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Top Performers
1. Tiger Woods
2. Karrie Webb
3. Lee Westwood
4. Phil Mickelson
5. Larry Nelson
OTHER UPS AND DOWNS
• Peter King on the NFL
• Phil Taylor on the NBA
• Tom Verducci on Baseball
• Michael Farber on the NHL
• Ivan Maisel on College Football
• Seth Davis on College Basketball
• Alan Shipnuck on Golf
• Jon Wertheim on Tennis
• Grant Wahl on Soccer
• Richard Hoffer on Boxing
• Tim Layden on Track & Field
• Brian Cazeneuve on Olympic Sports
• Kelli Anderson on Women's Sports
• Mark Bechtel on Motor Sports
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NOMINEE |
THE SKINNY |
| Overrated |
Ernie Els |
When did they start throwing parades for second place? If the Big Easy is around the lead so much, how come he's won only twice since March 1998? |
| Underrated |
Annika Sorenstam |
The toothsome Swede won five times in 2000 and finished second on the LPGA money list, not that anybody noticed. Despite the absence of ink, Sorenstam's rivalry with Karrie Webb is not as one-sided as it seems. |
| Annoying |
Arnold Palmer |
The former King is sanctimonious enough to testify against Casey Martin and constantly scold the young whippersnappers, but as soon as he's on Callaway's payroll it's all of a sudden OK to start cheating. Palmer's endorsement of the company's nonconforming driver (the ERC II) is a betrayal that will forever shadow his legacy. |
| Breakthrough |
Phil Mickelson |
He always had the talent, but now he's grown the huevos to match. He twice dusted Tiger in head-to-head competition and finished second on the money list, $1.3 million ahead of the next guy. When will he win a major? Who cares. Let's celebrate Mickelson for what he is: one of golf's great warriors. |
| Uplifting |
Lorie Kane |
Paul Azinger raised the dead at the Hawaiian Open, but no one has been more consistently compelling this year than Kane, who in her four previous years on Tour never stopped smiling, even as she choked away tournament after tournament. This year she finally won...and won...and won, proving nice girls don't always finish second. |
| MVP |
Tiger Woods |
Gee, uh, Larry Rinker? No, I think we'll go with Tiger. He has singlehandedly changed the game, on and off the course. Golf is now the fourth major sport, for good and for ill. How the gentleman's game handles its growing pains will largely be determined by the comportment of this extraordinary 24-year-old. |
| Storyline to follow in 2001 |
Tiger-beaters |
What do these guys have in common, besides big, er, wallets: Darren Clarke (World Match Play), Hal Sutton (The Players Championship), Mickelson (Tour Championship), Sergio...nevermind. All of the above stepped on Tiger's neck in head-to-head play. As good as Woods is, he can be beaten, and that was the silver lining to this season. Golf's other elite players now have a blueprint on how to trump to Tiger: pedal to the medal, and don't stop making birdies until you hit the parking lot. |
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