PGA FedEx Cup Recap - In the End, its Still Tiger ‘s Tour

Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang, Lucas Glover, Miguel Cabrera, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink all played fantastic in 2009 on the PGA Tour and all impressed us with their terrific play, but at the end of the day, the PGA Tour is still owned by two men: Eldrick “Tiger” Woods and Phil “Lefty “ Mickelson.

With the FedEx Cup on the line this weekend, points leader Tiger Wood let that only man that has challenged him for best golfer in the world the past 12 years, Phil Mickelson, do the dirty work and walked off the East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia as the FedEx Cup Champion. Woods only needed to finish second in the tournament and he did so by shooting a -6 to Mickelson’s -9.

Tiger will take home the FedEx Cup and, no doubt, the award for top player of 2009, but golfing fans had to be impressed with Mickelson who had one of the roughest 2009’s in memory. Both his wife and mother were diagnosed with cancer this year and Lefty not only had to take time off to be with both of them, he had to re-find his swing in the Tour Championship as his play in the three other FedEx Cup Playoff Events had been close to dismal.

After a 1st Round 73 that put him well over the pace, including a quadruple bogey on the 8th, Lefty shot a 67, 66 and 65 in his next three rounds at East Lake. Mick has a new putting style that worked to perfection over the weekend. Not only that, but he kept himself out of the trouble that had plagued him for most of 2009. Mick made more than one online golf betting fan happy when stunning the Tour Championship field with his victory at +2000 in the BetUS online sportsbook.

Even though there are a few PGA Tournaments left in 2009, none of the big guns will likely start in any of those. Let’s take a look, then, at the year end awards.

Golfer of the Year - - Tiger Woods

As impressed as I was by Phil Mickelson over the weekend, there’s no denying that Tiger came back with a flourish. Lest we forget, Mr. Woods ended 2008 on the bench with a knee injury. For him to come back and finish 2nd in the USPGA Championship and to actually win the FedEx Cup is amazing. El Tigre is back on top again.

Honorable Mention - - Phil Mickelson

Nobody had more to prove in the Tour Championship than Phil Mickelson. Mickelson took the challenge and won the tournament going away. He also won two other tournaments in 2009 and finished second in the U.S. Open.

Honorable Mention - - Kenny Perry

Perry had a good Tour Championship by finishing tied for fourth. Of course, he had a two stroke lead over the field going into Sunday but shot a 4 over. It was another disappointing finish for Perry who was as close to a major victory in the 2009 Masters as he might ever be. Still, Kenny had a good 2009 and had to battle personal issues as his mother, like Lefty’s, was diagnosed with cancer this year.

Most Disappointing Golfer - - Sergio Garcia

This is any easy one. Coming off of a really, really good 2008 a lot was expected out of Garcia in 2009. He didn’t just fail to deliver, he was downright pathetic for most of the year. He only had 3 Top 10’s out of 17 events played in 2009, no victories, and couldn’t bring home the Wyndham Championship even though he had the lead going into Sunday and not a single player named Tiger, Phil or Padraig was in the tournament.