2009 Player of the Year Race Should be Fun to Watch

The PGA Tour tees off its 2009 schedule this week in Hawaii at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Tiger Woods won't be there. He's skipped this event a few times recently anyway, but this season he's home recuperating from major knee surgery.

When will he return? The rumor mill, grapevine and water cooler chatter says Woods is determined to play in The Masters, and would like to play a tournament or two prior to reaching Augusta to shake off the rust.

And whenever Woods gets back into competition, what will his level of play be?

The last time Woods missed significant time was 2006, when his father died. Woods missed more than two months, then missed the cut at the U.S. Open when he returned. But what happened after that? He finished second in his next tournament, then won the next six PGA Tour events he played.

This time Tiger is returning from a physical injury, rather than a psychological one. But Tiger being Tiger, you have to believe there's a strong chance he'll return just as dominant as ever.

And injuries being injuries, we also have to allow for the possibility that he won't - that he'll be a little off, and might need some time to get back to his highest level of play.

Whichever way that issue resolves itself, 2009 is shaping up to be a great year. There are some veteran rivals of Tiger's who may still have a challenge or two left in them; there are exciting young players banging on the door of greatness.

Who will the 2009 Player of the Year be on the PGA Tour? Will anyone bet against Tiger Woods?

Since Woods' first full season of 1997, only three other players have won the Player of the Year Award: Mark O'Meara in 1998, Vijay Singh in 2004 and Padraig Harrington in 2008.

What do those three years have in common? In each case, the golfer who won the award had a career year (two majors each for O'Meara and Harrington, nine wins and one major for Singh). And in each of those three years, Woods was off his game. In 1998, he was undergoing his first major swing change with Butch Harmon; in 2004, Woods was tinkering with his swing again, this time with Hank Haney; and in 2008 he only played half a season due to injury.

Is it a coincidence that the three award winners had their career years in seasons when Woods wasn't at full strength? Or did their career years happen in those specific seasons because of that?

Is anyone ready to have a career year in 2009? Who will win the Player of the Year race? We listed some of the top candidates in the poll that accompanies this post. Cast your vote, and share your opinions in the comments.

If the Player of the Year is going to be someone other than Woods, my money is on Sergio Garcia. I think he's ready to have that big, breakout season we've all been expecting to see. I think 2009 is the year Garcia wins multiple times on the PGA Tour and claims his first major championship.

As for possible "Other" candidates, Ernie Els is always an interesting candidate. He has to have one great year left in him. Doesn't he?

But I voted for Tiger.