Henrik Stenson didn’t have to put a ball in the rack and wait his turn to tee off at Torrey Pines, but he sure got a taste of municipal golf when he made an unannounced visit to the home of the 2008 U.S. Open. Stenson knew he wouldn’t be able to play the Buick Invitational next month because he will be on the European tour in the Middle East.

Ben Curtis is a glass half-full kind of guy, which is why he saw his 2007 season as one for the history books. By finishing in last place at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, he became the first player to receive FedEx Cup points. And with some help from the draw at The Barclays, Curtis was the first to hit a shot in the inaugural PGA Tour Playoffs.

Lorena Ochoa didn’t have a blueprint for becoming the best in the world, and she certainly didn’t have a role model. Mexico had yet to produce anything resembling a world-class golfer, and Ochoa did not look like one at age 12. So it was surprising when she told her coach she wanted to be No. 1. “At that time, with the way I was playing, and being in Guadalajara, it was a little bit crazy to think…

Michelle Wie might start her 2008 season in Hawaii, but not at the Sony Open. Wie, who has played the PGA Tour event every year since 2004, did not receive one of the four unrestricted sponsor exemptions, tournament director Ray Stosik said Thursday. Swing coach David Leadbetter said the 18-year-old from Honolulu likely would ask for exemptions at one or both of the LPGA Tour events in Hawaii that…

Tiger Woods, Lorena Ochoa and Jay Haas were voted players of the year on their respective tours by the Golf Writers Association of America on Wednesday, the second straight year they won the awards. Woods, who has won the award a record nine times in the last 11 years, had seven victories on the PGA Tour, captured his 13th career major at the PGA Championship and easily won the inaugural FedEx Cup…

First came a kiss for his daughter. Then came a pose with the trophy. For Tiger Woods, life has never been better. “This year on the golf course, it’s been a great year,” he said Sunday after closing out the season with a seven-shot victory in the Target World Challenge. “Off the golf course, it’s been the greatest year I’ve ever had.” He could not have picked a better way to end 2007.

Rory Sabbatini didn’t let the year end without getting under Tiger Woods’ skin one last time. In a move that left players shaking their heads, Sabbatini withdrew from the final round of the Target World Challenge on Sunday because of “personal reasons,” making him the first player in the nine-year history of the event to leave early.

Henrik Stenson didn’t have to put a ball in the rack and wait his turn to tee off at Torrey Pines, but he sure got a taste of municipal golf when he made an unannounced visit to the home of the 2008 U.S. Open. Stenson knew he wouldn’t be able to play the Buick Invitational next month because he will be on the European tour in the Middle East.

Ben Curtis is a glass half-full kind of guy, which is why he saw his 2007 season as one for the history books. By finishing in last place at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, he became the first player to receive FedEx Cup points. And with some help from the draw at The Barclays, Curtis was the first to hit a shot in the inaugural PGA Tour Playoffs.

Lorena Ochoa didn’t have a blueprint for becoming the best in the world, and she certainly didn’t have a role model. Mexico had yet to produce anything resembling a world-class golfer, and Ochoa did not look like one at age 12. So it was surprising when she told her coach she wanted to be No. 1. “At that time, with the way I was playing, and being in Guadalajara, it was a little bit crazy to think…