There was so much Grand Slam talk in the early part of the golf year.
Tiger Woods came in playing so well and the courses hosting the four majors set up perfectly for him.
Lorena Ochoa finally won her first major in 2007 and dominated the Kraft so completely writers talked about whether she was equal -- in her sport -- of Tiger.
In the end, though, Tiger won just the one major, although it was an impressive feat. Then he limped off with a broken leg and fresh questions on whether his violently strong swing is simply too much to stay healthy long-term.
Tiger already is the greatest player ever, according to my system. But his 14 professional majors and three U.S. Amateurs still trail Jack Nicklaus' 18 and two -- which is his ultimate goal. There has to be at least a small bit of doubt about the quest now considering how much trouble he is having with his left leg.
When Tiger exited stage left, Padraig Harrington entered stage right. By winning the final two majors of the year, Harrington soared up to No. 34 on my all-time list and No. 3 in the Tiger era (behind Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els but ahead of Vijay Singh).
As far as Ochoa, her run of dominance ended at the Kraft. The next three majors saw new faces -- Inbee Park, Yani Tseng and Ji Yai Shin claim titles.
It also marked the end of Annika Sorenstam's run. She announced her retirement and, if she sticks to it, she ends as the No. 2 golfer in women's history.
Here are the updated standings for both men and the women.
MEN
Rank, Player, Country, Years, Points
1. Tiger Woods, United States, 1994-2008, 182.01
2. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1959-1998, 178.61
3. Ben Hogan, United States, 1939-1967, 145.30
4. Arnold Palmer, United States, 1954-1977, 127.39
5. Bobby Jones United States, 1919-1930, 122.57
6. Tom Watson, United States, 1974-2000, 118.94
7. Walter Hagen, United States, 1913-1940, 118.49
8. Gene Sarazen, United States, 1921-1956, 108.67
9. Gary Player, South Africa, 1956-1984, 108.41
10. Sam Snead, United States, 1937-1974, 103.41
11. Nick Faldo, England, 1978-2003, 101.33
12. Byron Nelson, United States, 1935-1955, 90.94
13. Lee Trevino, United States, 1967-1986, 82.67
14. J.H. Taylor, England, 1893-1925, 81.90
15. Harry Vardon, England, 1894-1922, 81.47
16. Phil Mickelson, United States, 1990-2008, 79.52
17. Seve Ballesteros, Spain, 1976-1991, 79.46
18. Greg Norman, Australia, 1979-2008, 77.48
19. Jim Barnes, Eng/U.S., 1913-1930, 77.25
20. Raymond Floyd, United States, 1965-1994, 75.77
21. Ernie Els, South Africa, 1992-2008, 72.96
22. James Braid, Scotland, 1894-1914, 71.88
23. Nick Price, Zimbabwe, 1982-2005, 69.27
24. Peter Thomson, Australia, 1951-1971, 67.91
25. Jimmy Demaret, United States, 1938-1962, 66.93
26. Cary Middlecoff, United States, 1948-1959, 66.40
27. Ralph Guldahl, United States, 1933-1941, 65.57
28. Bobby Locke, South Africa, 1936-1957, 65.24
29. Craig Wood, United States, 1929-1944, 64.70
30. Hale Irwin, United States, 1973-1993, 63.05
31. Julius Boros, United States, 1950-1973, 62.58
32. Billy Casper, United States, 1958-1976, 60.90
33. Leo Diegel, United States, 1920-1933, 60.81
34. Padraig Harrington, Ireland, 1997-2008, 60.23
35. Johnny Miller, United States, 1966-1985, 58.53
36. Ben Crenshaw, United States, 1972-1995, 58.13
37. Harold Hilton, England, 1892-1913, 57.08
38. Paul Runyan, United States, 1931-1951, 57.08
39. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 1993-2006, 56.74
40. Tom Weiskopf, United States, 1969-1982, 55.53
41. Henry Cotton, England, 1927-1958, 55.48
