Year in review: Top 10 surprises of 2008

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Did anyone really think that Team USA would trump Team Europe in the Ryder Cup?

Nov. 12, 2008
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer

There have been plenty of surprises during this 2008 PGA TOUR season. Here's what we consider the 10 biggest:

1. Tiger's win at the U.S. Open considering the circumstances surrounding the most famous left knee in the history of the world.

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We all knew Tiger was ailing heading into that June week at Torrey Pines. As always, we expected him to win even though he hadn't teed it up since the Masters. And as is usually the case, he delivered. It was absolutely stunning. Rocco Mediate pushed the greatest golfer on the planet to 91 holes and that proved to be one too many. As impressive as Woods' victory was, it wasn't put into its proper perspective until he announced afterward that it would be his last tournament of the season because he had essentially played what is arguably golf's hardest major to win on one leg. Simply outstanding.

2. Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia fail to win a major in Tiger's absence, but Padraig Harrington wins two.

Take your pick on what's more surprising here. Surely, we thought, Lefty or Garcia -- who's still seeking that first major victory -- would step up and win a big one. But Mickelson was a relative non-factor in both the Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Garcia, on the other hand, tied for second in the PGA Championship and was in the hunt until he hit his approach at the 16th hole on Sunday into the water. We knew Harrington was the real deal on the world stage after his Open Championship win at Carnoustie in 2007. But did we really think a name other than Woods or Mickelson could boast three major wins over six major starts? I think not.

3. The U.S. defeats Europe in the Ryder Cup at Valhalla.

The Americans were winless since 1999 in the biennial matches and without Tiger for the first time since 1995. That didn't matter. U.S. captain Paul Azinger rallied his troops, who put on a brilliant performance before the home crowd in Louisville, Ky. Young stars like Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan were among the six U.S. rookies who led the Americans to the impressive victory -- and who can forget Boo Weekley riding his driver like a horse off the first tee in Sunday's singles?

4. Camilo Villegas wins in back-to-back starts -- in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, no less!

Are you kidding me? We knew Villegas was going to break through eventually, but to do it in consecutive starts during the postseason was something else.

Villegas has never been guilty of lacking confidence. But what he gained in confidence from his end-of-season romp is going to make him extremely dangerous in 2009.

5. Trevor Immelman earns his first major championship win at the Masters.

Am I shocked that Immelman won a major? No. But this one? Are you kidding me? He missed the first four weeks of the PGA TOUR season after a calcified fibrosis tumor was discovered in his diaphragm in December, 2007. He had surgery and after more tests, the tumor -- golfball-sized, believe it or not -- was found to be benign. Even so, he needed to recover from the treatment, hence the unwanted hiatus.

Clearly no worse for wear, the South African had a magical week at Augusta National. No matter what happens the rest of Immelman's career, the Green Jacket is something no one can ever take away from him.

6. Vijay Singh locks up the FedExCup title before THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Say what you want about the volatility of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup this season. Fact is, changes needed to be made after the lack of movement we saw in the inaugural year of the Playoffs. Singh is more than deserving of the big prize after winning three tournaments in four starts, including the first two Playoffs events. For that reason, is there really an issue with the Big Fijian being crowned the season-long champion? I didn't think so.

7. Paul Goydos' magical run at THE PLAYERS Championship.

You don't always have to win to make a name for yourself. Just ask Goydos, who his fellow pros call "Sunshine." Goydos went into a playoff with Garcia which started on the famed island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass. As you remember, Goydos hit first and found the drink. After the playoff defeat, Goydos was asked if, given the choice, would he have preferred to hit first or second off the 17th tee in the playoff. To that question, he answered with this gem: "Well, now I'd rather go second."

Good stuff.

8. Kenny Perry catches fire.

Did anyone see this coming? Prior to 2008, Perry enjoyed a nice career on the PGA TOUR. This season, he took it to a new level -- and in his late 40s, no less. Perry, who turned 48 on Aug. 10, won three times over the summer and, above all, achieved his goal of representing the U.S. team in the Ryder Cup at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky.

9. Boo Weekley repeats as winner of the Verizon Heritage.

Sure, it wasn't as thrilling as his win in 2007 at Harbour Town when he chipped in twice on the final two holes to take down Ernie Els by a shot, but it put Weekley in a different category of players and went a long way toward securing his well-deserved spot on this year's U.S. Ryder Cup team.

10. Ernie Els wins The Honda Classic and then reveals publicly that his son, Ben, is autistic.

For the last few years, people were wondering why the Big Easy hadn't won a TOUR event. He was contending in majors regularly -- as we've come to expect -- but couldn't kick the door in. That all changed at The Honda Classic and it was great to see one of the game's biggest stars hoisting hardware yet again.

When we learned afterwards that Ben had autism, it put golf and life in perspective. While Ernie's win was wonderful for the sport, it was an even bigger victory for autism awareness. To his credit, Els never used his son's ailment as an excuse. But he brought the disorder of autism to the forefront.

Honorable mention: Nick Faldo does not use one of two Ryder Cup captain's selections on Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke. It would be one thing if Clarke hadn't made a case for himself as a consideration, but the Ulsterman won twice on the European Tour in 2008, including the week before the picks were made. Clarke appeared to be the logical no-brainer choice to take one of Faldo's two spots. Turns out most of us were wrong about that.

That said, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter both performed quite well for the Europeans, but you have to wonder if Clarke could have made a difference.