Scramble-Up 7

Luke Donald on the road to the top:

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

'

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

.

█

A

E

E

H

E

N

I

A

G

A

D

E

A

B

E

L

H

E

O

K

E

R

E

H

H

H

B

V

S

I

I

P

L

N

T

L

R

T

I

I

T

O

T

V

R

O

Y

O

R

N

T

T

U

W

S

Y

T

T

T

Y

U

Scramble-Up 6 Answer

"Whenever I reach a par 5 in two, then they change it to a par 4. It's ridiculous. There's no way this thing could be a par 5, Fred reached it." - Fred Funk

Scramble-Up 6

Fred Funk on his driving distance:

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

,

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

.

C

E

E

A

C

H

A

N

G

E

E

I

E

A

H

H

Y

A

E

O

A

R

T

F

I

N

E

T

I

H

N

W

P

A

R

F

O

R

R

T

N

T

P

E

R

H

U

T

W

O

V

I

V

Scramble-Up 5 Answer

"I'm quick for a reason. I go when I'm positive, and I'm usually quite positive, so I'll go." - Colin Montgomerie

Scramble-Up 5

Here's a quote from Colin Montgomerie on his pace of play:

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

.

█

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

,

█

_

_

_

█

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

,

█

_

_

█

_

'

_

_

█

_

_

E

E

E

A

I

D

I

C

E

I

F

G

O

G

A

H

L

E

A

N

O

I

I

I

M

L

I

R

I

A

I

R

M

Q

S

M

T

K

O

P

L

S

I

O

I

V

N

Q

U

N

P

S

O

S

U

T

L

Y

S

U

O

O

T

V

U

W

Scramble-Up 4 Answer

"I'm going to play the golf course... because once you start playing the man, you're a dead man." - Arron Oberholser

Scramble-Up 4

I'm having a little difficulty finding quotes this week, so I had to mine back a couple of years to find an Arron Oberholser quote:

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

'

_

_

█

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

A

I

E

E

B

A

C

A

A

A

A

N

C

A

A

E

S

M

G

G

E

H

D

E

L

D

O

M

L

C

I

Y

N

O

H

E

I

E

G

M

E

O

N

L

R

R

T

U

O

S

G

O

R

F

P

O

N

U

Y

T

N

U

S

T

P

O

Y

T

T

Y

U

Scramble Up 3 Answer

"It's just phenomenal being able to get out here. There's no limit." -
J.B. Holmes

Scramble Up 3

The enthusiasm of a rookie winner is delightful.

_

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

.

█

_

_

_

_

_

'

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

.

█

█

█

█

█

B

E

E

E

A

J

I

B

E

I

E

G

E

A

H

L

E

L

I

L

T

G

E

R

N

H

S

N

I

M

R

N

T

M

U

H

E

T

P

O

U

T

N

O

S

O

S

T

O

T

T

Scramble-Up #2 Answer

"It's like playing a golf shot in the Rose Bowl. It's unlike anyplace that you'll ever go." - Tom Lehman

Scramble-Up 2

_

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

.

█

_

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

'

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

.

█

A

G

Y

A

H

A

C

E

E

N

E

A

A

E

I

I

N

I

L

E

E

K

E

R

H

G

B

O

W

I

N

L

L

G

I

L

F

S

L

H

K

T

Y

L

U

P

T

L

O

R

O

T

P

I

O

Y

N

T

S

S

V

U

S

L

O

O

T

T

Today's Scramble-Up is a quote from Tom Lehman on the 16th hole at the TPC of Scottsdale during the FBR Open.

Scramble-Up 1 Answer

"I'm like the good wines. Getting better with age. Miguel Angel Jimenez

Golf Scramble-Up 1

_

'

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

.

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

.

