Tiger tops the PGA Tour list; Annika leads the rest

The 2005 PGA Tour season has come to a close -- and so have the Power Rankings. This week's edition will be the last one this year. Because of that, we're taking a slightly different tact.

Instead of focusing on recent performances and the integration of players from various tours, the year-end Power Rankings take into account an entire season's worth of performances. Plus, I've split up the Rankings into two categories -- a top 10 for the PGA Tour and a top 5 for all other tours (it's sort of like the Presidents Cup of Power Rankings).

Power Rankings - PGA Tour Rank LW Player 1 1 Tiger Woods Some think Tiger is set up for a Grand Slam run next year, but I'm not yet convinced. He doesn't run away from the field like he used to -- four of his six wins this year were either by one shot or in a playoff (OK, he did win the British Open by five). On the flip side, perhaps his revamped swing remains a work in progress -- if so, that makes his 2005 campaign even more impressive. 2 10 Phil Mickelson Lefty fades from view once the leaves turn, so you may not remember just how well he played this year. He won four Tour events, including, of course, his second major, the PGA Championship at Baltusrol. From early February to early April, no one was better. He finished third on the money list, playing nine less events than No. 2 Vijay Singh. If only Mickelson could remember those Presidents Cup rules ... 3 6 Vijay Singh Funny how four wins, 18 top 10s and $8 million in earnings seems like a disappointment. It wasn't realistic to think Vijay could match his incredible 2004 success, especially with Tiger back on track. It's amazing that Singh was able to achieve what he did considering his balky putter; he ranked 60th in putting average, a drop of 23 places from the previous year. 4 8 Jim Furyk Starting next year, can we stop referencing Furyk's wrist surgery whenever his name is mentioned? Furyk completed his return to winning form by taking the Western Open in early July. He came close on many other occasions -- his four second-place finishes tied Tiger for the most on Tour this year. Speaking of Tiger, Furyk showed at the Presidents Cup that he might be Tiger's top wingman. 5 - Kenny Perry Perry may never match his career-best 2003 season (three wins, $4.4 million in earnings), but he came pretty darn close this year. He won at two of the Tour's most prestigious tracks (Bay Hill, Colonial) and took home $3.6 million, sixth-highest on the money list. Early next year, expect Perry to become just the 10th golfer ever to reach $20 million in career earnings. 6 5 Retief Goosen The Goose made just 18 starts on Tour this season, and in nearly half of them (8), he finished in the top 10. That includes his win at The International -- but not, of course, his T-11 at the U.S. Open when he skied to a final-round 81. Lesser players would have let that define their year, but credit Goosen for punching back with top-10ers at the British Open and PGA Championship. Plus, beating Tiger mano a mano at the Presidents Cup is pretty impressive. 7 - David Toms Besides his good deeds after Katrina hit his home state of Louisiana, Toms also had a pretty good year on the course. He took the WGC-Match Play Championship in February, and his 11 top-10 finishes were third highest behind Vijay (18) and Tiger (13). Oh, and no player was better on Saturday, as Toms led the Tour with a 68.59 average score in the third round. 8 2 Sergio Garcia Sergio always seems to leave us wanting more, when in fact what he delivers is pretty good. He won the Booz Allen Classic and then followed that with a T-3 at the U.S. Open. He also finished in the top five at St. Andrews. In just 20 starts, he produced eight top-10 finishes, and no player on Tour hit more greens in regulation. Sergio joins Retief Goosen as the only two players to finish in the top 10 on both the PGA and European tour money lists. 9 - Bart Bryant I don't like leaving multiple winners off this list. Anyone who claims two Tour titles in a year has had an extraordinary season in my books. But since other factors are involved (consistency, top 10s, majors, etc.), I felt I could choose just one of the three double-winners: Bryant, Justin Leonard and Padraig Harrington. I went with Bryant because he won two elite events, the Memorial and the Tour Championship. 10 - Chris DiMarco So how does a player who didn't win an event get on this list? Well, he must have produced one of the signature moments of this season, say like the clinching putt at the Presidents Cup. He also showed his steely nerves down the stretch at Augusta by forcing a playoff with Tiger. DiMarco finished second in three events this season; here's betting he reaches the winner's circle in 2006. Honorable mention: Davis Love III, Ben Crane, Padraig Harrington, Justin Leonard Power Rankings - Other Tours Rank LW Player 1 - Annika Sorenstam As good as Tiger Woods was on the men's side, he couldn't match the dominance that Annika showed on the women's side. She won nine LPGA events (which, amazingly, is two shy of her 11 wins in 2002), and by claiming the first two majors, she fueled talk of a possible Grand Slam. Michelle Wie received more press, but Annika made more statements. 2 - Michael Campbell He spent most of his time on the European Tour, where he finished second on the Order of Merit money list behind Colin Montgomerie. But we'll put Campbell ahead of Monty on this list due to his U.S. Open win at Pinehurst. 3 3 Colin Montgomerie Monty delivered the feel-good comeback of the year on the European Tour, as he finished second at St. Andrews and eventually won his eighth Order of Merit (he played three more events than Campbell). 4 9 Tom Watson Watson finished fifth on the Champions Tour money list, but he played just 13 events (everybody else ahead of him made at least 22 starts). Watson had nine top-10 finishes and two wins -- the Senior British Open and the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup. 5 - Jason Gore The out-of-nowhere story at Pinehurst won three consecutive times on the Nationwide Tour and was promoted to PGA Tour status. A month later, he won the 84 Lumber Classic. Gore finished second on the Nationwide money list despite making just 12 starts (top earner Troy Matteson played in 27 events). Honorable mention: Paula Creamer, Dana Quigley, Jose Maria Olazabal Weekly Rankings: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42