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PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Vijay Singh: Joining Paul Runyan, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Tiger Woods as the only golfers with at least nine victories in one season on the PGA Tour — and supplanting Woods as the world No. 1 in the process — earns Singh the nod despite yet another stellar year by Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam. Becoming the first golfer to win at least $10 million in one season on the PGA Tour is the ultra rich gravy for Singh.

ALMOST PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Annika Sorenstam: Winning eight times on the LPGA Tour and 10 times worldwide should be enough to earn top honors, but Sorenstam once again has been overshadowed by an equally stellar season by a male golfer in a more-dramatic setting. Singh’s pursuit of Woods proved far more compelling than Sorenstam’s demolition, once again, of an arguably less-deep, less-competitive tour than that on which the men play.

AUBURN AWARD (FOR THE OVERLOOKED, BCS-LIKE, ODD-MAN OUT)

• Retief Goosen: His four victories worldwide this year were two less than fellow South African Ernie Els, but Goosen won his second U.S. Open title this year without an inkling of fanfare while Els went winless in the majors. Phil Mickelson received more press coverage for losing at Shinnecock than the placidly unflappable Goosen did for winning.

SHOT OF THE YEAR

• Phil Mickelson: It’s silly, of course, to call one shot any more significant than the other 278 that Mickelson took in winning the Masters, but his 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole — and his wondrously low-level leap after it — will remain the indelible image from his first career major championship title.

SHOT OF ANY OTHER YEAR

• Craig Parry: 176 yards, 6-iron, Drain-O! Parry’s hole-out for eagle on the first hole of a playoff with Scott Verplank to win the Ford Championship at Doral not only earned him $900,000 and a Ford GT prototype racing car, it confirmed the Australian’s second PGA Tour win since 2002 after 236 winless starts in the United States. A plaque has since been dedicated on the 18th hole to commemorate Parry’s shot.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

• Todd Hamilton: In discussing Hamilton’s overseas journeys, the more relevant question is, Where hasn’t Hamilton played? Rather than where he has played. After wandering primarily throughout the Far East, the 39-year-old won the Honda Classic and British Open with relentless grit and a short game that won’t quit.

SELF-SERVICE MERCHANDISE AWARD

• Tiger Woods: Mr. Elin Nordegren was right to criticize the PGA of America for picking the wrong man to captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2006, but he couldn’t have been any more transparent with his own choice for captain. Tom Lehman, a decent choice, got the nod, Larry Nelson, the right choice, was bypassed again, but Woods reportedly was “visibly agitated” when arguing that neighbor and close friend Mark O’Meara should have been captain at the K Club in Ireland in 2006.

“I thought he should have been captain, because of the heritage of where he’s from,” Woods said last month in Japan. “He’s Irish, … (and) he goes to the K Club every summer to fish.”

COURAGE AWARD

• Charlie Sifford: “This makes me feel like I’m a worthwhile professional golfer.”

That a man of such greatness would say as much upon his recent induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame speaks to the decades of adversity he faced and the deep well of character, courage and decency he relied upon in becoming the first black member of the PGA Tour. The 82-year-old, who joined the tour when the PGA of America’s Caucasian-only clause was finally rescinded in 1961 and later won two tour events, was emotional and gracious throughout his induction through the lifetime achievement category.

Is that ever an understatement for Sifford to earn induction that way.

CLASS AWARD

• Tie, Meg Mallon and Joey Sindelar: Endlessly gracious and respectful, these veterans couldn’t be any more alike in their professionalism. The ebullient Mallon, winner of her second career U.S. Women’s Open title, was a bubbly bright light in a summer of stoic male major winners (Goosen, Todd Hamilton, Singh). Sindelar, who won the Wachovia Championship for his first victory in 14 years, is universally liked for all the right reasons.

OH YEAH HONORS

• Tie Jay Haas, Chris Riley, Chris DiMarco: Late surges by Riley and DiMarco to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and Haas’ year-long excellence to warrant being a captain’s pick, all were quickly forgotten in the wake of the Europeans’ record-trouncing of the Americans in September at Oakland Hills.