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

█

_

_

_

_

_

_

_

I

A

D

A

E

B

E

E

I

E

E

E

E

G

O

H

M

G

G

E

K

E

M

I

G

G

E

I

T

I

N

G

L

I

N

J

S

M

H

N

E

L

T

O

N

W

I

T

T

T

R

U

W

T

L

Z

The above quote reveals one of today's birthday boys and his thoughts on the state of his game around this time last year. The letters are in the correct columns. Simply move them up to the correct row to solve the puzzle.

And so the year begins...

With Tiger, Phil, and Retief extending their vacations, we've got five top tier players in the Mercedes Championship field this week: Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry, and David Toms. On the issue of top players bowing out of the event, I don't see a need to add another 2 cents to the pot. Both sides have meritable points and that's that. Tiger's absence should allow Vijay to narrow that large gap. If Vijay wins, I may even be able to revoke the Tiger Rule. We shall see. The other gap we will likely see narrow this week is the one between Furyk and Garcia. Furyk has some drag points to shed from the '04 Mercedes, but Garcia doesn't. Furyk is working with new clubs. Garcia should be a little more adjusted to his club changes made right before the Tour Championship. We'll see if that has any effect. The small field should ensure Perry and Toms stay in the top tiers.

Golfer to watch this week: Jim Furyk, on whom The Scotsman's John Huggan wrote this fine piece after Furyk's win in South Africa last month.

Cryptogram 13 Answer

"I think winning once or twice proves to you that what you're doing works, and it can work more than once every blue moon." - Stuart Appleby

Cryptogram 13

In an effort to maintain my sanity, I am cutting back the puzzles to two a week - one on Tuesday and one on Friday. Here's a cryptogram from Stuart Appleby's second win of the year:

H ODHWI AHWWHWR EWST EB OAHST LBEYTU OE GEN ODFO ADFO

GEN'BT PEHWR AEBIU, FWP HO SFW AEBI VEBT ODFW EWST TYTBG

CJNT VEEW.

Cryptogram 12 Answer

"My golf doesn't have anything to do with who I am, it's my relationship with God defines who I am." - Aaron Baddeley

Cryptogram 12

Aaron Baddeley recapping part of his Easter service testimony:


IE TLHA SLDYC'O RKPD KCEORFCT OL SL NFOR NRL F KI,

FO'Y IE MDHKOFLCYRFU NFOR TLS SDAFCDY NRL F KI.

Cryptogram 11 Answer

"I'll crawl around here if I have to. I'm not going to stop, unless you have to pull me out of here." - Rocco Mediate at the Masters

Cryptogram 11

For all you Rocco Mediate fans out there, here's another Masters quote:

W'HH EICOH CIMBAK NTIT WX W NCLT FM. W'S AMF PMWAP

FM RFMU, BAHTRR VMB NCLT FM UBHH ST MBF MX NTIT.

Cryptogram 10 Answer

"If I don't get disqualified in the next five minutes, I think I'll get some money." - Michelle Wie

Cryptogram 10

AG A LFO'B ISB LAKECWYAGASL AO BTS OSHB GADS RAOCBSK,

A BTAOM A'YY ISB KFRS RFOSU.

Cryptogram 9 Answer

That's a little bit amusing. Everything thinks we can just hit it a mile... but being able to putt is the biggest advantage.

Cryptogram 9

J.B. Holmes keeping length in perspective:

YMOY'I O UGYYUH TGY OBEIGAL. HFHNVYMGAL YMGASI PH ROA

WEIY MGY GY O BGUH... TEY THGAL OTUH YK CEYY GI YMH

TGLLHIY OXFOAYOLH.

Cryptogram 8 Answer

"Maybe if I win the Grand Slam, people will quit calling me Brad, but I doubt it." - Bart Bryant

Cryptogram 8

Bart Bryant on being a little brother:

YWOHU EI E REL ANU VGWLF TSWY, DUMDSU RESS CBEA

KWSSELV YU HGWF, HBA E FMBHA EA.

