ESPN Jason Sobel Blog

BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- Annika Sorenstam has just finished up the ninth hole as part of a scramble -- a bogey on a par 5, if you must know; perhaps a first during her storied career in this type of nonchalant format, one observer surmises -- and she is now working on her slice.

No, one of the LPGA's most decorated players of all time hasn't developed a grotesque left-to-right ball flight -- in fact, she's still playing shots from only 100 yards and in as part of her recovery from giving birth to daughter Ava on Sept. 1. Instead, this is a slice of New York's finest pizza, straight out of the oven, a deliciously cheesy snack as she makes the turn.

Sitting Down With Annika

Annika Sorenstam joined ESPN.com's Jason Sobel to discuss the focus of the LPGA Tour, her rivals on the golf course and more. On The Tee podcast

Such a story serves only to symbolize how the game has changed for the 10-time major champion.

In the past year, Sorenstam has transformed from the world's No. 1-ranked player to a full-time mother and businesswoman. She sat down on the ESPN.com Hot Seat on Oct. 13 at Fiddler's Elbow Country Club to discuss life after golf and whether a comeback might someday take place.

Q: I know you've been working on your game a little bit since giving birth to Ava. If you're planning on a comeback to the LPGA, I think now would be a terrific time to make that announcement.
A: [Laughs] Well, I haven't really practiced that much; she's only 6 weeks old. I was out last week at home for the first time in months -- and I mean, months. We're 10 months into this year, and I've been out on a course maybe five times, which is so strange to go from competing full time for so many years, 24/7, that's all I did, practice or play, and then to do nothing, so it's been very different. I have a long road back, and today I'm still recovering from the surgery, so I don't have any plans to do anything else at this time.

Q: That doesn't exactly sound like a no. When you stopped playing on the LPGA, you said you didn't want to use the R word, meaning retirement. Is that still the case?
A: Yeah, I said, "I'm stepping away," and the reason is because, like you said, you never know. I'm lucky in that if I wanted to come back, I could. But I'm very content with where I am today and what I'm doing and all the businesses and family life. So today I have no plans whatsoever, but things change. In five years? I don't know. I certainly don't have the desire to go out there and grind, and that's what it takes. There are times when I wish I had that motivation, because then I would be out there. But with all this other fun stuff, there's more to life than golf. I'm glad that I've found other things in life and can enjoy a different chapter.

Q: Catriona Matthew won the Women's British Open just nine weeks after giving birth. She was followed by new mom Kim Clijsters earning the U.S. Open tennis title. Becoming a mom and then winning a big tournament is sort of the in thing to do these days.
A: Well, they certainly proved that. I was amazed by both of them. Obviously, I know Catriona; I don't know Kim at all, but I watched a lot of her matches, and it was very impressive and fun to see. For her to be able to share it with her family has got to be very special. But it takes a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work. I don't know how they do it, especially Catriona, so soon, because I think it's quite the adjustment, and it takes a lot of time to be good and win tournaments. That's a full-time job itself.

Q: Is there a part of you that would like to show Ava what Mom can accomplish in a competitive environment?
A: Maybe, but right now, she's so young that all she cares about is food, sleep and her pacifier. So, who knows? Maybe when I can get a little bit more feedback and can interact with her a little bit more it might change, but as of now, all she needs is my attention and my time, and that's what I'm planning to give.

Q: Just because you're retired -- sorry, there's that R word again -- from playing on the LPGA, it doesn't mean you have nothing to do all day. In fact, it seems like you're busier now than ever before.
A: Well, it seems like it, yeah. My time certainly goes by quickly. The last four years, I've been planting the seed for a different career, and it's really taken off. I can't think of a harder time to start a business, and therefore it is a lot of work. It's 24/7 for me, and I'm determined to succeed. That involves working at my academy down in Orlando [Fla.], foundation work, golf course design -- I'm about to sign my ninth golf course. It's a lot of work. We just launched an Annika syrah, the red wine, this past May, and also a fragrance line. So that's five or six different projects that I've got going at the same time, and that's obviously where I spend all my hours.

Pete Fontaine/Icon SMI

Will Annika Sorenstam ever return to play on the LPGA Tour? She hasn't completely closed the door on that possibility, as she refuses to use the R word (as in retirement).

Q: What drives you to these other pursuits? Is it money? Passion? Boredom relief?
A: Well, it's passion. And, you know, I'm competitive. I love the challenges that business gives me. It's different than on the golf course; on the course, it's hitting a 7-iron or making a putt or competing against the best in the world. Here it's different, but my goal is to get the Annika brand out there. If you look at other athletes, some have been very successful in creating businesses after athletic careers, but a lot of them are men. I can't think of a female athlete who has really done that. There have been many who were extremely good in their own field and have done some things around their sport, but no one's really ventured out into different areas. I'm really curious as to why that is. I love what I do and therefore I spend a lot of time on it and want to succeed.

