Golf News, Source... The Wall Street Journal.com

Here are the TOP Stories of 2007:

The FedEx Cup. In the absence of any multimajor winners, this was probably the main Tour story of 2007. Despite dire predictions of disaster, the new four-event, regular-season-ending FedEx Cup series succeeded in its main objectives. Golf held our interest into the September start of football season, which it had never done before; all of the world's top players participated (although several skipped an event); and the series produced worthy winners in Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson and the Cup champion, Mr. Woods (twice).

My take: The Tour lucked out that the individual tournaments were so exciting, because the overall format lacks drama. Only the top handful of players have a realistic chance to win the Cup. And unfortunately, given the Tour's often-conflicting obligations to its players, sponsors, host cities, charities and the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup schedules, an immediate overhaul is about as likely as Congress quickly passing a universal-health-care bill.

Lorena Ochoa. In April she replaced Annika Sorenstam as world No. 1, and she dominated the LPGA Tour more convincingly than Mr. Woods did the PGA Tour. Her eight wins included her first major, the British Women's Open, played for the first time at St. Andrews in Scotland. The 26-year-old from Mexico is tiny but tough (in the off-season she pursues extreme sports like triathlons and mountain-climbing) and makes a point to talk to Mexican workers at the tournament sites when she plays. And she is just part of the LPGA's fresh new appeal.

Tiger Woods. He started the year with his seventh win in a row and finished with four wins in his last five events, including his 13th major at the PGA. He exactly tied the lowest-ever stroke average he posted in 2000, 67.79, but this time the differential between first and second place, 1.5 strokes, was even bigger. The year also marked the birth of his first child, daughter Sam Alexis; the start of his new tournament, the AT&T National; and the launch of his course-design business.

Colin Montgomerie suggested it would be nice for the other players if Mr. Woods took next year off, and I agree. He could spend the first three months fixing up the Katrina situation in New Orleans, the next three months solving the Mideast crisis and still have time with his family before hosting the Target World Challenge in December.

Phil Mickelson. Quite a year, as usual, for Sitcom Phil, the world's No. 2 player. He won three times, including the Players, but spectacularly blew late-tournament leads three other times as only he can, driving the ball like a whirling Dervish and taking risks. He switched coaches, weirdly blamed the course setup at Oakmont for injuring his wrist and testily complained about Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem in his brief moment on television after winning at the BMW. More and more, Mr. Mickelson reminds me of Jerry Mathers as the Beaver. Every week, at 8:30 Eastern time, 7:30 Central, you can pretty much count on the rascal making some kind of lovable mess for himself.

Other characters on Tour. A banner year. We got Woody Austin, aka Aqua Man, who as a 43-year-old rookie at the Presidents Club stole the headlines with his face plant in a greenside pond; good old boy Boo Weekley, who came into his own with pithy comments about this great wall they got there over in China and how Scotland isn't part of the United Kingdom; and foot-shooter Rory Sabbatini, who not only called Mr. Woods "more beatable than ever" before getting shellacked by him, but also grew bored and left Mr. Woods's Target tournament a day early.

The majors. Given the roster of monsters for this year's major tournaments -- Oakmont for the U.S. Open, won by Angel Cabrera; Carnoustie for the British Open, won by Padraig Harrington; and Southern Hills for the PGA Championship, won by Mr. Woods -- it's ironic Augusta National, home of the Masters, should have produced the tournament that was the most painful to watch. Zach Johnson's victory was one of attrition more than brilliance, and it could be even worse next year if the horrible drought in Georgia continues. My favorite majors stat: South African Tim Clark made the cut at the U.S. Open with eight bogies and not a single birdie.

The U.S. Golf Association's proposed ban on square grooves. Little noticed but significant mainly because, when it goes into effect as expected for high-level competition in 2009 (and for the rest of us in a decade or so), it would be the first actual equipment rollback in 70 years. In theory, the square grooves make it too easy to spin balls from the rough and thus control how the ball lands and holds on the green. At the rate golf technology has been improving, more aggressive regulatory action from the USGA is long overdue, and may continue on other issues affecting how far balls fly. Some critics contend there is a natural limit to how far things will go without more supervision, but that's also what they said about Britney Spears.

The Hole-in-One Lady. A golfer named Jacqueline Gagne, 47, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., claimed to have made 16 holes-in-one in seven months this year. Not since North Korea announced that its supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, in 1994 made five aces during the first round of golf he ever played has so much skepticism surrounded hole-in-one claims.

Bill Murray. In August, the actor was detained for erratically driving a golf cart through the streets of Stockholm and afterward declined to take a Breathalyzer test. I don't really have a take on this story, it just makes me laugh to think about.