Cryptogram 7 Answer

"It was the best shot I hit all day, no question about it. But it's lucky that it goes in. It has to be lucky it goes in. Otherwise, we'd hole shots all the time, you know." - Geoff Ogilvy

Cryptogram 7

Geoff Ogilvy on his double eagle:

QU ART UZG SGTU TZHU Q ZQU RYY ERP, OH LDGTUQHO RSHDU

QU. SDU QU'T YDJCP UZRU QU KHGT QO. QU ZRT UH SG YDJCP

QU KHGT QO. HUZGNAQTG, AG'E ZHlG TZHUT RYY UZG UQIG, PHD

COHA.

Cryptogram 6 Answer

"Momentum in match play, it's amazing what it can make people do." - Geoff Ogilvy

Cryptogram 6

Here's a quote from Geoff Ogilvy last week:

SMSOEWHS TE SUWRN AFUI, TW'D USULTEB KNUW TW RUE SUCO

AOMAFO YM.

Cryptogram 5 Answer

"Everyone is a great commentator on golf on Mondays." - Rory Sabbatini

Cryptogram 5

Here's a short, but good, little cryptoquote from Rory Sabbatini:

NONVELGN RU P WVNPI SLCCNGIPILV LG WLMA LG

CLGTPEU.

Cryptogram 4 Answer

"I think the hardest thing I think for humans is stop searching, stop searching for the X factor, and I think I've found what works for me." - Michael Campbell

Cryptogram 4

Here's a good quote from Michael Campbell:

RIN IGLSNER RIPCH P RIPCA TFL IYOGCE PE ERFD ENGLUIPCH,

ERFD ENGLUIPCH TFL RIN J TGURFL, GCS P RIPCA P'WN TFYCS

ZIGR ZFLAE TFL ON.

Cryptogram 3 Answer

"Sometimes it's like rolling the dice on that weather in Oklahoma, so I figure I knew it would be pretty nice out here." - Bo Van Pelt

Cryptogram 3

Being a Tulsa resident like Bo Van Pelt, I can vouch for his explanation for spending some time in Scottsdale a couple of weeks ago.


JURNALRNJ LA'J PLEN IUPPLOD ACN TLGN UO ACYA BNYACNI

LO UEPYCURY, JU L SLDMIN L EONB LA BUMPT ZN KINAAV OLGN

UMA CNIN.

Cryptogram 2 Answer

"Like I say, when every body expects you to wear colorful and be a certain way, I think it's time to change a bit." -
Jesper Parnevik

Cryptogram 2

I wasn't too keen on Jesper Parnevik's outfit on Sunday (white shoes, black pants, white shirt and sweater, red visor) but I certainly can't fault his reasoning:

WMXH M NVR, BOHP HEHCRYSLR HAIHGFN RST FS BHVC

GSWSCQTW VPU YH V GHCFVMP BVR, M FOMPX MF'N

FMKH FS GOVPDH V YMF.

Cryptogram 1 Answer

Highlight below for the answer to the cryptogram in the prior post:

"I honestly couldn't understand sitting down to Christmas dinner having to think about my golf because I'd be playing golf in a week's time, something like that." Padraig Harrington

Cryptogram 1

I have decided to make a word puzzle a regular weekly feature here. Next week it will begin to appear in its regular weekly spot on Thursdays, but since we're on a 2-week break, I am presenting this week's puzzle early.

Padraig Harrington, on why he won't be at the Mercedes Championship next week:

S OXHDECFP RXIFNH'C IHNDTECYHN ESCCSHQ NXLH CX

ROTSECKYE NSHHDT OYBSHQ CX COSHA YUXIC KP QXFZ

UDRYIED S'N UD JFYPSHQ QXFZ SH Y LDDA'E CSKD,

EXKDCOSHQ FSAD COYC.

Golf Word Search

I've put together a word search containing the names of 16 of the top golfers in the world. (Sorry, Chris DiMarco, somehow your name got missed. The slight was unintentional.) This puzzle is set up so that the last name is at some angle to the first name. Enjoy!

