Winners’ CircleMERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS (CARLSBAD)Mark O’Meara--271, 17 UnderO’Meara...

Winners’ Circle

MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS (CARLSBAD)

Mark O’Meara--271, 17 Under

O’Meara won near his home turf, having grown up in San Diego before joining the migration of professional athletes out of California for state income tax-less Florida.

NORTEL OPEN (TUCSON)

Phil Mickelson--273, 15 Under

Mickelson’s win was the sixth of his seven on tour to come near either his home in San Diego or college stomping grounds in Arizona.

BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC (PALM DESERT)

Mark Brooks--337, 23 Under

Brooks shot a final-round 67 to win for the first time in two years, beating John Huston by one shot.

PHOENIX OPEN (SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.)

Phil Mickelson--269, 15 Under

After all, it’s back in Arizona, through this time it takes a playoff to beat Justin Leonard after shooting a final-round 67.

AT&T; PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM (PEBBLE BEACH)

No Winner

Always a factor, weather this time was too much, with rain washing out the tournament and everyone going home with $5,000 after Gary McCord organized a celebrity putt-off to keep viewers from changing the channel to bowling.

BUICK INVITATIONAL (TORREY PINES)

Davis Love III--269, 19 Under

What, no Mickelson on his home course? He was second, two shots behind, and Love had to shoot 64 in the final round to beat him.

UAL HAWAIIAN OPEN (HONOLULU)

Jim Furyk--277, 11 Under

Brad Faxon holed a 45-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff, which he lost to Furyk on the third extra hole.

NISSAN OPEN (RIVIERA)

Craig Stadler--279, Five Under

On Tuesday, Stadler found a putter in his locker so new that he hadn’t thrown it yet. He used it to win the tournament by one shot over three players, one of them his former USC roommate, Scott Simpson.

DORAL-RYDER OPEN (MIAMI)

Greg Norman--269, 19 Under

Norman used only 11 putts on the final nine holes in a closing 66, then boarded a helicopter for home confident that he was ready for the Masters.

HONDA CLASSIC (FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.)

* Tim Herron--271, 17 Under

Herron, 26, opened with a 62 and never looked back, becoming the first rookie to lead wire to wire in 13 years.

BAY HILL INVITATIONAL (ORLANDO, FLA.)

* Paul Goydos--275, 13 Under

Goydos, a 31-year-old substitute school teacher from Long Beach, finished with a five-under 67 to beat Jeff Maggert by one shot.

FREEPORT-MCDERMOTT CLASSIC (NEW ORLEANS)

* Scott McCarron--275, 13 Under

The third first-time winner in as many weeks, McCarron finished one shot better than Tom Watson.

PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP (PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA.)

Fred Couples--270, 18 Under

A shot on the 16th hole barely stayed out of the water and Couples eagled the hole, giving him an edge over Nick Price, who hit into the water and bogeyed it.

BELLSOUTH CLASSIC (ATLANTA)

* Paul Stankowski--280, Eight Under

After winning a Nike Tour event the week before and getting into the Atlanta tournament as the sixth alternate, Stankowski beat Brandel Chamblee on the first playoff hole and qualified for the Masters.

THE MASTERS (AUGUSTA, GA.)

Nick Faldo--276, 12 Under

Faldo shot a final-round 67, but the event will always be known for coining a verb: To Norman, meaning collapse. He took a six-shot lead into the final round, shot a 78 and lost the tournament by five shots.

MCI CLASSIC (HILTON HEAD, S.C.)

Loren Roberts--265, 19 Under

Roberts, the tour’s best putter, shot a final-round 67 to beat O’Meara by three shots as Norman explained for the 1,000th time why he went for pins instead of the centers of the green the week before in Augusta.

KMART GREATER GREENSBORO OPEN (GREENSBORO, N.C.)

Mark O’Meara--274, 14 Under

O’Meara bogeyed the final hole, but still beat Duffy Waldorf by two shots.

SHELL OPEN (HOUSTON)

Mark Brooks--274, 14 Under

Brooks rolled in a 30-foot putt for a birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Jeff Maggert.

GTE BYRON NELSON CLASSIC (IRVING, TEXAS)

Phil Mickelson--265, 15 Under

Mickelson apparently lost track of the calendar and maybe geography, winning for the first time between March 15 and Oct. 1 and for only the second time outside Southern California or Arizona.

MASTERCARD COLONIAL INVITATIONAL (FORT WORTH)

Corey Pavin--273, Seven Under

Pavin finished one shot ahead of Jeff Sluman and won for the first time since the 1995 U.S. Open.

KEMPER OPEN (POTOMAC, MD.)

* Steve Stricker--270, 14 Under

In the rain, Stricker became the fifth first-time winner of the year, shooting a final-round 68.

THE MEMORIAL (DUBLIN, OHIO)

Tom Watson--274, 14 Under

In recent years, Watson has been in the top 10 in scoring during Rounds, 1, 2 and 3, but 52nd in the fourth round. This time he shot 70 for his first win since 1987 and first in a full-field tournament since 1984.

BUICK CLASSIC (WESTCHESTER, N.Y.)

Ernie Els 271--13 Under

Els’ score was eight shots better than the closest competitor, the largest margin of victory on the tour in three years.

U.S. OPEN (OAKLAND HILLS, BIRMINGHAM, MICH.)

