THE ELITE
1. Tiger Woods
He’s not in a slump. Repeat, he’s not in a slump. In four of five tournaments, he has finished fourth, 10th, seventh and first. One tie for 46th does not a slump make.
4. Davis Love III
Back-to-back second-place finishes show Love is in top form to repeat at the TPC at Sawgrass. They’re still talking about his 64 in last year’s final.
3. Ernie Els
Despite missing the cut at Bay Hill, Els is off to another good start. He’s priming his game for Augusta.
2. Vijay Singh
Now he might be in a slump; a tie for 17th is his highest finish in his last four tournaments. Singh, though, doesn’t stay down long.
NEXT WAVE
1. Adam Scott The Aussie has three top-10 finishes in four tournaments, including a third at Bay Hill. Don’t be surprised if he climbs to the elite bracket soon.
4. Luke Donald
Getting into the playoff at Torrey Pines shows the former Northwestern star is ready to take the next step. Needs a big week to qualify for the Masters.
3. Charles Howell III
A recent Sports Illustrated poll rated him as the young player with the most potential. He hasn’t shown it in 2004, failing to register a top 10. Still, he has too much talent to be ignored.
2. Fredrik Jacobson
The hot Swede on tour has three straight top-15 finishes. It only is a matter of time before he bags his first PGA Tour victory.
DIDN’T YOU USED TO BE SOMEONE?
(Play-in)
1. Tom Lehman
At 45, the years appear to be catching up to Lehman. Ranked 87th in the world, he is in danger of missing his first Masters since 1992.
2. Steve Stricker
There seems to be no end in sight for his skid. He has made only one cut in seven tournaments this year.
MAKING A COMEBACK
1. John Daly
He could be the comeback story of the last decade. Daly has risen again, playing some of his best golf ever. A solid finish at the Players should put him in the Masters
4. David Duval
The former No. 1 opted against making his 2004 debut this week. He also is expected to skip the Masters. He clearly isn’t ready to reverse what has been one of the epic skids in golf history.
3. Sergio Garcia
While retooling his swing, he dropped to 95th on the money list in 2003. Slowly but surely, he is climbing back.
2. Jesper Parnevik
He already has earned $668,525 for the season, exceeding his total for last year.
ON A ROLL
1. Phil Mickelson
Ranked third on the money list, Mickelson is making a bid to rejoin the elite bracket. It appears as if his dismal 2003 is a distant memory.
4. Mike Weir
He returned to the winner’s circle at the Nissan Open. That should give the defending Masters champion a good feeling going into Augusta.
3. Stuart Appleby
A bad round on Sunday doesn’t negate that the Aussie is off to a terrific start. He won at Mercedes and already has pocketed more than $2 million in earnings.
2. Chad Campbell
His sensational finish to win Bay Hill shows that he has become an A-list player. He also won the Tour Championship in November.
