Backspin: Ryder Cup in Wilson's future?

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Quick, name all the players who have three PGA TOUR wins in the last 12 months.

If you said Steve Stricker, you'd be correct. You'd also be right if you said Mark Wilson.

Wilson is just one of two players over the past year to boast such a record. Not Tiger Woods. Not his fellow Chicagoan and good friend Luke Donald.

Last season, Wilson's two wins came in the first two months at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. His third in just over a year came Sunday at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation.

Why the success so early in the year?

"The only thing can I think of is that the break in November and December; I can clear my mind of golf," Wilson said. "I tend to remember the good things I did the season before, and when I've come out the last two years, I really just had a clear mind and really focusing on what I'm doing, not worrying about my standing in the world rankings or my standing in the money list or FedExCup or how I'm doing against or the players that week.

"I feel like I'm more into my zone."

Wilson added that he'll alter his schedule this year to try to emulate that in the middle of the season -- last year he had just three top-10s the rest of the season following the wins.

The fact Wilson is even in this conversation is a testament to just how self-aware he is of his game, and the work he's put into it to reach five career wins.

In a land of super-athletes like Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland, Wilson stands all of 5-foot-8 and weighs 145 pounds soaking wet. Yet he has the same number of victories in his career as Johnson (though Wilson has 245 career starts to Johnson's 101).

Still, Wilson has been able to hang a W here and there thanks to his accuracy off the tee, very good iron play (even better with a wedge) and a solid putting stroke.

The Ryder Cup is a long way from now but Wilson might be someone to keep an eye on. He's fourth in the current standings and has penchant for finding fairways. It's also a home game for him at Medinah this year.

If Wilson's plan of taking some mini-breaks during the season works, he might just play his way onto the U.S. team.

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. I spoke to Hank Haney last week to get his reaction from Tiger Woods' reaction to Haney's new book, "The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods." Woods naturally sounded hurt by Haney's decision to write a book and told ESPN.com he wasn't going to waste his time reading it. Haney wasn't surprised Woods said that (though early on in the process he said he didn't think Tiger would have a problem with the book, which clearly isn't the case). Haney also said he "fills in a lot of the blanks" when it comes to his six years working with Woods. Stay tuned. The book hits shelves the week of the Masters.

2. Speaking of Tiger, he'll make his season debut this week in Abu Dhabi. The last time we saw Woods he was winning the Chevron World Challenge with the kind of golf we've been accustomed to seeing from him. Of course it was only two years ago that Woods nearly won that same tournament before losing in a playoff to Graeme McDowell and teasing people into thinking he was on the verge of winning again. That wasn't the case, of course. Woods went nearly all of 2011 without a victory. Some of it was health-related, some of it lack of comfort with the swing changes he'd been trying to implement under coach Sean Foley. Both of those issues, though, seem to be resolved. Woods is completely healthy and getting increasingly comfortable with his latest swing change, according to Foley.

3. Stat of the Week I: 28. That's the number of strokes under par that Robert Garrigus was the last 64 holes of the Humana Challenge, where he played his first eight holes of the tournament in 6 over.

4. Stat of the Week II: 35 under. That's how many under par Johnson Wagner, who tied for second at PGA West a week after winning in Hawaii, is the last two weeks. He also had the fewest putts last week with 100.

5. I think Wagner will win again this year, at least once.

6. A couple of season debuts to keep an eye on this week (for very different reasons): Rickie Fowler and J.B. Holmes. Fowler is 60 TOUR starts into his career and still looking for his first career win, while Holmes of course is playing for the first time since undergoing non-invasive brain surgery last summer.

7. An encouraging sign from Padraig Harrington, who tied for 10th at last week's Volvo Golf Champions, a European and South African Tour co-sanctioned event. What hasn't been talked about much during Harrington's recent struggles is that he underwent his fourth laser eye surgery last June. Harrington said he's reading putts better than he ever has now. A strong start to his season doesn't hurt either. "When you have a good start to the year and are riding high with confidence, your putts go in a lot easier," Harrington told the Belfast Telegraph. "In contrast, when you're trying too hard, everything gets that little bit tougher to do."

8. Remember the name Branden Grace. He's won twice in two weeks on the European Tour and I wouldn't be surprised to see his name pop up on the British Open leaderboard later this year.

9. A football meets golf note for you: That missed kick by Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff reminded me an awful lot of a golf shot. When mud is on the right side of the golf ball -- in this case laces on the football -- then the ball is almost certainly going to go left. That's exactly what that kick did.

Monday Mailbag

Who is the better rookie -- Danny Lee or Jason Kokrak? -- Justin Green It's hard to imagine that Danny Lee is a rookie when he's played so much all over the world the last few years. But he's still just 21 and already has an impressive resume that includes winning the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic and last year leading the Nationwide Tour in scoring average, birdie average and a couple of other categories. That said, adjusting to the TOUR and playing in the U.S. full-time doesn't always happen quickly. Kokrak, meanwhile, won twice last year on the Nationwide Tour and had five top-10s in 16 starts. He also hits it a mile. So to answer your question, I think Kokrak will have the better season. How long before Anthony Kim gets back on track? He seems on the edge of irrelevance. -- Justin Kwak That's a question a lot of people have been asking for a couple of years. He missed the cut at the Humana Challenge and seems to still be fighting some bad habits from the thumb surgery that derailed him a couple of years ago. Hand or wrist injuries are tough to get over -- just ask Ryan Moore, Luke Donald, etc. Kim has way too much natural talent not to turn it around soon, though. Once he does, I think he'll win again, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him win a Masters at some point. Have a question for the mailbag? Email brianwacker@pgatourhq.com, or tweet it to @pgatour_brianw.

Forward Spin: Who I like this week

Torrey Pines is as good a setting and course as there is on the schedule. It's also in Phil Mickelson's backyard, which is why he'll undoubtedly be one of the favorites at the Farmers Insurance Open. And with good reason since he's won the tournament three times. However, keep an eye on Dustin Johnson. Yes, he withdrew last week, but it was back pain, not the knee, that sidelined Johnson. After a few days off he'll be ready to go, and by all accounts the knee is mostly fine. He also tied for third there a year ago.