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Believe it or not, the EDS Byron Nelson Championship marked the midway point of the 2007 PGA TOUR season. So PGATOUR.com asked its panel of experts to weigh in on their favorite moment, biggest surprise and top performer of the first half of the year. These are their biggest surprises.

T.J. Auclair
PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer
Pick: Zach Johnson, The Masters
The biggest surprise up to this point in 2007 was -- hands down -- Zach Johnson winning the Masters. What an incredible achievement. This is the same guy who earned his spot on the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team and unfairly was questioned by some about whether or not he deserved to be there. Of course, he deserved to be there. He accomplished what the points system required. There are no fluke winners at Augusta National. Johnson stuck to a game plan and it played out to perfection even when he saw the name "Woods" prominently displayed on the leaderboards. Johnson's win at the Masters wasn't validation for his Ryder Cup appearance. Instead, it was proof that he is among the upper-echelon in golf today.

Brett Avery
PGATOUR.com Contributor
Pick: Mark Calcavecchia, PODS Championship
Mark Calcavecchia. Maybe his play isn't that shocking, considering the 46-year-old is entering that semi-golden phase where the Champions Tour shimmers beyond the horizon. But two of the last three seasons rank as his worst since his 1986 breakthrough victory. A pair of top 10s during the West Coast Swing (tied eighth at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and tied fourth at Buick Invitational) made for a pleasant break from one top-10 in his last 29 starts. Cracking the code at the PODS Championship, though, against the soul-crushing difficulty of the Innisbrook Resort's Cooperhead Course -- now that took some gumption. This is Calc circa 1989, when he won three times (including the British Open) and tossed out the occasional number deep in the 60s (like that 62 at Innisbrook). Vijay Singh is fading into his late 40s. Calc is looking more and more like Fred Funk, late-stage career-maker.

Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator
Pick: Zach Johnson, The Masters
It's fun to watch any player win the Masters, but it's even more special when that player is an average guy who seemingly comes out of nowhere. This year, Zach Johnson got his first major victory at Augusta National and it was easy to live vicariously through him because he reacted like most would when their dream came true. Johnson smiled like a kid, proudly sported his Green Jacket, sweetly kissed his baby boy on national television and openly spoke about his faith. Best of all, though he may have been as surprised as the rest of the golf world by his winning the Masters over Tiger Woods and a tough field, he seemed truly grateful for his experience and vowed to remain humble and just plain ordinary.

Melanie Hauser
PGATOUR.com Correspondent
Pick: Boo Weekley, Verizon Heritage
Yes, Boo-Boo was my pick for breakout player this season. But who'd have figured he'd play well enough to have one win -- and one heartbreaking playoff loss at The Honda Classic? The country boy who punctuates almost every answer with "yes sir" or "yes ma'am" captured our hearts doing something he loves to do -- play golf. We loved him for his wind pants and tennis shoes on his first PGA TOUR try and now, after chipping in on the last two holes to slip on Hilton Head's plaid jacket -- his hello world moment -- we love him as a player.

Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent
Pick: Zach Johnson, The Masters
Zach Johnson never was tempted to go for any of Augusta National's tempting par 5s in two, instead relying on his wedge game to register 11 birdies in 16 par-5 tries. Oh yeah, and he wrested the lead from one Tiger Woods in the final round. Previously the world's No. 1 was a perfect 12-for-12 in major championship victories when he got to the lead in the final round.

John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor
Pick: The first-time winners
The biggest surprise this year has to be the diversity of the four first-time winners on TOUR. Tiger Woods and John Daly have more in common than Henrik Stenson and Charley Hoffman. How about Boo Weekley and Mark Wilson? These four guys couldn't even use the same barber. Heck, they don't even speak the same language. Who do you think would be more lost? Henrik Stenson in L.A. with Charley Hoffman or Charlie Hoffman in LA (Lower Alabama) with Boo Weekley. The one thing that all of these players have in common, though, is that they will forever be known as PGA TOUR winners.

Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
Pick: Mark Calcavecchia, PODS Championship
Mark Calcavecchia needed a tie for 19th in the final full-field event of 2006 just to secure his spot in the top 125 for the 21st straight year. Calcavecchia, though, seems to reinvent himself every couple of years, and this year's incarnation finds the 46-year-old playing like a man half his age. Calc already has four top-10s, including the 13th win of his career at the PODS Championship, and over $1.7 million in the bank -- which is more than he's won in four of the last five seasons. He ranks sixth in all-important FedExCup points, too.

Dave Shedloski
PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent
Pick: Zach Johnson, The Masters
Zach Johnson. A Ryder Cup berth last year augured his growth as a player, but winning the Masters was truly stepping up. That he did it on a windswept and unrelenting Augusta National Golf Club with Tiger Woods and Retief Goosen in pursuit makes it even more impressive.