42. Denny Shute, United States, 1928-1950, 55.30
43. Payne Stewart, United States, 1985-1999, 55.07
44. Jock Hutchison, Scot/U.S., 1908-1928, 54.47
45. Bernhard Langer, Germany, 1981-2005, 54.19
46. Ted Ray, England, 1902-1925, 53.91
47. Lloyd Mangrum, United States, 1940-1956, 53.05
48. Horton Smith, United States, 1928-1954, 51.87
49. Henry Picard, United States, 1932-1950, 51.85
50. Hubert Green, United States, 1974-1989, 51.18
51. Lawson Little, United States, 1934-1951, 50.84
52. Mark O'Meara, United States, 1979-2003, 48.08
53. Alex Smith, Scot/US, 1898-1921, 48.03
54. Jim Furyk, United States, 1996-2008, 47.76
55. Larry Nelson, United States, 1979-1991, 47.75
56. Jose Maria Olazabul, Spain, 1984-2006, 47.67
57. Fred Couples, United States, 1980-2006, 45.63
58. Doug Ford, United States, 1955-1962, 44.72
59. Davis Love III, United States, 1995-2005, 44.67
60. Gene Littler, United States, 1953-1979, 44.65
61. Retief Goosen, South Africa, 1997-2007, 44.48
62. Tony Jacklin, England, 1967-1972, 44.42
63. Lanny Wadkins, United States, 1970-1993, 44.35
64. Curtis Strange, United States, 1980-1995, 44.32
65. Jim Ferrier, Aus/U.S., 1936-1964, 43.97
66. Johnny Farrell, United States, 1922-1937, 43.71
67. Harry Cooper, Eng/U.S., 1923-1942, 43.71
68. Jack Burke Jr., United States, 1951-1965, 43.34
69. Tommy Bolt, United States, 1952-1971, 42.83
70. Tom Kite, United States, 1970-2001, 42.83
71. David Graham, Australia, 1975-1990, 42.66
72. Charles Evans Jr., United States, 1909-1927, 42.13
WOMEN
Rank, Player, Years, Points
1. Mickey Wright, 1958-1973, 150.19
2. Annika Sorenstam, 1995-2008, 143.42
3. Karrie Webb, 1996-2008, 128.46
4. Pat Bradley, 1977-1996, 118.66
5. Kathy Whitworth, 1963-1984, 117.39
6. Patty Berg, 1937-1965, 112.83
7. Julie Inkster, 1984-2006, 107.39
8. Patty Sheehan, 1981-1997, 99.77
9. Louise Suggs, 1946-1969, 97.69
10. Amy Alcott, 1976-1994, 94.56
11. Sandra Haynie, 1963-1983, 92.15
12. Babe Didrikson Zaharias, 1940-1954, 91.11
13. Meg Mallon, 1990-2004, 86.76
14. Betsy Rawls, 1951-1969, 83.66
15. Laura Davies, 1987-2005, 81.77
16. Se Ri Pak, 1998-2008, 81.28
17. JoAnne Carner, 1970-1992, 80.33
18. Nancy Lopez, 1975-1997, 79.58
19. Donna Caponi, 1969-1982, 69.94
20. Beth Daniel, 1980-2006, 68.88
21. Lorena Ochoa, 2002-2008, 67.66
22. Susan Maxwell Berning, 1965-1979, 67.02
23. Mary Mills, 1963-1974, 65.27
24. Sandra Palmer, 1967-1986, 61.52
25. Dottie Pepper, 1988-2001, 60.04
26. Carol Mann, 1963-1975, 59.63
27. Marilyn Smith, 1963-1972, 59.60
28. Jan Stephenson, 1976-2000, 59.47
29. Hollis Stacy, 1976-1996, 56.85
30. Sally Little, 1975-1988, 56.17
31. Ayako Okamoto, 1983-1993, 56.00
32. Liselotte Neumann, 1988-2005, 52.38
33. Rosie Jones, 1983-2005, 50.75
34. Jane Geddes, 1985-1996, 50.01
35. Tammie Green, 1989-1998, 48.13
36. Clifford-Ann Creed, 1963-1976, 43.90
37. Kelly Robbins, 1994-2004, 43.85
38. Brandie Burton, 1991-2001, 42.54
39. Cristie Kerr, 1999-2008, 41.76
40. Jane Blalock, 1971-1980, 39.45
41. Beverly Hanson, 1955-1958, 39.33
41. Betty Jameson, 1942-1954, 39.33
43. Marlene Hagge, 1956-1972, 39.17
44. Sherri Steinhauer, 1992-2006, 38.63
45. Judy Kimball-Simon, 1962-1967, 38.56
46. Grace Park, 1999-2005, 38.55
47. Helen Alfreddson, 1992-2006, 35.87
48. Shirley Englehorn, 1963-1970, 35.14
49. Donna Andrews, 1992-1998, 35.02
50. Judy Rankin, 1964-1979, 34.07
51. Colleen Walker, 1987-1997, 33.23
52. Pat Hurst, 1996-2006, 32.84
53. Chris Johnson, 1983-2000, 32.79
54. Nancy Scranton, 1986-2000, 32.67
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