Books Of the Year
5 TOMMY'S HONOR:THE STORY OF OLD TOM MORRIS AND YOUNG TOM MORRIS, GOLF'S FOUNDING FATHER ANDSON by Kevin Cook (Gotham Books, $27.50) Cook's superbly researched study ofOld Tom, his star-crossed son and their contemporaries brings the characters tolife by adding context and detail to historical record.
4 TY AND THEBABE--THE INCREDIBLE SAGA OF BASEBALL'S FIERCEST RIVALS: THE FORGING OF ASURPRISING FRIENDSHIP AND THE BATTLE FOR THE 1941 HAS-BEENS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPby Tom Stanton (Thomas Dunne Books, $23.95) The subtitle is a mouthful, butStanton's chronicle of how these colorful diamond dogs carried theirantagonisms to the golf course goes down smoothly.
3 PLANET GOLF: THEDEFINITIVE REFERENCE TO GREAT GOLF COURSES OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES by DariusOliver; photographs by David Scaletti (Abrams Books, $60) Big and brassy,Planet scours the globe to deliver the kind of money-shot photos and redolentprose that sends armchair golfers into winter reveries.
2 PREFERRED LIES:A JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF SCOTTISH GOLF by Andrew Greig (Thomas Dunne Books,$23.95) The premise--renewal through reconnection to the game--isn't new, butGreig brings a refreshing sense of intimacy to trips to the Old Course, NorthBerwick and Royal Dornoch.
1 JOURNEY THROUGHTHE LINKS by David Worley (Aurum Press, $50) Visiting 155 linksland courses inEngland, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Journey is a rarity among large-formatgolf books: a marvelous combination of stunning photography and elegantprose.
This decision was not an easy one to make, and in no way is it meant to bedisrespectful to the Tour or sending a message to anyone.  
-- Phil Mickelson, on his withdrawal from the third FedEx Cup playoff event,The BMW Championship
Up & Down
UP
Denis Watson
Watson went 23 years without a win but took the SeniorPGA and Boeing Classic. He finished the year earning $1,636,123--$347,502 morethan he made during his PGA Tour career.
Natalie Gulbis
The comparisons with Anna Kournikova ended when golf'scalendar girl proved she is a player by winning the Evian Masters, her firstvictory as a professional.
Justin Rose
The 27-year-old Englishman won the Volvo Masters in aplayoff to clinch his first European money title, capping a year in which heclearly stepped up in class.
Mike Weir
The iconic Canadian snapped out of a slump to star atthe Presidents Cup and take the Fry's Open, his first W since 2004.
Jason Day
The youngest pro on the Nationwide tour (20 onNov. 12) had a win, a second and a third to finish fifth in earnings andearn a trip to the big Tour in '08.
Down
Seve Ballesteros
Seve won a mere $832 in his only Champions tourappearance. Denying reports of a suicide attempt, he retired from competitivegolf.
Annika Sorenstam
A neck injury contributed to her first winless seasonsince 1994. Can the 37-year-old top Kathy Whitworth's record of 88 LPGAvictories? Annika is 19 wins away.
Darren Clarke
Struggling after the death of his wife, Heather, Clarkeranked 138th on the Euro money list.
Jim Rutledge
As the second-oldest rookie in Tour history, Rutledge,48, was an early-season Cinderella story. But his rough ride ended after hemade the cut only five times in 23 starts and then failed to advance atQ school.
Michelle Wie
Now at Stanford, she completed only three of the eightLPGA events she played in.
SIX PHOTOS
ERICK W. RASCO (BOOK); PETER MORRISON/AP (BALLESTEROS); OLIVIER GAUTHIER/DPPI/ICON SMI (GULBIS); IAN WALTON/GETTY IMAGES (CLARKE); ROBERT BECK (WEIR); BOB MARTIN (WIE)