BRAINLOCK AWARD

• Tie, Chris Riley, Paul Casey: Riley for begging off a second match with Woods on the second day of the Ryder Cup after proving to be the only golfer who can successfully mesh with Woods’ persona, Casey for flippantly saying “hate” motivated him and other Euros to victory in the Ryder Cup.

BRAIN FREEZE AWARD

• Greg Norman: The legendary Aussie hardly seems to make mistakes in the business world, but he’s tackling a mountain of obstacles in hoping to move his Franklin Templeton Shootout from its cool-weather November date in North Naples to a more-lucrative television date in the PGA Tour’s regular season.

GIRL POWER HOUR

• Tie, Catherine Cartwright and Kris Tamulis: The Southwest Florida high school products, both now LPGA Tour members, will carry the region’s banner on the professional tours thanks to the fading prospects of Nolan Henke and Tommy Tolles and the retirement of Terry-Jo Myers.

BAD BREAK

• Tie, Scott Verplank, spectator ankles: Verplank turned an ankle heading to a portable toilet during the third round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, a new course built with mountains of dirt on a once-flat military site, and faded in the final round while pursuing a Ryder Cup berth he didn’t get. Spectators at Whistling Straits, tracked through a daily tally of turned ankles in Milwaukee-area papers during the PGA, could have told Verplank to watch where he walked.

WE’LL MISS YA

• Rodney Dangerfield, Moe Norman, Jeremy Rothenberger, Punta Gorda Country Club: The lovable antagonist from “Caddyshack,” a Canadian golf icon, an aspiring young tour professional from Fort Myers and a dilapidated Donald Ross golf course in Charlotte County were among those lost to the golf world in 2004.

Filling the stocking with golf’s best of 2004 – plus a few lumps of coal:

• Best player: Wonder if the U.S. oil workers in Borneo paying $10 a lesson some 20 years ago ever thought their club pro would be the guy to break the PGA Tour’s $10 million barrier. Vijay Singh produced Tiger-like results in 2004 – nine wins, one of them a major, a Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average, $10.9 million in earnings. Oh, and he supplanted Mr. Woods atop the world rankings. Honorable mention: Annika Sorenstam, with 10 wins worldwide, another major and an LPGA-record scoring average.

• Best moment: Capping one of the best major-championship Sundays in history, Phil Mickelson birdied No. 18 to win the Masters and remove his major albatross. Augusta National’s patrons were nearly as gleeful as Mickelson, who at one point grabbed 4-year-old daughter Amanda and told her, ‘’Daddy won! Can you believe it?'’ Honorable mention: Meg Mallon winning the U.S. Women’s Open in her native Massachusetts.

• Breakout player: Miami’s Cristie Kerr won three times in 2004, more than any LPGA pro except Sorenstam and Mallon. Her methods ran the gamut – a seven-hole playoff in Las Vegas, a Sunday duel with Christina Kim at the Rail Classic and a come-from-behind sprint in Atlantic City.

• Shot of the year: Sudden-death playoffs don’t end much more suddenly than this. Craig Parry needed two swings to capture the Ford Championship at Doral, watching his 6-iron approach shot at No. 18 disappear into the cup from 176 yards away for eagle. ‘’What a sucker punch,'’ said Scott Verplank, the unwitting victim.

• Flop of the year: Hal Sutton had a secret plan under his 10-gallon hat from the day he was named U.S. Ryder Cup captain: He would pair Woods and Mickelson in the opening match. He forgot they meshed as well as the Titanic and an iceberg. Woods hardly acknowledged Mickelson as they lost twice as a duo, setting the tone for Europe’s record 18 ½-9 ½ romp.

• Duel of the year: Paired with Ernie Els for the British Open’s final 40 holes, Todd Hamilton stared down the Big Easy in a four-hole playoff. The 38-year-old journeyman did it with four steady pars, the last a 40-yard bump-and-run that stopped two feet from the cup. Els bogeyed the third extra hole and missed a 15-foot birdie that would have extended the playoff.

