Awtrey: Six points to ponder as the Florida Swing begins

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Vijay Singh hasn't done much since his return from knee surgery. Will he stage a comeback this spring?

The West Coast is in the rearview mirror. Forget the kikuya and start re-reading "Putting Bermuda Greens for Dummies." The PGA TOUR has circled back to the East Coast and starts the Florida Swing this week, leading up to the first major championship of the year. It is really possible that the Masters is only six weeks away?

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Now that nearly one-quarter of the regular season is in the books, it's time to look ahead and see what trends await this spring. Here are six questions to ponder while teams of nervous greenskeepers scramble to keep the azaleas from blooming too soon off Washington Road.

Who will be the next veteran to bounce back? The winner to date is Zach Johnson, who relocated his game in the 2008 Fall Series and carried the momentum over to 2009. He won the Sony Open and has scored in the 60s nine times in 12 rounds. Looks like Zach is back.

The next bounce-back could come from Vijay Singh, the defending FedExCup champion, who is languishing at No. 92 on the money list. Singh had some knee surgery after the Mercedes-Benz Championship and didn't play for four weeks.

Since his return, Singh has missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the Northern Trust Open and was beaten in the second round at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. But Singh is a former winner at The Honda Classic and the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, so it wouldn't be surprising if he broke through soon on one of those knee-friendly courses in Florida.

Who will be the next graybeard to win? Let's see, if this is Florida it must be time for Mark Calcavecchia to battle the kids again. Calc will be 49 in June, but always seem to come to life when the TOUR gets to Florida. Last year he was fourth at The Honda Classic, an event he's won twice. He also won in Tampa in 2007 and there's something about playing close to home that brings his game to life.

Another veteran to watch is Davis Love III, who was second in the Mercedes-Benz Championship and is off to his best start since 2004.

Love has a reason to be motivated; he doesn't want to sit out another Masters. He's currently ranked No. 53 in the world and needs to get inside the top 50 in order to earn an invitation to Augusta. Bet a seat on the veranda that he'll be there this year.

Will Tiger win a tournament prior to the Masters? Who has earned more money this year: Tiger Woods or Jason Dufner? If you had Tiger and $5,000, you lose. Tiger is only No. 117 on the money list. OK, OK, it's not fair; he's only played one time and that was a special cameo appearance in the desert.

Perhaps the real Tiger will emerge at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral, where he's won three times, or at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he's won five times. Either venue has been a regular source of income for Tiger, who was stunned last week when he learned how much the price of disposable diapers has risen at Wal-Mart since Sam was wearing them just a few short years ago.

Who has been the best q-school graduate this season and can they keep it up? Webb Simpson, a birdie machine from Wake Forest, already has two top-10 finishes and could be the next Dustin Johnson (two wins in less than two seasons) before the end of the season.
Simpson -- no relation to Tim Simpson or Scott Simpson or Jessica Simpson -- is a highly accomplished player who had a hiccup during the 2007 qualifying tournament and landed on TOUR a year later than expected. Don't be surprised if he shoots a 63 one Sunday and watches a field come back to him, a la Andres Romero at New Orleans in 2008.

Who's the comeback player of the year? Discounting Tiger, the choice must be Luke Donald, who is trying to get past the left wrist injury that derailed him a year ago. Donald has been doing well, but withdrew from last week's Accenture Match Play Championship after feeling some discomfort during a third-round match with Ernie Els. An examination revealed the twinge of pain that frightened him was just scar tissue and was not related to the tendon he injured at the U.S. Open. Donald missed five months, including The Ryder Cup, in the aftermath of the surgery.

Can anyone stop Geoff Ogilvy? He begins the next phase of the TOUR as the undisputed West Coast Swing King for 2009. Two impressive wins has helped the Australian rise to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking and he'll defending his CA Championship title next week at Doral.

Let's see, he'll be making his fourth trip to Augusta this spring, which gives him a solid knowledge base there. Wonder when people will start asking Ogilvy whether he can become the first Aussie to win the Green Jacket? It's a legitimate question and Ogilvy will give a legitimate answer. He always does.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.