CBSSports.com staffers Steve Elling and Ross Devonport take a scattershot look at three compelling and timely topics in the game.
| 1. With men's tour seasons for 2008 complete on the European and PGA circuits, and the LPGA set to end this weekend, can each of you pick a breakout player of the season? | |
| Steve Elling | Ross Devonport |
 Gotta go with Anthony Kim, whose emergence with two victories and a sterling Ryder Cup offer hope on a couple of fronts. First, unlike other breakout candidates like Sergio Garcia and Camilo Villegas, Kim is a terrific putter. Secondly, Kim was born in the United States, and the tour needs homegrown talent worse than ever. Third, Kim has global appeal because he is of Korean heritage, sparking added interest abroad. Moreover, Kim is the youngest of the group. In fact, he was the second-youngest player on the tour in 2008. His emergence was the best development during Tiger's absence in the second half. |  While Kim unquestionably had a superb season, I'm going to go with LPGA Tour rookie Yani Tseng as my breakout pick. The native of Taiwan has 10 top-10 finishes in 26 events, including her win at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, and heads into this week's season-ending ADT Championship as the third-ranked player in the world. Along with raking in the money in 2008, Tseng has been a statistical monster. She ranks sixth in GIR, T6 in putts per GIR, first in birdies and sixth in driving distance. Only her driving accuracy needs a little improvement. |
| 2. Which organization has the best seasonal points system or bonus race: PGA Tour, European Tour or LPGA? The latter's year-end event is this week in West Palm Beach, Fla. | |
| Steve Elling | Ross Devonport |
| My batting order: 1. LPGA; 2. Europe; 3. PGA. The LPGA's format is so demented, such a marked change from traditional events, that it's compelling for several reasons. Thirty-two players are cut to 16 after two rounds, then pared to eight heading into the final day, where the low 18-hole score claims the biggest prize in women's golf, $1 million. Europe's Race to Dubai, which just began, is a model of simplicity, since the money list is the lone true yardstick to qualify for the season-ending bonus bash next fall. The PGA Tour, with its third convoluted points system in as many years to be unveiled later this month, remains so muddled it's no surprise only diehard fans still care. | I've always loved the LPGA Tour's do-or-die system, but I think the European Tour surpassed it with their money-rich Middle East foray simply because it rewards season-long effort more than the FedEx Cup does and still has a playoff-type event in the Dubai World Championship. Plus, it means I don't have to look at the money list AND the FedEx Cup points race to see how my guy is doing. It will be interesting to see what the PGA Tour comes up with this time to tweak their system, because there's bound to be something else wrong with it once again. |
| 3. The best fall storyline in years, Erik Compton's indescribable bid to make it to PGA Tour Q-school finals less than six months after receiving a second heart transplant, came up one shot short on Saturday. What happens to him now? | |
| Steve Elling | Ross Devonport |
| That's a question Compton couldn't answer after his self-sabotaged closing nine Saturday. This much seems obvious: There should be no shortage of tournament directors on the Nationwide and PGA circuits who offer sponsor exemptions. Compton's story is borderline unbelievable, one the fans and media can certainly rally 'round. In fact, equipment manufacturers are asinine for not already signing him to an endorsement deal based on his projected exposure alone. He will be the subject of more stories next year than most exempt players on the regular PGA Tour. As one former business associate of the late Ely Callaway put it as Compton was making the cut at Disney World, "If Ely was alive, he would have flown here personally to sign Erik. It's a no-brainer." Is there any gray matter out there in manufacturing world? | Whether there is any gray matter left in the manufacturing world remains up in the air, but what there isn't much of right now in that industry is marketing money to throw around at guys like Compton, who will spend the majority of next season on the Nationwide Tour playing in front of maybe 10 live people and being on TV once every three weeks. Plus, while this story is a heartwarming one, I just think the only media outlets that will care about Compton in 2009 are the local papers in the areas of the events he plays in, who will jump at an easy story like that, and maybe whichever network covers his first PGA Tour appearance of the season. That's not enough exposure to deserve more than maybe a hat endorsement. |