• Fairway follies: U.S. Golf Association inaction left the greens at Shinnecock Hills baked out, creating a train-wreck Sunday at the U.S. Open. No one broke par for the first time in a final round since 1963, and 22 players shot in the 80s. The day’s 78.7 scoring average just missed tying the highest since 1935.

• One-hit wonder: Andre Stolz arrived in Las Vegas having made just five of 19 PGA Tour cuts, with no higher finish than 34th. Three 67s and a 65 turned him into a lottery winner, producing a one-shot triumph. Stolz took the rest of the year off.

• Amateur Slam: Ryan Moore’s magical summer may have been the best since the days of Bobby Jones. In a three-month span, Moore won the NCAA crown, U.S. Amateur Public Links, Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur. In the U.S. Amateur final, Moore won the final four holes to erase a 2-down deficit.

• Champion giver: Champions Tour pro Allen Doyle stunned his alma mater, Norwich University, with a $1.1 million pledge during a fund-raising outing in August. Doyle’s 2004 tour winnings, by the way, were $1.2 million.

• Scrooge: Ten events into the Maverick Tour’s initial foray into South Florida, founder Tim Avramidis vanished along with whatever money was in the tour’s bank account. Officials estimate he left behind some $350,000 owed to players in prize money and prepaid tournament entries.

• Dubious DQ: Confusion over a provisional led Greg Norman to bolt the Honda Classic rather than replay part of the previous hole. Norman’s drive at No. 13 headed toward a marshy area, prompting Norman to declare a provisional not allowed in the rules. When the first ball was found in a fairway bunker, Norman went back to playing that one – but shouldn’t have because the second ball had become the ball in play.

• Goodbye: Bruce Edwards, Moe Norman, Harold Henning, Royal Caribbean Classic, Arnie in the Masters.

• Hello: Paula Creamer, Ed Carbone, Mrs. Tiger Woods.

If the word Mumbai conjures up images of sardine-packed local trains and constant traffic jams, try adding paragliders, aero modellers, horse riders and sailors to the picture.

Though it’s hard to believe, among Mumbai-ites you’ll find people who find the time to explore serious interests outside the workplace. The city offers a tremendous range of hobbies for those who want to de-stress or find an extra curricular passion.

Never mind that you may not know how to sail or paraglide, there are places – clubs mostly – you can approach for training. Here’s the lowdown on the offers.

Paragliding: Literally not for the faint hearted. But if you’ve always wondered what it means to soar like a bird then here’s something you can try out. There are two organisations in Mumbai that organise paragliding courses.

The Western Paragliding Association (WPA) operates out of Virar, a distant suburb, while Nirvana Adventures operates from Kamshet, 110 km from Mumbai. WPA charges Rs 15,000 for 20 flights on their equipment which includes training as well.

Once that is complete, you are expected to buy your own equipment and help� train new people. Second-hand paragliding equipment costs Rs 50,000, while a brand new glider costs Rs 100,000.

“When people are just starting out, we discourage them from investing too much and, typically, four or five people pool in for one glider,” says Sidney D’Souza, a trainer at WPA.

Nirvana Adventures, set up by Sanjay Rao, has a team of three instructors based in Kamshet. You can enroll for the course any time between October and May.

The five-day beginners’ course costs Rs 14,500 and is inclusive of food, accommodation, instruction and equipment. Since you’ll be climbing up a hill to take off, usually you won’t be doing more than two flights a day.

“Our area is fortunate to have the best climate all year round with light to moderate winds, meaning unrestricted flight days,” says Rao.

Sailing: Mumbai has three sailing clubs� –� Royal Bombay Yacht Club, Colaba Sailing Club and Bombay Sailing Association. The Colaba Sailing Club is the cheapest of the three and provides only sailing facilities.

You can become a life member of the club by paying Rs 8,200 and an annual fee of Rs 1,200-1,500, after which you can sail any time you like at no cost. The club runs training sessions twice a year where charges depend on the destination.