Q: Is there someone after whom you've patterned your brand?
A: Just like I did in golf, I have role models. You look at Greg Norman. He's a golfer, plus I think he's an extremely good businessman. Arnold Palmer has been very successful. You can look at other sports, too. Lance Armstrong, mostly with his foundation. Andre Agassi is incredible with what he has done. There are a few who have taken the next step that I look up to and say, "What are they doing and what can I learn from them?" It almost seems like they're as happy in their new careers as they were in their first.

Q: Among other things, there is an ANNIKA Collection clothing line, ANNIKA Financial Group, ANNIKA Vineyards and ANNIKA Fragrance, which basically means consumers can dress like you, invest like you, drink like you and smell like you.
A: [Laughs] Yeah, that's a lot of me, huh? It's true. Again, it's passion and working in the different areas that I have an interest in. It's just turned out that I've had an opportunity to do all of those. It's been a learning experience for me as far as wine. I mean, I grew up in a family where we cooked. My parents have always enjoyed a glass of wine. And with all the travel that I've done -- I've been to so many countries and been exposed to some incredible wines -- it's more of a lifestyle than anything. And that's what I'm enjoying now, the lifestyle of everything together. It's golf, it's wine, it's food, it's clothing -- those are things that you do every day.

Q: Is there one part of it that you're most passionate about? Maybe the foundation or the academy?
A: Well, they're two different things. One is obviously non-profit and one is profit. I am very dedicated to my foundation because I want to make a difference and because I'm living a dream. I really am. How can I give back to the game that's been great to me? How can I help young girls to live a dream? I think sports in general are a great way to raise a kid. Golf, for example, teaches you not just to make a swing or read a putt, but it's life lessons. It's learning how to stay focused, it's learning how to be patient, it's teaching you to set goals -- so many qualities that you need in life. Other kids, whether it's soccer or tennis, it's the same way. Just to give them opportunities to pursue their dream is so important.

Q: You gave birth to Ava on Sept. 1. How's parenthood?
A: Oh, I love it. It's an amazing experience and something that you can't explain. I've spoken to friends, I've read books, but that doesn't cover half of it. It's just so different. There are a lot of responsibilities. It's challenging, but it's rewarding at the same time.

Q: We talk about all of these post-playing career roles that you have, and you were also instrumental in getting golf into the Olympics, serving as a global ambassador in support of the International Golf Federation.
A: That's right. I was part of that initial presentation in Geneva in June. All of the things that we did to get ready for that were learning experiences. To be part of the presentation in Geneva ... and do the presentation in front of all the gentlemen and ladies who are very powerful in sports, and try to explain why we should be there, what we can bring to the Olympic Games and why golf would benefit from that. I thought it was very interesting. And then we get the result that we're in. I thought it was great for the growth of the game. You can consider it global today just by looking at the different tours, but I think it can be more global. Again, it doesn't get better than sharing the sport that I love so much with people who might otherwise never have a chance to try.

Q: You and Tiger Woods used to playfully text each other after each major victory. Do you still keep in touch, and if you can't brag about major wins anymore, what do you text him about?
A: It has not been as much this year, but he's one up in children also. He's up in everything. And he's very competitive; he lets me know that. But I keep touch with his wife, Elin, as much as I can. It's just hard because he travels a lot and we've been quite busy, so hopefully when things calm down, I can get in touch with him a little bit more again.

Q: Does his competitiveness mean that if you have another kid, they'll need to have another one, too, just to keep up?
A: Probably, yeah [laughs].

Q: Even with everything you accomplished in the women's game, one of the things you're best known for is competing on the PGA Tour at Colonial. When you reflect on that week, what thoughts come into your mind?
A: Oh, I have so many incredible memories. I would say the support that I felt and received from fans and from everybody. I remember the preparation and I remember standing there on the first tee, really wondering what's going to happen, and then walking away with some memories that were just unbelievable.

Q: Do you think we'll see a day when a woman is playing full time against the men? And would that be a positive thing for women's golf or a negative, since it will take away from the LPGA?
A: I don't know if we'll ever see a woman play regularly. I do hope that we will see more tournaments together. I would love the ladies' game to elevate to the point where we could have some fun tournaments together. But that's why we have different tours. If somebody is that good, then that would enhance her tour, so an occasional visit here and there I think is good for the game, but I don't see it happening regularly.

Q: Lastly, among all of those other roles that we discussed earlier, you also write your own blog. Any thoughts about joining the rest of us hacks in the press room someday, maybe steal our jobs?
A: Oh, don't you worry. Your job is fine. I don't have the skills. But I think it's a fun way to share what I do as far as the businesses and some of the fun places I go. I'm fascinated with this new media -- Facebook, blogs, Twitter. All of these things. I'm a beginner, but I think it's a fun way to reach out to fans and even some friends I have. They keep up with me through Twitter. I think it's really cool. It takes time, but it's a fun way to interact.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

SC Highlight Of The Night

Michelle Wie wins her first career LPGA tournament

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SC Highlight Of The Night

There is a photograph from Michelle Wie's revelry after she won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday that differs from those of most other just-crowned tournament champions. In this shot, she isn't merely holding the trophy aloft or planting a posed kiss on its shiny exterior. Instead, Wie is embracing the award in a joyous bear hug, squeezing it with all her might while an exuberant smile remains plastered across her face.

