The 2007 Sirak Awards

... Or as the insiders in the trade so coolly call them: The Rakies.

Tiger and Lorena are hands down, the 2007 King and Queen of golf.

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By Ron Sirak

Photos By Getty Images

December 7, 2007

The measuring sticks for greatness in golf are well established. The 88 career victories by Kathy Whitworth and the 82 by Sam Snead are the standards by which performance over time are judged. The 18 career majors (20 if you count the U.S. Amateur) by Jack Nicklaus are the gauge by which the ability to play in the most-important tournaments is determined. Money records, of course, have been made meaningless by inflation as is proven by the fact the $1,009,630 won by Jeff Overton on the PGA Tour this year surpassed the career earnings of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Snead -- combined.

And there will always be debates over how things like Ryder Cup performance, leading the European Tour Order of Merit and being popular with the fans should factor into the equation when weighing a player's legacy. But truly, when it comes time for history to pass judgment on a player and place them in their proper slot in the grand scheme of things don't we all really want to know how many Sirak Awards they've won?

The Sirak Awards, for those of you who have spent the last few years either meditating in Tibet or trying to find the NHL on TV, are unique in that I determine who deserves an award and then make up a category for them. That way the deserving are served and there are no fluke winners -- or two-loss teams playing for the national championship. So, without further ado, direct from the home office in Wilton, Conn., here are the 2007 Sirak Awards -- or as the insiders in the trade so coolly call them: The Rakies.

• FIRST TIME IS THE BEST AWARD: We have an unprecedented seven-way tie for this honor. That's how many players won their first major championship in 2007 -- three men and all four of the LPGA majors. And somehow it makes perfect sense that the only non-first timer was Tiger Woods, who will eventually have more majors than anyone to ever play the game -- no matter how many children he and Elin raise.

Morgan Pressel was 18 when she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the youngest ever to win a major, nipping Johnny McDermott, who was 19 when he won the 1911 U.S. Open. Suzann Pettersen (McDonald's LPGA Championship), Cristie Kerr (U.S. Women's Open), Lorena Ochoa (Ricoh Women's British Open), Zach Johnson (Masters), Angel Cabrera (U.S. Open) and Padraig Harrington (British Open) were the others breaking through in 2007. And unlike in past years, it would be of no surprise in anyone of those seven first-timers won another major -- or more.

• THE CUP RUNNETH OVER AWARD: This award has a decidedly American accent. The U.S. Presidents Cup team demolished The International side 19�-14� and has now won three of the last four competitions, halving the other. Overall, the Presidents Cup scoreboard stands at 5-1-1 in favor of the United States. Now, if the Americans can only figure out why they keep getting their butts handed to them at the Ryder Cup. Maybe they need to meet Europe on a neutral site -- like Fiji.

On the women's side, a young and talented U.S. team rolled over Europe 16-12, and like the Presidents Cup team won a road game. That's two in a row for the American women in the Solheim Cup and an overall record of 7-3. Clearly, something has to be done about the selection process -- hint: use the Rolex Rankings instead of having five players qualify off the Ladies European Tour points list -- if Europe is to have a chance of remaining competitive. Another rout like this and the cry will be heard to include the rest of the world in this competition. How would a team with Ochoa, Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak do?