E

T

E

D

O

N

A

L

D

I

G

F

E

S

R

W

I

S

K

Y

A

J

I

A

V

S

M

U

E

D

O

O

R

I

U

N

V

T

V

I

D

I

G

R

H

P

H

I

E

S

L

L

E

I

K

C

J

A

G

Y

C

I

M

L

M

O

N

R

D

G

J

R

E

I

M

K

T

I

E

F

O

R

E

T

I

E

F

A

O

O

S

E

O

G

A

Y

G

S

E

O

N

R

E

G

Y

R

C

N

N

I

R

E

T

S

S

M

L

W

O

O

D

S

O

N

E

R

E

L

N

E

R

S

G

S

I

O

O

I

T

Y

E

P

R

L

O

M

I

C

K

E

L

S

O

N

T

P

A

G

B

E

M

L

E

R

N

I

E

E

I

G

C

D

R

A

A

B

N

I

L

O

C

A

J

N

I

H

R

M

F

U

C

P

S

H

M

E

A

D

A

K

Y

A

N

G

E

L

R

M

C

P

O

T

W

T

C

O

I

L

I

N

M

O

N

A

R

E

M

O

G

O

T

G

M

I

C

H

A

E

L

C

I

D

A

V

I

D

H

A

R

R

I

N

G

T

O

N

Tiger Woods	Vijay Singh	Phil Mickelson
Retief Goosen	Ernie Els	Sergio Garcia
Jim Furyk	Adam Scott	Colin Montgomerie
Kenny Perry	Angel Cabrera
David Howell	Luke Donald	Michael Campbell
David Toms	Padraig Harrington

Last OWGR of 2005

Well this is it. The golf year has come to an end. We end 2005 with 15 players in the top 5 tiers under the Tiger Rule. (Otherwise, the list would extend to Carl Pettersson at World Number 53.) Sadly, I had to drop Michael Campbell and Padraig Harrington from the list for the time being, and Kenny Perry has dropped to Tier V.

Tune in tomorrow for a special treat.

South African Airways Open

The only top golfers still going this week are South African as they compete in their national. We've got Ernie Els, fresh back in the game and already a win under his belt, and Retief Goosen who may be a little happier with his game after making it to the playoff in Sun City. Tim Clark is not currently in the tiers, but he's not too far out and a good showing this week could move him back into my tier list. (As long as he can keep his hair out of his face.)

Golfer to watch this week: Retief Goosen

"Easy" return from injury

It's nice to see Els sweep in and claim a victory in his first official event since his knee injury. It bodes well for the likelihood that he'll be back up a couple of notches where he belongs in the world rankings.

Adam Scott has had a disappointing end to his 2005 season. Every once in a while I decide for some random reason that I find him irksome, but despite that, I do sincerely wish him well as he works to improve his game.

With the Nedbank and Tiger's event not counting to official world points, Darren Clarke's position does not accurately reflect his play of late, so I hate to do this but this system shows a drop of Clarke and Davis Love III out of the top tiers this week while David Toms and Padraig Harrington slide down to Tier V for the week. The Tiger Rule is still in effect, but I'm hoping to retract it in January. (Without the Tiger Rule, the top tiers would include 43 golfers again this week.)

Tiger trek

Most of the top golfers in the world will be chasing down Tiger at the Target World Challenge this week leaving Ernie Els and Adam Scott as the only top golfers playing official events this week. Els hangs around in his native South Africa another week to play in the dunhill championship, his first official event since his knee injury. Scott returns to his Aussie homeland to compete in the MasterCard Masters.

(Odd thought: One has to wonder if Alfred Dunhill and E.E. Cummings were friends in their day.)

Golfer to watch this week: Ernie Els

Monty's turn

Davis Love III continues to be the only inter-tier activity hovering between Tiers IV and V with a return to Tier IV this week. The Tiger Rule remains in effect causing Tim Clark to drop out of the tiers for the moment otherwise the list would extend to Miguel Angel Jimenez at World Number 43.

