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Golf World's annual ranking of the top 30 players of the PGA Tour for 2008

By John Antonini

Tiger Woods remains No. 1 in Golf World's annual preseason top 30 ranking of PGA Tour players, but below him the list has transformed from one stocked with veterans to one with more than a sprinkling of youth. Seventeen of those listed are younger than Woods, who turns 32 Dec. 30. Veterans Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Sergio Garcia headline the group. Not far behind are much-ballyhooed prospects such as Hunter Mahan, Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas. These younger players may not measure up to Tiger in 2008, but it's possible some of them will give him a run for his money in the near future.

1) Tiger Woods

Age: 31
Joined PGA Tour: 1996
2007 PGA earnings: $10,867,052 (1)
World Rank: 1
PGA Tour wins: 61
Majors: 1997, 2001, '02, '05 Masters; 2000, '02 U.S. Open; 2000, '05, '06 British; 1999, 2000, '06, '07 PGA

Top 2007 finishes
Buick Invitational, WGC-CA,
Wachovia, WGC-Bridgestone,
PGA, BMW, Tour Championship 1
Masters, U.S. Open, Deutsche Bank T-2

Skill Ratings
Power rating: 8.6 Accuracy: 8.0 Short game: 7.6 Putting: 7.3 Scoring: 8.9

Defining moment of '07: Woods won the inaugural FedEx Cup at the Tour Champion�ship after sitting out a playoff week, then refused to kiss the Cup after PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem mentioned the maiden trophy in the post-round presentation.

Why he's No. 1: Saying he feels "stronger than I ever have," Woods is on pace to tie Sam Snead's career victory total (82) at age 34 in 2010. As in 2006, Tiger didn't dominate until midsummer, but when he returned to the tour after his daughter's birth in June, he won four of seven starts to make a mockery of a close player-of-the-year race.

Why he should rank lower: He shouldn't. The way Woods dominates events with $1 million first-place checks, it would take a Herculean effort by a peer to knock him from this perch.

2) Phil Mickelson

Age: 37
Joined PGA Tour: 1992
2007 PGA earnings: $5,819,988 (2)
World Rank: 2
PGA Tour wins: 32
Majors: 2004, '06 Masters; 2005 PGA

Top 2007 finishes
AT&T Pebble Beach Nat'l Pro-Am 1
Players 1
Deutsche Bank Championship 1
Nissan Open 2
EDS Byron Nelson, Wachovia T-3

Skill Ratings
Power rating: 7.8 Accuracy: 6.4 Short game: 7.3 Putting: 7.1 Scoring: 8.4

Defining moment of '07: Pebble and Sawgrass were nice, but winning the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston showed Mickelson can outduel Tiger Woods when it matters.

Why he should rank higher: He's the only player capable of dethroning Woods: Five wins (including two majors and at least two Players or WGC titles among them) can get Lefty to No. 1. With Butch Harmon, who wasn't added to the stable just to fix an erratic swing but also to make him mentally tough, he can get there.

Why he should rank lower: Mickelson still has weeks where sure-fire wins become losses. The debacle at Winged Foot in 2006 is the classic example, but the trend continued in '07 at the Nissan Open and the Barclays Scottish Open. He did, however, win a close one in China.

3) Jim Furyk

Age: 37
Joined PGA Tour: 1994
2007 PGA earnings: $4,154,046 (7)
World Rank: 3 PGA Tour wins: 13
Majors: 2003 U.S. Open

Top 2007 finishes
Canadian Open 1
Crowne Plaza Invitational T-2
U.S. Open T-2
Nissan Open T-3
AT&T National T-3

Skill Ratings
Power rating: 4.4 Accuracy: 7.8 Short game: 7.5 Putting: 6.9 Scoring: 8.1

Defining moment of '07: Furyk had a 10-week, seven-event stretch that included a fifth, a third, two seconds and finally a win at the Canadian Open. Imagine how great that run would have been had he not made bogey on the 313-yard, par-4 17th hole Sunday at the U.S. Open, a tournament he lost by one stroke for the second straight year.

Why he should rank higher: Very few players combine the mindset, temperament, putting ability and competitive desire that Furyk does. Despite the final-round gaffe at Oakmont, he plays to his strengths better than anyone on tour.

Why he should rank lower: He lacks the distance off the tee to post another powerhouse season, which is why he fell from $7 million in 2006 to $4 million in 2007.