Steve Jones--278, 12 Under

Jones had played a practice round with Lee Janzen and Janzen’s teacher, Rick Smith, who noticed a swing flaw, corrected it and sent him toward his first victory since 1989.

FEDEX ST. JUDE CLASSIC (MEMPHIS, TENN.)

John Cook--258, 22 Under

Cook, pondering retirement because he hadn’t won in four years, hit the pin with a pitch from 75 feet, leaving him one shot off Mike Souchak’s 41-year-old record of 27 under par for a tournament.

CANON GREATER HARTFORD OPEN (CROMWELL, CONN.)

D.A. Weibring--270, 10 Under

Weibring won for the first time since being told earlier in the year that he has Bell’s palsy.

MOTOROLA WESTERN OPEN (LEMONT, ILL.)

Steve Stricker--270, 18 Under

Stricker went from non-winner to two-time winner in a matter of six weeks, and his eight-shot lead was the biggest margin of victory in the tournament in 44 years.

MICHELOB CHAMPIONSHIP (WILLIAMSBURG, VA.)

Scott Hoch--265, 19 Under

With a stiff breeze and rain from the fringe of Hurricane Bertha hampering play for the first three days, Hoch led all the way, and host pro Curtis Strange had a second-round 77 on the course where he lives.

BRITISH OPEN (ROYAL LYTHAM AND ST. ANNES)

Tom Lehman--271, 13 Under

Lehman led by six shots going into the final round and held on to win by two over Ernie Els and Mark McCumber.

DEPOSIT GUARANTEE CLASSIC (MADISON, MISS.)

* Willie Wood--268, 20 Under

While some were in Britain and others taking a week off, Wood was winning his first PGA Tour event.

CVS CHARITY CLASSIC (SUTTON, MASS.)

John Cook--268, 16 Under

After Cook won his second tournament of the year, he said he had been getting help with his game from television analyst and former U.S. Open winner Ken Venturi.

BUICK OPEN (GRAND BLANC, MICH.)

* Justin Leonard--266, 22 Under

Leonard, 24, locked up his first tour victory and ran away with the title, winning by five shots over Chip Beck.

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (LOUISVILLE, KY.)

Mark Brooks--277, 11 Under

His 14th year on the tour has easily been his best. By overcoming a two-shot deficit with two holes to play, he won his first major and third tournament of the year.

SPRINT INTERNATIONAL (CASTLE ROCK, COLO.)

* Clarence Rose--31 Points

The tournament is played under a modified Stableford scoring system, awarding points for scores on each holes. Rose, 38, became a first-time winner when he eagled a par five from 25 feet on the third hole of a playoff against Brad Faxon.

WORLD SERIES OF GOLF (AKRON, OHIO)

Phil Mickelson--274, Six Under

On the day Tiger Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Amateur title, Mickelson, another of the young players many consider to be the future of golf, won his fourth event of the year, finishing with two birdies in the last three holes.

GREATER VANCOUVER OPEN (SURREY, CANADA)

* Guy Boros 272, 12 Under

Guy Boros, 31-year-old son of two-time U.S. Open champion Julius Boros, shot 65-65 in the middle two rounds so that his even-par 71 on the final day held up for his first tour victory.

GREATER MILWAUKEE OPEN (MILWAUKEE)

Loren Roberts 265, 19 Under

Who cares who won? Tiger Woods, in his debut as a pro, made the cut, tied for 60th and gave a hint of things to come with a hole in one during his final round.

BELL CANADIAN OPEN (OAKVILLE, ONTARIO)

* Dudley Hart 202, 14 Under

Hart, 28, got his first tour win. The bigger news? Woods saved his best score for the final round and wound up 11th in his second event as a professional.

QUAD CITY CLASSIC (COAL VALLEY, ILL.)

Ed Fiori 268, 12 Under

When Woods stumbled, tossing away a lead after the third round, 43-year-old Fiori, a portly tour journeyman who hadn’t finished in the top 100 on the money list since 1989, rolled to his first victory in 14 years. Woods finished tied for fifth.

B.C. OPEN (ENDICOTT, N.Y.)

Fred Funk 196, 16 Under

Woods tied for third, four behind Funk, who won a one-hole playoff when the final round was called because of rain.

BUICK CHALLENGE (PINE MOUNTAIN, GA.)

* Michael Bradley 134, 10 Under

Bradley, 30, won the event shortened to two rounds because of rain in a five-way playoff. Another learning experience for Woods, who gets blasted by fellow pros after pulling out of the tournament and dinner in his honor at the last minute.

LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL (LAS VEGAS)

* Tiger Woods 332, 27 Under

Some progression of finishes for a 20-year-old pro in his first five events: 60th, 11th, fifth, third and first. And he did it in a playoff against one of the tour’s best, Davis Love III.

TEXAS OPEN (SAN ANTONIO)

David Ogrin 275, 13 Under

Woods’ final-round 67, his best of the tournament, wasn’t enough to catch first-time winner Ogrin, 38, a 14-year tour veteran. Woods was seven shots off the lead after third round but finished only two behind.

DISNEY CLASSIC (LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.)

Tiger Woods, 267, 21 Under

Tied for the lead with Taylor Smith after four rounds, Woods avoided a playoff when Smith was disqualified for having used a putter with a grip that did not conform to USGA standards. Any question that Woods’ playoff record would have gone to 2-0?

The year in review. * First-time winners