Bottom Lines

? TOM BYRUM: Statistically, he was the second-best player on Tour in '97, finishing behind Bill Glasson in the all-around category. Yet Byrum was 42nd on the money list.

?LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: On the Omega tour in Asia, players are allowed a free drop from red anthills but must play from black anthills. Why? Red ants bite; black ones don't.

? BRUCE LIETZKE: He'll be U.S. Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw's assistant at The Country Club in '99.

? MICHIGAN: The Great Lakes State has 732 public courses, the most in the country.

? BOBBY WADKINS: "My goal in '98 is to be better than I was in '97." That shouldn't be too difficult. Wadkins won $29,789 on the Tour this year.

?HANDICAPS: Finally got your handicap down to two and are ready to qualify for the U.S. Open? Not so fast. The USGA has lowered the maximum handicap allowed to 1.4.

? COREY PAVIN: The 1995 U.S. Open winner had one top 10 finish in '97 and won less than $100,000.

? COLIN MONTGOMERIE: He's the only European ranked among the top 10 in the world.