Weekend highlights:

• Colin Montgomerie made the golf portion of my weekend with that win in Hong Kong vaulting him up to 9th in the world rankings as I had hoped. Four "best golfer in GB&I" title holders in four weeks.
• The Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa did not award OWGR points this year, but they will begin doing so in 2006. I look forward to seeing the effects this has next year.
• With points not being used this year, Sergio Garcia was able to pull within one one-hundredth of a point of Ernie Els. Sergio will be losing points this week for certain, while Ernie's points are a little more complex, so I'm not going to venture a guess as to where they'll stand at the beginning of next week. Ernie did post a better finish than Sergio in Sun City although Sergio's troubles at the 17th lent to that.
• One thing about the Nedbank Golf Challenge that left me scratching my head was the stats from Sergio's scorecard. Granted every week is a new event, a new course, anything can happen from week to week, but still... This is the man who had the best record for Greens in Regulation on the PGA Tour in 2005 and a man with a notoriously bad putting record for the year. His putting was average for the week with a T5 in a field of 12 for putts per round. Of course this was only a single event, but his average of 27.5 putts per round for the week was better than the best putter on tour for 2005. Meanwhile, in GIR stats, Sergio came in at 11th out of 12 with a GIR% worse than the worst on tour as of the end of the 2005 PGA Tour season.

Fantasy golf is back already!

CBS Sportsline/PGATour.com have begun signups for their first new fantasy golf competition of 2006. It's a league/stats-based competion. Signing up for drafts started today with the first live drafts on the 10th and the first auto-drafts on the 15th. Since I'm a rookie to this kind of fantasy sporting, I'm wimping out and going the auto-draft route. I've got my player preferences ranked and look forward to seeing how my team and the rest of the league turns out. Being day one, there's only 2 other people in my league at this point. (I know nobody who cares about fantasy golf, so it's obviously a public league.)

South African Distraction

Well, with the Nedbank Golf Challenge diverting 11 of the top 20 golfers to South Africa this week, and another 6 taking the week off, only 3 top tier golfers are playing for OWGR points this week. Michael Campbell steps up to headline at the Australian PGA in Adam Scott's absence. Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie return to China this week to play in the UBS Hong Kong Open. This brings to my attention that I omitted Monty from my rivalry discussion yesterday. Perhaps he'll win this week and give us a fourth "second best European" in as many weeks.

Golfer to watch this week: Colin Montgomerie

Just your typical off-week shifting

Not much Tier movement this week -- just DL3 dropping to Tier V and McGinley, Couples, and Bryant falling off the list. I have left the Tiger Rule in effect although, due to a weird technicality, removing it would only have 32 players in the top 5 tiers this week. Since the gap between Tiger and Vijay is still 7.41, I suspect this is a mere anomaly and the Tiger Rule would be needed again next week anyway.

Weekend notes:

• What is it with Opens? The U.S. Open so often seems to be a fire-breathing dragon that will slay anyone that dare attempt to defeat it. Its cousin was alive and kicking this week on the Moonah Links in Australia this week with only seven players finishing under par.
• We could get a nice little rivalry going for "best golfer in Great Britain and Ireland" or "second best golfer in Europe." Two weeks ago, Luke Donald filled this slot with OWGR #11. Last week, David Howell jumped ahead of Donald into that spot. This week, Padraig Harrington returned to the helm, so that the numbers 11, 12, and 13 players in the world are Harrington, Donald, and Howell respectively.

And then there was one

Well, with the Silly Season in full swing the only golfer in the top 23 playing in an official event this week is Adam Scott down at the Australian Open. You don't have to look too far down the list to find other good contenders in Nick O'Hern, Mark Hensby, and Stuart Appleby at 29, 30, and 32 respectively, but it doesn't look like a win would push any of them into the top 5 tiers.

