ESPN Golf

The LPGA season gets under way in Hawaii with this week's SBS Open kicking off the schedule.

Many questions abound, of course. Will Lorena Ochoa continue to be the tour's top player? Will Annika Sorenstam have a big comeback season? Can another young player rise to the status of the elite? And who will ultimately disappoint us?

As the game's top players (minus Ochoa, who is skipping the opening two events) prepare to play in paradise, our experts take their best shot at answering these questions by predicting the top candidates in six different categories.

2008 LPGA season predictions
	Bob Harig ESPN.com contributor	Jason Sobel ESPN.com golf editor	Ron Sirak Golf World executive editor	John Antonini Golf World senior editor
Player of the Year	Full of confid- ence after her first major victory last year, Lorena Ochoa will continue to dominate.	It's Lorena Ochoa's world -- the rest of the LPGA members are just living in it. Ochoa won eight events in 2007; don't be surprised if she reached double-digits this time around.	The champ is the champ until someone knocks her out. Lorena Ochoa is still improving.	It will be closer this year -- Annika Soren- stam is healthy and the tour is full of young, motivated stars -- but Lorena Ochoa still has at least a five-win season in her diminutive frame.
POY (Not Ochoa)	Healthy again, Annika Soren- stam makes another run.	Now 21, Paula Creamer is ready to take her game to the next level, which means winning a major and doubling her 2007 win total of two.	Annika Soren- stam believes in magic. If she can get off to a fast start, she could have a big year.	With nine wins in four years and a U.S. Open victory in 2007, Cristie Kerr is primed to challenge Ochoa.
Breakthrough POY	Brittany Linci- come has won once in each of the past two years. This year she wins multiple times.	Even though she owns no LPGA status, Ji-Yai Shin is good enough to make an impact. Expect her to contend for a couple of majors.	The hardest-hitting Korean since Se Ri Pak, Jee Young Lee contended in all four majors last year.	Karin Sjodin is just a short game away from making a name for herself as something more than just the tour's longest hitter.
Comeback POY	Karrie Webb went winless in 2007 after winning five times in '06. She rebounds this year.	They can start engraving Annika Soren- stam's name on the trophy right now. Finally healthy again, she'll return to form as one of the top players on tour.	Ai Miyazato collapsed under the weight of expect- ations in the second half last year, but now has new focus.	It's tempting to say Soren- stam, but no one fell further than Michelle Wie. If she's healthy and focuses on the women's game, she could match the 2006 season, when she had six top-10s in eight tour starts.
Rookie of the Year	A long hitter, Yani Tseng turned pro last year and won once on the Asian Tour and once on the Canadian Tour. She finished sixth at the LPGA Qualifying Tournament.	In a rookie class that includes Taylor Leon and Louise Friberg, ex-Dukie Liz Janangelo stands alone as the cream of the crop. She finished sixth on the Duramed Futures Tour money list last season.	Another teenager with a load of talent, Yani Tseng is long off the tee and tournament-tested.	Yani Tseng's previous claim to fame was winning the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links title over Wie in 2004. A long hitter, she should finish in the top 30 on the LPGA money list.
Disappointment of the Year	The youngest winner of a major, Morgan Pressel has yet to be a consistent contender.	Ai Miyazato still has plenty of potential, but when a player hits less than 58 percent of greens in regulation -- as she did last year -- it won't translate into much success.	Beth Daniel is not playing anymore, but is still one of the 10 best Americans.	Winless in her first two years on tour, Ai Miyazato is followed relentlessly by media from her homeland. Now she runs the risk of being upstaged by countrywoman Momoko Ueda.