Part 2: Mercedes-Benz Championship Field Study

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Jan. 2, 2009
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

After a brief hibernation, the PGA TOUR returns this week for a new season at arguably the greatest spot in the world -- breathtakingly beautiful Maui and the Kapalua Resort for the season-opening winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship. What follows is a quick look at the players who earned their way to Hawaii.

• PART 1: A look at the rest of the field

Player	2008 Win(s)	Analysis
Will MacKenzie	Viking Classic	The last time MacKenzie played in the Mercedes-Benz Championship he mentioned the number of his hotel room on TV and made lots of new friends, as a result. He's married and a father now, and presumably much more savvy as he returns after beating his good friend Marc Turnesa and Brian Gay on the second extra hole. MacKenzie, who did not make the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, went on to finish 114th on the money list and owns a two-year exemption thanks to the win.
Parker McLachlin	Legends Reno-Tahoe Open	McLachlin made his only birdie Sunday on the 72nd hole on the way to a seven-stroke victory over Brian Davis and John Rollins. There were some anxious moments for the first-time winner, though, when Davis closed to four strokes with seven holes to play. McLachlin, who tied the course record with a 62 in the second round, finished 107th in the FedExCup.
Geoff Ogilvy	World Golf Championships-CA Championship	Ogilvy didn't think nine pars would do it, but he still came back on Monday and managed to hold off a star-studded field, beating Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk by one stroke. The Aussie, who won for the fourth time, finished 32nd in the FedExCup.
Sean O'Hair	PODS Championship	O'Hair was the only player in the field to break par in all four rounds in windy conditions as he won his second TOUR event. O'Hair closed with a 69 to make up three strokes on Stewart Cink and beat him and five others by two. He topped $2 million for the second time in his career and was 75th in the FedExCup.
Kenny Perry	the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, Buick Open, John Deere Classic	Perry won three tournaments for the third time in his career. Those victories came in five starts as he made a successful push for the U.S. Ryder Cup Team to play in the matches in his native Kentucky. The first win was at the Memorial, where Perry joined Tiger Woods as the only three-time winners with a closing 69 for a two-stroke edge. He fired a final-round 66 at the Buick Open and then retreated to the range to wait before victory was assured as Woody Austin three-putted the 72nd hole and Bubba Watson was unable to make the tying birdie there. Perry's final victory, the 12th of his workman-like career, came with a tap-in par on the first playoff hole after Brad Adamonis and Jay Williamson had both found the water. Perry finished 15th in the FedExCup.
Ryan Palmer	Ginn sur Mer Classic	Palmer won his second PGA TOUR event despite having to call a penalty on himself at the 10th hole on Sunday when his ball moved at address. He made bogey there and a double bogey on No. 11, but earned the victory with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to hold off Michael Letzig, George McNeill, Nicholas Thompson, Ken Duke and Vaughn Taylor. Palmer finished 94th in the FedExCup and 68th on the money list.
Carl Pettersson	Wyndham Championship	Carl Pettersson went to high school in Greensboro and served on the board of the Wyndham Championship so his win at Sedgefield Country Club was particularly sweet. Pettersson entered the final round with a two-stroke lead over Scott McCarron and maintained it with a closing 68. The victory was Pettersson's third and helped propel him to a No. 21 finish in the FedExCup.
Chez Reavie	RBC Canadian Open	Reavie was a wire-to-wire winner at Canada's national championship -- one of four rookies and 12 first-time champs on TOUR in 2008. The accurate Arizona State grad shot 70 in the final round and beat Billy Mayfair by three shots. He finished 57th in the FedExCup and lasted through the first three Playoff events.
Andres Romero	Zurich Classic of New Orleans	The young Argentine had to wait nearly three hours for his first TOUR win. He finished off a third-round 65 on Sunday morning and shot 68 in the afternoon to finish at 13 under, beating Peter Lonard by one. Romero, who passed the time talking with friends and downloading music, went on to earn PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors.
Adam Scott	EDS Byron Nelson Championship	Yes, he blew a three-stroke lead in the final round. But Scott was tough when it counted -- making birdie the final hole to force a playoff with Ryan Moore and then winning with a 48-footer for birdie on the third extra hole. The win was the sixth for Scott, who went on to place 47th in the FedExCup.
Vijay Singh	World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship	Singh had a very un-Vijay-like year before winning three times in a five-tournament stretch that all-but-staked him to the FedExCup title. Singh overcame some shaky putting at Firestone to shoot 68 and beat Lee Westwood and Stuart Appleby by one to start the streak. After an attitude adjustment of sorts, Singh entered the Playoffs convinced he was the best putter in the world -- and it showed. He birdied the 72nd hole to get into a playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Sutherland at The Barclays, then matched Garcia with a 26-footer on the first extra hole and won with a two-putt birdie on the second. The win at Ridgewood Country Club put Singh on top of the FedExCup standings where he would remain. Singh then rolled in birdie putts of 35, 60 and 35 feet on the back nine Sunday at the Deutsche Bank Championship en route to a 63 that enabled him to overtake Mike Weir and win for the 34th time in his career.
D.J. Trahan	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	Trahan made up a four-stroke deficit with a 65 on Sunday to overtake Justin Leonard and win his second PGA TOUR event. Trahan, who also tied for fourth at the U.S. Open, was 24th in the FedExCup and played in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola for the first time.
Marc Turnesa	Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open	Turnesa proved that playoff loss at the Viking Classic was no fluke as he took a wire-to-wire victory in Las Vegas a month later. The N.C. State product closed with a 68 to beat Matt Kuchar by one stroke. He didn't make the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup but ended up 81st on the money list.
Camilo Villegas	BMW Championship, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola	Villegas picked up the first two TOUR victories of his career in consecutive weeks against top-notch competition. The young Colombian held off Jim Furyk and Anthony Kim at Bellerive Country Club to pick up his first win -- which came in his 86th start, as he beat Dudley Hart -- who birdied the last two holes, by a pair. Villegas second win came after he made up a five-stroke deficit with six birdies in his final 11 holes and beat Sergio Garcia with a par on the first extra hole at THE TOUR Championship. He finished second, by 551 points, to Vijay Singh in the FedExCup.
Johnson Wagner	Shell Houston Open	Wagner had missed the cut in six of the nine events he had played when he came to Houston. He opened with a 63, then held the second - and third-round leads, on the way to a two-stroke win over Chad Campbell and Geoff Ogilvy. The win was his only top-10 of the season, but Wagner finished 60th in the FedExCup.
Boo Weekley	Verizon Heritage	This one was easier than the first. Weekley, who chipped in on the last two holes when he won at Harbour Town in 2007, took a three-stroke victory over Anthony Kim and Aaron Baddeley in his title defense. Weekley, who finished 33rd in the FedExCup, also played his way onto the Ryder Cup team.