Golfer to watch this week: Hmm... Let me think... Adam Scott.

Minor number shifting

With little activity last week, the only changes are due to minor number shifts that caused Paul McGinley to slide back to Tier V and allowed Fred Couples and Bart Bryant to slip back into Tier V. The Tiger Rule remains in place as without it the top 5 tiers would extend all the way down to Charles Howell III, world number 52.

Weekend highlights:

• It was certainly interesting to see Duval's name back on the leaderboard in Japan this week despite his weak showing Sunday.
• It's great to get a chance to watch the European Tour regulars play golf to get to know some new faces. The expressions on Henrik Stenson's face at times this week were particularly priceless. His name has been on my radar for the past few months, but I didn't really know who he was until this week. In fact, I think I had him mixed up with Niclas Fasth for a while there. I'm not sure how I missed him at the WGC-AmEx, but I'm guessing ABC didn't show him much. (They were too enraptured by the Woods/Daly driving contest.) At the end of 2004, I picked Nick O'Hern as my European Tour player to follow for 2005 and while he did have some interesting highlights for the year he was certainly less than sensational. This time around I'm picking Henrik Stenson to follow in 2006. He hasn't showed up in the top 5 tiers much yet, but if next year goes as well as this year has it won't be too long before he is a regular in the top tiers.

Around the World

We've only got 5 of the top 21 golfers eligible for OWGR points this week what with the World Cup in Portugal and the PGA Tour's off-season. Tiger Woods returns to Japan to defend his title from such challengers as Jim Furyk, Colin Montgomerie, and Michael Campbell although even with a win Tiger's points average stands to decrease. Across the globe, Retief Goosen has headed home to headline the Limpopo Classic in South Africa.

The more interesting tournament this week has no affect on world rankings, but it's still worth commenting on. On paper, England has the strongest team in David Howell, hot off his HSBC victory, and Luke Donald. Next comes Ireland with the historically sound pairing of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley. Then we have Sergio Garcia teaming up with Miguel Angel Jimenez for Spain. Tim Clark and Trevor Immelman form the South African team and Angel Cabrera teams up with fellow Argentinan Ricardo Gonzalez, winner of the 2004 Open de Sevilla.

Golfer(s) to watch this week: Well, since there will be little activity on the OWGR board and those events will be rather difficult to watch this week anyways, I give the look to the Englishmen in Portugal, David Howell and Luke Donald.

The Tiger Rule

I am officially invoking the Tiger Rule in my determination of the top 5 tiers because 48 players is just too many. Until someone steps up again to challenge Tiger like Vijay did last year, Tiger is in a league of his own and will not factor into calculations for the time being.

Currently, Vijay stays in Tier II by himself, but his putting will certainly have to improve to maintain his lead.

Mickelson, Goosen, Els, and Garcia make a solid representation for Tier III.

With the next 14 golfers now in Tier IV, the only change of note is that David Howell passed Luke Donald to hold bragging rights to top English golfer in the world at present.

Tim Clark rounds out the top tiers as the lone golfer in Tier V.

And the Game Goes On

China gets to see some good golf this week as several top golfers head across the Pacific for a week now the the regular PGA Tour season is over for the year. The HSBC Champions Tournament on the Asian Tour is headlined this week by Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Michael Campbell, Paul McGinley, David Howell, Thomas Bjorn, Miguel Angel Jimenez, and Henrik Stenson.

The key is once again the comparison between Tiger's and Vijay's performances this week. As I indicated on Monday, I'm hoping Vijay's got his putting problems worked out. Jimenez and Stenson have there work cut out for them but there is a chance they could play themselves up a tier.

Golfer to watch this week: Well, since I've listed Vijay recently and since I don't seem to be listing a golfer that performs well in that week so far, let go with Tiger Woods.

In a Year

Most Improved: Bart Bryant was ranked 136th at this point last year and is now 24th. That is essentially a jump from being a Tier 55 player to a Tier 2 player. The way he played last week solidified where his game stands.