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Michelle Wie clutches her trophy after winning the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. The 20-year-old said the trophy likely will end up at her parents' house.

If a picture says a thousand words, this one speaks volumes about what claiming the hardware meant to her.

Said Wie, when told of her expression while clutching the trophy: "I love it. It's my little baby."

One day after the victory, though, the snapshot wasn't doing all the talking. Wie sat down on the ESPN.com Hot Seat to discuss her new life as a champion and why a certain celebration shouldn't be cause for concern.

Q: You referred to this victory as a monkey off your back. Do you feel more excited or relieved -- or is it a combination of both?
A: I'm just so happy. I'm also really relieved, but I'm just so proud of myself, and now I'm motivated to practice harder and play better and win more.

Q: Was there ever a point where you thought this may not happen, that all of the hard work and effort would never lead to a spot in the winner's circle?
A: Yeah, you know, it was very frustrating. There's a limit on your body when you're facing injuries. No matter how hard you try, it's just tough when you're facing times like that. But I think through those times, I learned a lot about myself, I learned a lot about my body.

I think that it's true -- whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I'm a lot tougher person because of it now, and I can say I've been through it and I've overcome it. I'm really proud of myself for overcoming the tough times in my life. I'm just so happy right now, so excited about the future. I'm just really inspired.

Vindicated?

For years, the naysayers had a field day with Michelle Wie's career path, endorsement deals and general lack of anything earned. Might that change after her first victory? Jason Sobel
• Wie gets first LPGA tourney victory
• Sobel/Smith: Analzying Wie's win

Q: In regard to those tough times, I don't think most people realize how much of an impact the wrist injury had on your game.
A: Even I didn't even know how much of an impact it was going to have! I never really hurt myself before. It wasn't caused by golf; it was a freak accident. [Wie injured her wrist during a fall while running in 2007.] I thought I was going to be fine after they took off the cast, but it really influenced me a lot.

Honestly, I don't even remember a lot of the stuff from that time. It was tough to come back, but I fought through it and had a great support system -- my family, friends, [instructor] David [Leadbetter], my sponsors -- everyone around me kept things positive, even when I wasn't. Once I got past that, once I got to re-evaluate my life and what I wanted to accomplish, I realized that the most important thing for me is to be happy. I play well when I'm happy, and, well, I'm happy when I'm happy [laughs]. I've kind of been reinvented.

Q: You mentioned having your support system there at your lowest point. What was that low point?
A: Oh, I don't know. There were a couple [laughs]. It was just when things weren't going my way. I can't really tell you an exact or specific date, but there was a definite time when there was a dark moment and there were those demons inside. But I'm fighting through it.

We all go through lows and highs in our day. I'm just hopeful that I get to experience the highs. Obviously, if the highs are going to be that high, the lows are going to be as low, too. So that just makes me feel that much better. It makes this victory so much more awesome and fantastic.

Q: How much pressure did you feel to win?
A: Honestly, I felt a lot of pressure, but it was more internal. I was just like, "Come on, I know I can do it." I really just wanted to win already. I kept telling myself I was good enough. But this week, I just went out there like I have all year, just trying to have fun, knowing that I'm trying my hardest and giving it 110 percent.

Q: Is there any correlation between turning 20 years old and winning for the first time? [Wie turned 20 on Oct. 11.]
A: Maybe turning 20 was a good thing. It definitely made it feel like I was getting older [laughs]. You know, it's just such an awkward age.

Q: After clinching the win, you had beer poured on you by the other players on the 18th green.
A: Yeah, they did.

Q: You're not 21 yet. Are you going to get in trouble with the LPGA?
A: No, what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico. It was just really cool. You see it on TV; whenever somebody wins, players pour beer all over them. It was one of those things where I always wanted that to happen.

Q: I assume winning a tournament was pretty high on your list of priorities. So, what's next? If you were putting pen to paper and jotting down future goals, what would be on that list?
A: I think No. 1 is to be happy, to be content with my life. And No. 2 is more of a personal goal, where I just want to know that I tried my hardest and gave 110 percent in everything that I do.

Obviously, I want to win a lot more tournaments, win majors and player of the year and all that stuff. But, you know, I realize that there are a lot of external factors in those areas. There are a lot of things that I can't control, but one thing I control is how hard I try and how much I put into it. I put a lot more of my soul into the sport now.

Q: You keep talking about being happy. What makes you happiest? Is it winning golf tournaments? Your family life? Being with friends? All of the above?
A: I think it's a combination of everything. It's a balance. My friends definitely make me happy; my family definitely makes me happy; winning golf tournaments definitely makes me happy. It's just a little reward that I get, knowing that I put in the long hours, just the gratitude and the relief, everything that I feel.