Non- members can even undergo three sailing sessions for Rs 1,000, inclusive of the boat.

Horse riding: If you love animals and power, then horse riding could be an ideal pursuit. The Amateur Riders’ Club based in central Mumbai’s Mahalaksmi Race Course holds riding camps through the year for the uninitiated.

There are no eligibility criteria though you have to ensure proper riding attire. For non-members, the fee for the 10-session camp is Rs 2,500 and classes start from six in the morning.

If you like the sport enough, you can take the interest further by becoming an associate member of the club, which will cost you Rs 38,000.

Golf: Looking to fit into the executive club? And if you still don’t know the real meaning of a handicap, then get out of the bunker and learn golf. Mumbai has three clubs – Bombay Presidency, Willingdon and the United Services Club.

If you enrol to become an Indian Golf Union member, then a one-hour lesson on the greens at the BPGC will cost you roughly Rs 670 (inclusive of green fees, master fees and caddie charges).

Beginners cannot use the greens on weekends, and if you’d like to hire equipment from the pro-shop at the club, you will have to shell out Rs 150 per hour.

Aeromodelling: Hard core fliers feel that people can’t suddenly wake up one day and take up aeromodelling as a serious interest.

For those of you who’d like to prove them wrong, the Indian Academy of Model Aeronautics holds 12 day sessions during the summer and winter vacations at a nominal fee of Rs 400-500 depending on the number of models used.

This includes the cost of the model (chuck and toe-line gliders), making the model, flying and insights into the theory of aerodynamics.

“We want to break the myth about aeromodelling being expensive, so we initiate students by making them use simpler models,” says Darius Engineer, secretary of IAMA.

Adds Salim Hussain, a member, “It’s important people understand how models are made and get certain experience in flying before moving on to more complex and expensive radio-controlled machines.”

The rest of the year, you can also approach the regulars who camp at Mahalaksmi Race Course every Sunday morning to fly their own prized possessions.
For most of these activities, bookings have to be made in advance. Also, each club has a different style of functioning so it is better to approach them in person regarding membership details, though you’ll find a lot of the preliminary information on club websites.

Flexibility : Instructors believe golfers can swing better after exercises.
Focus : Golf is a mind game and yoga helps in better concentration, says yoga instructor Sukhdev Singh.
Positive : The mind stays calm because of meditation, says Jasjit Singh, Head PRO.
Strength : Yoga helps golfers in gaining flexibility, balance and concentration needed for success, says Ajay Kharbanda, an instructor.

YOGOLF is the new combo that has hit golfers. More and more senior professionals, as well as amateurs and junior players are doing yogic exercises to enhance their performance level. And they believe the exercises have been helpful. Says golfer Simarjit Singh, who has been into Yogolf for the past six months. “I have been doing 45 minutes of yogic exercises and 15 minutes of meditation daily and it has improved my performance significantly.”

The exercises help to increase flexibility, strength and balance. “Incorporating yoga basics into the game helps a player to stay fit mentally and physically and his game improves,” says Monish Bindra, resident chief pro at the Noida Golf Course.

Agrees Jasjit Singh, Head PRO, Jaypee Greens Golf Club, “Golfers have started following yoga very closely. Meditation helps calm the mind and stretching exercises keep the body supple and reduces the risk of injury.”

As yoga instructor Sukhdev Singh puts it, the best piece of equipment you own is your body. He believes that success in golfing needs both physical and psychological fitness and yoga helps in both. “Golf is a mind game. When a player hits a ball, he needs to have concentrate fully. The moment doubt creeps in, his performance goes haywire,” says singh.

Ajay Kharbanda another instructor agrees. Golf according to him, is also about balance and flexibility.

“The elements of strength, flexibility, balance and concentration that are essential for golf are the foundation of yoga,” he says.

Many yogic poses are designed to bring greater flexibility to the muscles of the body involved in the mechanics of the golf swing – primarily the spine, shoulders, and legs, say experts.

With consistent effort, a player will be more balanced in his golf stance, which is helpful while teeing off.