEWS Pg. G10
AWARDS Pg. G10
REPUTATION INDEX Pg. G11
THORNIEST CONTROVERSIES Pg. G12
TOP 100 TEACHERS POLL Pg. G13
SAL'S STATS Pg. G13
RECOMMENDED READING Pg. G15
TRULY TERRIBLE TROUSERS Pg. G18
DEATHS Pg. G20
MOST STIRRING SHOWDOWNS Pg. G24
MOST TELLING TELECASTS Pg. G25
QUESTIONS FOR 2006 Pg. G28
 