When the hard work pays off, it just feels so great. And then, having another life, going to Stanford makes me so happy. I can't even put it into words. I love going to school. I love having a normal life, going to football games, going to basketball games, going out to eat with my friends. I love the balance that I have in my life. I've got a good mix of everything.

Q: Speaking of Stanford, is that huge trophy going to be taking up space on some desk in your dorm room?
A: I don't care; I'll move everything around for that thing. No, it will probably be at my parents' house. But I'll definitely have the flag hanging in my room.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

For an organization founded in 1754 that hosts a golf tournament with 150 years of history, the rules are so set in stone they might as well carve 'em into the walls of one of those ancient castles that dot the British landscape.

Well, time to tear down another wall.

It would be easy to accuse Royal & Ancient officials of making up the rules as they went along, but there are times when results dictate policy change and, well, this certainly qualifies as one of those times.

Unless you spent the third week of this past July with your head in a greenside bunker, you either witnessed or at least heard about the valiant effort of one old-timer at The Open Championship. The condensed version: Tom Watson, 59 at the time, climbed the leaderboard at Turnberry, coming tantalizingly close to making history as the oldest golfer to claim a major championship title, only to see his dreams -- and those of so many observers -- dashed on Sunday afternoon. Needing to get up and down from behind the 18th green to secure victory, Watson made bogey and eventually lost in a four-hole playoff to Stewart Cink.

With the runner-up finish, he received a large chunk of change, a hearty pat on the back from the R&A folks and a promise that -- should he actually win the Claret Jug next year -- he was welcome back into the field for another decade.

Coming close, however, isn't the same as puffing on that victory cigar. While the R&A awards lifetime exemptions to all past champions through the year they turn 60, there are no such standards for past near-misses, meaning Watson didn't garner any extensions on his Open Championship career by contending for the title.

Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images

Even though Greg Norman finished T-3 at Royal Birkdale in 2008, he won't be impacted by the ruling since he was already exempted into the Open Championship until he is 60 years old.

Until now.

On Monday, it was announced by the R&A that such circumstances will earn a player five more years of exemptions into the year's third major.

Here's the official wording from a statement released by the tournament's governing body: "A new exemption category has been introduced for the 2010 Open. Condition F(4) exempts from qualifying any past Open Champions who finished in the top 10 and ties in any of the previous five Open Championships, thus effectively providing them with a five year exemption into the Championship."

Call it the "Watson Rule," an intriguing policy change, though one which may take another 150 years to actually have an effect again.

Right now, though, the new rule will have an immediate impact. It was believed that Watson, who turned 60 on Sept. 4, would be competing in his final Open Championship next year at St. Andrews. Instead, the five-time champion is now guaranteed a spot in the field, should he choose to accept it, until the age of 64 in 2014.

The rule is so specific and so clearly-defined that it doesn't even affect Greg Norman, who at the age of 53 held the 54-hole lead at Royal Birkdale in 2008 before finishing in a share of third place. Sure, his run at the title last year likely helped cement this recent decision, but the Shark's past champion status already ensures him of entry into the field until he turns 60, which would trump the five-year exemption for finishing in the top-10.

In layman's terms, this change will impact only those past champions who finish 10th or better at the age of 56 or older. Those are a whole lot of variables which don't often take place at the Open. How rare is it? Other than Watson, the only other player who could be affected by this rule in 2010 is 1981 champion Bill Rogers, 58, who hasn't competed in the event since 1986.

Considering the unpredictable rallies by a pair of the game's senior members in recent years, the newest edition to the Open Championship eligibility requirements is sensible -- even if it never affects another past champion after Watson. It's nice to see that such a dyed-in-the-wool organization as the R&A can address current events by showing flexibility within its rules. And it will be even nicer to see Tom Watson competing on one of the game's grandest stages for at least a few more years.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

There are NFL and NBA superstars who have gone to trial for heinous crimes, only to find their images largely untarnished afterward. Some of professional baseball's greatest sluggers were discovered to have used performance-enhancing drugs, but could still fill a city block with an impromptu autograph signing. A world-record-setting Olympic swimmer was photographed with drug paraphernalia, which simply made him the punch line of late-night monologues for a few days.

If anything, these examples prove that sports fans are ultimately and unfailingly forgiving when it comes to the transgressions of our most elite athletes. And it begs the question: Following her first victory as a professional, will public sentiment for Michelle Wie remain venomous or will she be welcomed into the good graces of fans with open arms?

Despite the indiscretions of the aforementioned athletes -- not to mention countless others -- it can be argued that none has been more vilified during the past decade than Wie, whose sole impropriety has been a failure to win at the highest level of her sport.

Wie first burst onto the scene as a precocious 13-year-old, finishing in a share of ninth place at the year's first women's major, but it was her inclusion at the 2004 Sony Open that vaulted her into the role of global phenomenon. Playing against the world's best male golfers, she posted rounds of 68-72 at her hometown event, failing to make the cut by a single stroke.