Honorable Mention: Jose Maria Olazabal (132 - 27), Henrik Stenson (135 - 33), Ben Crane (121 - 34).

Most Consistent: Retief Goosen is not only in the same tier he was one year ago. He is also in the exact same place he was in the OWGR at that time. It's not been an easy year for the Goose but he's managed not to slide, nonetheless.

Honorable Mention: Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Chris DiMarco, Kenny Perry, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Stewart Cink, Stuart Appleby.

Biggest Slide: Todd Hamilton was one of only three players (with Weir and Ames) to fall off the list from last year. Currently at World 97, Hamilton has performed the worst of those three.

Tier I	Tier I
Tiger Woods	Vijay Singh
	Tiger Woods
	Ernie Els
Tier II	Tier II
Vijay Singh	Retief Goosen
Phil Mickelson	Phil Mickelson
Retief Goosen	Mike Weir
Ernie Els	Padraig Harrington
Sergio Garcia	Davis Love III
Jim Furyk	Sergio Garcia
Adam Scott	Stewart Cink
Chris DiMarco	Adam Scott
Kenny Perry	Darren Clarke
Angel Cabrera	Kenny Perry
David Toms	Chris DiMarco
Luke Donald	Miguel Angel Jimenez
Padraig Harrington	Jim Furyk
Colin Montgomerie
Michael Campbell
Davis Love III
Paul McGinley
David Howell
Darren Clarke
Tim Clark
Thomas Bjorn
Fred Couples
Bart Bryant
Stewart Cink
Scott Verplank
Tier III	Tier III
Jose Maria Olazabal	Chad Campbell
John Daly
Tier IV	Tier IV
Justin Leonard	Stuart Appleby
Stuart Appleby	David Toms
Miguel Angel Jimenez	Todd Hamilton
Chad Campbell
Henrik Stenson
Tier V	Tier V
Ben Crane	Stephen Ames
Mark Hensby

Come on, Vijay!

I'm officially cheering for Vijay Singh to find his putting stroke before Tiger Woods separates himself from the pack any more. With 25 golfers in Tier II this week things are getting stretched a little far. All these men are certainly excellent golfers, and Vijay's clearly not at the top of his game right now, so I'm not complaining too much at this point.

Bart Bryant was spot on this week and played himself into his position in Tier II as did Scott Verplank. Other golfers who managed to sneak into Tier II this week were Paul McGinley, David Howell, Darren Clarke, Tim Clark, Thomas Bjorn, Fred Couples, and Stewart Cink. Jose Maria Olazabal and John Daly did make it back into the list as I suggested but all the way up to Tier III. Justin Leonard, Stuart Appleby, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Chad Campbell, and Henrik Stenson enter the list at Tier IV this week and Ben Crane and Mark Hensby round out the top players in Tier V.

Tomorrow: A comparison between the Top 5 Tiers right now and at this point last year.

Grand Finale

I wouldn't be surprised if the gap between Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh increases once again this week. Vijay stands to lose more points, and he is not in good form entering the week.

Retief Goosen should stay comfortably where he is in Tier II. As for Sergio Garcia, also comfortably in Tier II, a top three finish this week should pull him ahead of Ernie Els in the OWGR. Of this field of 29, Sergio's performance is among the top in the weeks preceding the Tour Championship.

Furyk, Scott, DiMarco, Perry, Donald, Harrington, and Love should all be able to remain in Tier II thanks to the Woods-Singh gap. Being at the bottom of the list, Love would be iffy but he really doesn't stand to lose any points at present unless he WDs or DQs. Besides, he hasn't played terribly in his last few starts.

The final player in both the top tiers and the Tour Championship is Tim Clark. He has the chance to move up to Tier III which in turn should slide Couples, Bjorn, and Cink up to Tier IV and allow Jose Maria Olazabal and John Daly to sneak back into the list in Tier V.

Player to watch this week: Sergio Garcia