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Predictions around golf world for 2008

Submitted by administrator on Thu, 01/03/2008 - 17:52

Well, now that Santa has come and gone, and hopefully all the kids had a blast, I know I did.Let's look ahead to the 2008 golf season. Below are some predictions, thoughts, and wishes (a few may be a bit far fetched).It's up to you to determine in which category each bullet point falls. If 2008 turns out like some of the indicators seem, it could be a year that some pretty important things play out.-- Carolyn Blevins, or Carolyn Blunder whichever you prefer, goes an entire LPGA season as commissioner without sticking her size 12s in her size 12 mouth. However, I seriously doubt it.-- Tiger Woods dominates the PGA Tour ( I'm really going out on a limb here), and in the process wins a couple more majors (2), a couple of World Golf Championships, a FedEx event or two , and several regular, old-fashioned run-of-the-mill PGA Tour events. Ho hum.-- Tiger and Mrs. Woods become pregnant again, this time giving birth to triplet boys. They grow up to lead Major League Baseball in home runs, the NBA in scoring , and the third becomes President of the United States. In their spare time they play major amateur golf and win 12 U.S. Amateurs among them.-- Davis Love III has one of those 40-something comeback years, a lot like Steve Stricker last year. He wins again on tour and has a great finish at a major. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.-- Speaking of comeback years, Annika Sorenstam launches a major assault on the LPGA Tour and Lorena Ochoa. Although Lorena puts up a good fight, the Swede returns to her rightful place atop women's golf. It wouldn't surprise me if Ms. Annika would retire if she had an outstanding comeback year, or would only choose to play part-time after 2008.-- David Duval opens up a sports bar in Jacksonville Beach not far from Sawgrass and The TPC. He serves the best burgers and ribs in the South. He plays golf on weekends and wins his club championship next year, after a runner- up finish this year.-- Vijay Singh plays a bit better after a not-so-Vijay-like 2007. However, he never finds the form of the Vijay we once knew. He quietly drifts off into the sunset of the Champions Tour.-- The LPGA Tour is once again dominated by foreign players. Although we see a few smiling U.S. faces in the victory circle, American ladies get their rear ends beat pretty soundly week in and week out. They are much too busy prepping there hair and nails.-- John Daly is tested and they can't even get a reading! Suddenly the test tube settles and a word appears: H O O T E R S !-- A young PGA gun appears from almost nowhere on the, and on a key Sunday challenges King Tiger. They go to the wire, the kid beats him, and a totally new battle begins. Boy, do we need that to happen.-- The Champions Tour continues to bore us all. Fifty-four holes, no cuts, carts, and fat paychecks for part-time players. Wow, America is a wonderful place.-- A new driver comes out. It has a computer chip in it. Dial in the launch angle, the clubhead speed, and the shape of the shot. It is tested and can send the ball a thousand yards. A few major drawbacks: It retails for $1 million, they only make 25 of them , and they run on plutonium.(Tom Patri is one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers in America. His book "The Six Spoke Approach to Golf" is available at bookstores and online. He can be reached at tpatri@mindspring.com or go to www.tompatri.com.)(Golf World is a feature of the Naples Daily News in Florida at www.naplesnews.com.)