In a society that thrives on underdog stories, in a generation that values diversity and culture, the youngster should have been considered the game's most exciting prospect in years. And she was ... for a while.

A funny thing happened to her, though, on the road to superstardom, and perhaps just as importantly, likability. Wie turned professional at age 16. She was handed millions of dollars from sponsors Nike and Sony. She was awarded sponsors' exemptions to events on men's tours. She was hailed by the media as the female version of Tiger Woods. She was given everything she asked for. And much, much more.

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Michelle Wie's victory Sunday held off some of the LPGA Tour's brightest young stars to claim her first professional victory.

Through injuries and swing changes, close calls and major whiffs, she seemed to regress on the course, eclipsed by other young peers who were winning important tournaments. That's when the public backlash against her really began, when pure malice for a teenaged girl became commonplace, when the world started hating Michelle Wie.

Her victory at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, where she fired a final-round 69 on Sunday to win by 2 strokes, should go a long way toward silencing the dissenters, but old habits die hard. Those who have claimed for years that she's been handed everything on a silver platter and hasn't had to work for such fortunes may simply turn a blind eye toward this latest accomplishment.

There's no doubt that Wie's contrarians will turn their fervor regarding her winless career into rage over the fact that she's only won once. Or doesn't have a major championship. Or won't win the Player of the Year title.

You see, for a majority of sports fans, the build-up for Wie was so fierce, so persuasive, that nothing she does will ever be good enough.

That's hardly the way to treat such a talented, young athlete, especially one who appears to finally be hitting her stride after so much strife in her professional career. It doesn't conform to the standards we hold for other competitors, either. For most, continually losing will reap negative criticism, but wins make the world a happy place once again.

For Wie, though, one win won't be enough to silence the critics. She needs to conquer her opponents, over and over again. She needs to claim multiple titles in a row. She needs to be dominant, the best player on the LPGA, bar none.

In short, she needs to live up to all those expectations.

Of course, that's only if Wie wants the general public to finally drop its collectively dismissive attitude toward her as a person. The fact is, though, she may not care. And she shouldn't care. Directly after her victory in Guadalajara, Mexico, she sounded equal parts ecstatic and relieved, with a dose of determination thrown in, as well.

"I think that hopefully life will be a lot better, but I still have a lot of work to do," she said. "I still have a lot to improve. It just feels so great right now."

Wie never deserved her role as the world's most scorned professional athlete, but it happened anyway. Now that she's finally found the winner's circle, it's time to strip her of such shackles, allowing her to once again be that talented phenom we first witnessed so many years ago.

We've let so many others off the hook for greater solecism in the public forum. It's time to extend an olive branch to Michelle Wie, too.

Hey, you never know: With a little encouragement, she just may live up to those original expectations. This initial victory was certainly a step in the right direction.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

Not every professional golfer becomes an immediate success, traversing the world in a fleet of private jets while sipping the finest champagne with a bevy of bikini models.

Take Kevin Streelman, for example. The second-year PGA Tour pro can recall spending long days as a caddie at prestigious Whisper Rock GC in Scottsdale, Ariz., home to many elite-level players.

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Kevin Streelman was all smiles Friday after making a birdie on the par-4 17th hole. The former caddy took home a cool $1 million for winning the first Kodak Challenge.

"I was just trying to save up money and practice wherever I could," he says. "I'd be running around there in my jumpsuit, dodging rattlesnakes, trying to make a couple of hundred bucks each day."

Of course, there's no reason Streelman shouldn't remember that time in his life. It didn't take place years ago when he was a teenager or even while in college. This was in the winters of 2002 and 2003, when the Duke University grad was already well into his mid-20s and listing "professional golfer" as his main occupation.

And so the news that Streelman became the inaugural winner of the Kodak Challenge and its $1 million jackpot on Friday should be met with a warm smile and a hearty "Attaboy!" as the payout didn't simply serve as a rich-get-richer proposition for another wealthy golfer.

The truth is, there isn't one player on tour who would turn down a seven-figure payday, but whereas the extra cash could help build another tennis court at Tiger Woods' estate or add a few more fancy cars to Phil Mickelson's garage, you get the feeling that it means more to a guy like Streelman. And it should. In 28 appearances prior to this week's Children's Miracle Network Classic, he banked a total of $4,983 less than he did for winning this year-long competition.

"It's going to go to some great causes, it's going to be invested smartly and it's going to help out some people who have helped me a lot," he says of the money. "Both my parents and my wife's parents are approaching retirement, so we're going to make sure they feel comfortable and can get some golf in during the next few years."

Such advantages are a far cry from just a few years ago. If those caddying days seem like recent history, then Streelman's time on the mini-tours is barely a memory.

It was only two years ago when he was plying his craft in golf's version of low minor league baseball, living paycheck to paycheck, still hoping to hit the big-time.

"I was chasing my dreams, driving around in my own car, saving up as much money as I could," he recalls. "I didn't have anything. I didn't have a house; I had my Altima, which had a couple hundred-thousand miles on it, and just a dream and a work ethic."

It wasn't until advancing through all three stages of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in late 2007 that he earned status in the big leagues. Despite such a modest ascendancy to this level, the money isn't even the most important aspect to winning for Streelman.

With six career top-10 finishes in 64 starts entering this week -- and just two this year, including a T-3 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in March -- he believes dealing with the pressure of being atop the leaderboard of the year-long competition since July will help him navigate his way to the winner's circle sometime soon.

"I love the pressure, being in that environment. It's something I'll be able to build on in the future when I'm faced with similar situations, hopefully, for PGA Tour events, if not a major," says Streelman, who is perhaps best known for sharing the opening-round lead at last year's U.S. Open before finishing T-53 at Torrey Pines. "So that's my goal and I think that's how I'll be able to use this to my advantage."

And then there's the fact that, much like Woods winning the inaugural FedEx Cup in 2007, Streelman will forever be the first player to claim the Kodak Challenge title.

"It will be neat to tell my kids that at least I have one trophy Tiger will never get," he says with a laugh, "because he'll never play enough holes to get it. So it's something that I won't soon forget."

He will also never forget those days caddying for some of the biggest names in the game. He can't, really, because Streelman still spends plenty of time at Whisper Rock, as the former looper is now a full-time member of the club. And before hailing his Kodak victory as the culmination of so many years of hard work, consider the following tale from his time in the desert.

"Last summer, they invited me to be a member and then last winter, I won the club championship," he says proudly. "So that's kind of a neat sidebar that I went from caddie to club champion in about five years."

Now $1 million richer, Kevin Streelman is no longer toting bags and averting snakes in hopes of pursuing the ultimate dream. Instead, he's living the dream -- and earning some very nice perks in the process.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

In the first-year ABC drama "Flash Forward," a worldwide blackout occurs for two minutes and 17 seconds, during which every person witnesses a glimpse into the future. Not just any random date and time, mind you; every vision offers a sneak peek into that person's life on April 29, 2010.

The show's main characters each preview various levels of turmoil, from an FBI agent foreseeing his own investigative research into the event to others confronting such personal matters as marital infidelity and pregnancy to one who views nothing at all -- an implication that said character won't live to see the day.

Being the good company guy that I am, I've had a flash forward of my own to next April. The good news? I'm still alive. The better news? I'm still employed.

In this vision, I am hunting and pecking at the very same keyboard being used right now. I can make out only bits and pieces of the content, but the main premise comes across loud and clear: Four months into the golf season and with the Masters Tournament already in the books, the world's two most talented golfers are already putting on a show for the ages, parrying for position on leaderboards and asserting their prowess over the game's other elite-level players.

Allow me to answer your question before you ask: No, my flash forward didn't include an image of either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson winning another green jacket, meaning we'll all have to wait a few more months to unveil that result. There is little doubt, though, that the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the current Official World Golf Ranking will find themselves in contention at Augusta National Golf Club, whose festivities can't come soon enough.

Even if you're suspicious as to the legitimacy of my apparition -- hey, it happens on the show, too -- there are various other underlying factors that should enable this dream to come true.

Let's start with the guy who is already considered by some to be the greatest golfer of all time. We can safely assume Woods will be on top of his game next season, because, well, he's almost always on top of his game. In 17 official PGA Tour starts this year, he finished in the top 10 on 14 occasions, and despite failing to win a major championship title for the first time since 2004, still managed to find the winner's circle a half-dozen times en route to what will assuredly be his 10th Player of the Year award.

This all comes on the heels of last year's season-ending knee surgery, an injury from which he should finally be fully recovered entering the 2010 campaign. Sure, you could say Tiger is no longer as dominant or as intimidating as he once was, but don't base such thoughts solely on his most recent final-round foibles. To put it bluntly, he's still the best in the business. It doesn't take blackout-fueled intuition to see another big year in the cards.

That leaves Mickelson, one of the most accomplished players in the game's history who often receives criticism simply for the fact that he isn't Tiger Woods. At his best, though, Lefty can hang with his adversary on any given Sunday, as evidenced by victories at the Tour Championship two months ago and the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament this past weekend in China.

Based purely on the numbers, Mickelson's season paled in comparison to that of Woods. He made one more official appearance but owned seven fewer top-10s and half as many victories. (The HSBC doesn't count toward his PGA Tour win total.) Of course, it's careless to judge his season on statistical evidence alone, as it was interrupted by two absences of more than a month to be with wife Amy, who was undergoing treatment for breast cancer throughout the summer, and later his mother Mary, suffering from the same illness.

It would be the ultimate game of "coulda, woulda, shoulda" to attempt to calculate his performance without such a burden, but know this much: Through the Players Championship in May -- prior to his first lengthy absence -- Mickelson owned two victories to Woods' one and very well may have been the POY to that point.

He has now finished off the 2009 campaign playing his best golf since winning back-to-back titles at the BellSouth Classic and Masters three-and-a-half years ago, if not the best golf of his career. Thanks to assistance with the forward-press putting stroke from two-time major winner Dave Stockton, Mickelson is rolling his rock with the utmost confidence -- something he can only hope remains during the offseason.

And so where does that leave us here at the end of the golf season? Impatiently staring at the calendar, waiting for next year to begin, biding our time until that glimpse into the future becomes a thing of the present.

There have been only a handful of occasions over the past dozen years in which Mickelson and Woods have purported a true mano a mano rivalry, battling each other down the stretch at an important tournament. With each man seemingly at the top of his game entering the next decade -- and with the four majors being held at magnificent venues (Augusta National, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and Whistling Straits) during the upcoming year -- golf's two biggest stars may finally be aligned for the most dramatic, entertaining season we've witnessed in a long time.

Even though I've already witnessed such a proposition in my vision, if this season taught us anything, it's that we should always expect the unexpected. I still believe this flash forward will come true, but don't be shocked if the game's best players fail to live the prophecy, in essence turning the 2010 golf season into another J.J. Abrams vehicle instead: "Lost."

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

If we needed proof that performance-enhancing drugs and professional golf don't mix, it now exists.

The PGA Tour announced on Monday that Doug Barron has been suspended for one year after violating its antidoping policy. He's the first player to receive such punishment since the system was implemented in July 2008. This news came on the heels of a season during which the longtime veteran earned exactly zero dollars in four Nationwide Tour starts and one on the PGA Tour while playing on a minor medical extension. And he wasn't much better last year, either, making the cut in just five of 17 starts on the developmental circuit, earning $33,446 to finish 127th on the money list.

A contrarian may point out that his poor recent record is, well, the exact reason a pro would turn to PEDs, but it's still up for debate whether such drugs would enhance a golfer's performance. Yes, it's beneficial to be able to bang the ball a country mile and gouge it out of some deep rough, yet muscles alone are hardly the foremost priority for players seeking to compete at the highest levels.

It certainly doesn't appear that was Barron's game, either. In those four Nationwide starts this season, he averaged 277 yards off the tee, which was actually more than five yards fewer than his number of a year ago.

Although a verdict has been made to determine his fate, the jury still may be out on what exactly happened for him to get caught.

"I would like to apologize for any negative perception of the tour or its players resulting from my suspension," Barron, 40, said in a statement released by the PGA Tour. "I want my fellow tour members and the fans to know that I did not intend to gain an unfair competitive advantage or enhance my performance while on tour."

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Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Doug Barron, who might be best known on the PGA Tour for this shirtless incident at the 2006 Chrysler Championship, has amassed $3,239,697 in on-course earnings during a combined 338 career starts on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour.

It's fair to say that whatever prompted Barron's suspension may not have been the old-fashioned notion of steroids that led to so many Major League Baseball and NFL suspensions in recent years. Included on the PGA Tour's list of "performance-enhancing drugs" were such medications as Vicks VapoRub and, well, other things.

"My wife is a pharmacist, so she's read through it," Rich Beem said before last year's AT&T National, the first tournament at which players were tested. "She was actually laughing at a lot of the stuff. There's stuff in there that pregnant women take and not anybody else, and so she's like, 'What are they doing?' But obviously they've got to cover their bases."

All of which should lead to one specific question regarding Barron's suspension: What did he take, and what were his motives? The Memphis native played on a minor medical extension this season, part of an injury-plagued career that has included three shoulder surgeries; many PEDs are known to speed the healing process.

As of now, that news has yet to be uncovered, but it does lead to a more general query about his fellow professionals: If a guy who failed to earn one paycheck this year is taking something, isn't it fathomable that everyone above him is doing it, too?

Well, yes ... and no. Performance enhancers are hardly an issue, if you ask any player -- well, save for Gary Player, who made news at the British Open a few years ago by saying he knows some players have used in the past -- although it's a safe bet that if everyone were doing it, they'd all keep quiet about it.

That said, let's hold off on the witch hunt for the time being. In a twisted way, it's actually a good thing that Barron got caught, as it proves the PGA Tour's ongoing efforts toward wiping out any potential PED use weren't fruitless nor a waste of time and money. It also discredits the theory that Tim Finchem and the folks at the Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., headquarters would cover up any positive tests to keep suspicions to a minimum.

You know what they say: Once is a coincidence, twice is a pattern. Until there is further proof that other PGA Tour members have been guilty of attempting to subvert the system, consider this a singular issue for one individual rather than a trend throughout the sport.

For Barron, this is the second time in the past half decade that he has made headlines. Consider it ironic that the first came during the opening round of the 2006 Chrysler Championship, during which he went shirtless to hit a shot from a water hazard. At the time, there were certainly no visual suggestions that the 5-foot-9, 170-pounder was taking any kind of performance-enhancing drugs.

Three years later, his results don't show implication of this, either. And yet, Barron will go down in history as the first PGA Tour golfer to be suspended for violating this policy.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.

In recent years, American sports fans have witnessed a golden age of tete a tetes, from resurgent rivalries (Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers) to repeated rivalries (New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox) to rejuvenated rivalries (new purple passer Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings against his former mates the Green Bay Packers).

Noticeably absent from this list is anything from the world of professional golf. Makes sense, though. The truth is, there have been very few rivalries in the game's history ... and not a single one exists right now.

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Anthony Kim added fuel to the fire on Saturday at the World Match Play Championship by not conceeding any putts to opponent Robert Allenby.

Call it the nature of the beast. Unlike the aforementioned team sports or direct one-on-one competitions -- say, boxing or tennis -- in which contestants square off against each other, golf includes so many elite pros at the highest level that it's difficult to find any sort of continuity in conflicts at the top of the leaderboard.

Chalk this up to three reasons: Deeper fields, in which seemingly every player has a chance to contend on any given week; very few match play tournaments on the annual schedule, relegating the number of head-to-head instances; and gentlemanly players, many of whom would rather call a penalty against themselves than cause a mini-firestorm by pointing out the faux pas of a playing partner.

One could call the Jack Nicklaus/Tom Watson encounters of a generation ago the last true rivalry in the game and hardly receive argument from a 19th hole filled with historians. (Greg Norman/Nick Faldo may also serve as an acceptable response, though even their duels date back more than a decade.)

Tiger Woods? His fiercest battles in major championships have come only in singular displays and from the likes of Bob May, Rocco Mediate and Y.E. Yang, not Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els. If someone wants to refer to the latter group as rivals, then surely it would be of the hammer-and-nail variety -- or, if a more visual image is preferred, the dog-and-fire hydrant brand.

Let's not be so naïve as to believe that Anthony Kim and Robert Allenby can fill that longtime void. The former is a 24-year-old up-and-comer from California with two PGA Tour victories on his ever-growing resume; the latter is 38, from Melbourne, Australia, and perhaps best known for winning the Aussie Triple Crown four years ago, though he's failed to find a winner's circle in the U.S. since 2001.

It was due to this lack of any rivalry in golf, though, that so much excitement unfurled in regard to Saturday's semifinal match between the two players at the World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain. Just three weeks earlier, they had squared off in a singles match at the Presidents Cup, with the rambunctious youngster picking off the veteran, 5 and 3.

As you're no doubt well aware by now, Allenby punctuated the proceedings by contending that his opponent didn't return to his hotel until 4 a.m. the night before -- a claim Kim steadfastly refuted. Each followed by issuing a press release soon afterward, in essence saying there was no ill will, it was water under the bridge and they would let bygones be bygones.

Nothing like adding fuel to a rivalry by throwing a few wet blankets on the fire, eh?

Turns out, the talk was just that, as Kim's actions in the rematch purported a man still miffed at those accusations. After 18 holes of the 36-hole match, Allenby said, "I was definitely surprised at not being given a few putts out there. I gave him a couple of four-footers."

In golf's ambient culture, such allegations could be construed as crass and disrespectful. And, yes, could even stoke the flames of -- dare we say it? -- a budding rivalry. Instead, Kim once again found himself denying his opponent's words.

"I don't think I made him putt any short putts, maybe a two-and-a-half footer," he said. "But it had a lot of break. It's match play."

Brash, bold and boisterous, Kim will never be considered among the most cordial of professional golfers, and yet even he chose not to swallow any subsequent negative reaction by deflecting his comments toward the literal rather than address them as a response to Allenby's words 20 days prior. He went on to defeat the Aussie, 5 and 4, before falling to Ross Fisher in the final on Sunday, but at least we now have greater reason to pay attention next time.

The sad reality, though, is that there may not be a next time. The odds of Kim and Allenby facing each other in another match play competition are remote at best, and the chances they will meet in the final pairing of a big-time event are only slightly more reasonable.

This is hardly the first occasion of supposed animosity between players never quite coming to a head. Just take the game's No. 1-ranked player for proof.

Woods was once lightly called out by Stephen Ames before a first-round meeting at the Accenture Match Play Championship, then deposited his opponent from the bracket early, winning 9 and 8; since then, the two have hardly been seen in the same place at the same time.

And then there's Rory Sabbatini, who proffered words for Woods through the media after losing to him. He still hasn't defeated Tiger in any head-to-head competition -- not because the better player has prevailed, but simply because such a confrontation has never taken place.

Ask fans of other sports and they will readily acknowledge that rivalries have livened the level of fandom, increasing interest not only in the competitors but the pursuits themselves. It is easy to view the wide landscape of professional golf and assess that it needs more of these rivalries, too, though such an allowance isn't one that can be forced and doesn't come without repeated meetings between players on a grand stage -- preferably with a little animosity thrown in for good measure.

The truth is, we're so starved for conflict in the game that even somewhat benign accusations become fodder for conflict. Kim and Allenby offered some decent theater during their two matches -- and in between -- but their alleged rivalry will likely never come to fruition. In golf, that's just the way it goes, no matter how much we would prefer it the other way around.

Jason Sobel is a golf writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.