Jim McCabe

Take a deep breath. Heck, take a lot of them, because you’ve got 60 days. That’s the amount of time that will have elapsed between the last putt of 2007 and the first shot of 2008, which will take place Jan. 3 at the Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui.

In those 60 days, you will have plenty of time to digest what happened in the pro golf world of 2007. But if you want to put aside time to ponder what could take place in 2008, you’ve come to the right place, because here are some thoughts, guesses, and predictions:

-- Tiger Woods will not win every tournament he enters.

-- He will, however, win another fair share of them. Seven is my guess, two of which will be majors – the Masters and the British Open.

-- Lorena Ochoa will continue to dominate the LPGA Tour and now that she’s broken through for one major title, others will follow. Two, to be exact – the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen CC in Edina, Minn.

-- Tim Clark will finally win a PGA Tour event. Make that two.

-- Justin Leonard will ride his brilliant Fall Series momentum into a huge 2008 season that will include two victories.

-- The Buick Invitational in February will feature a jam-packed field as everyone tries to get a look at the Torrey Pines South Course that will host the U.S. Open in June.

-- Woods, as he always does, will win the Buick Invitational.

-- Shockingly, he won’t win the U.S. Open, however.

-- Phil Mickelson will.

-- Or maybe Carl Pettersson.

-- There will be changes to the FedEx Cup landscape, with few players getting into the first event, the Barclays, and two off-weeks built in, thus stretching it out over six weeks and giving it a disjointed feel.

-- No matter, Woods will win it – again.

-- Oh, and that European drought at the PGA Championship? It will come to an end at the PGA Championship in August when Padraig Harrington conquers Oakland Hills.

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-- There will be greater scrutiny on that crop of young stars who’ve been on the cusp of greatness – Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Charles Howell, Trevor Immelman – yet it will be Sean O’Hair who shines brightest in 2008.

-- Hunter Mahan being right there with him.

-- Michelle Wie will be faced with career-shaping decisions that her parents could greatly help her with.

-- Joey Sindelar will bring his great demeanor and sense of professionalism onto the Champions Tour and prove to be a huge hit.

-- Vijay Singh will hit a dozen buckets of practice balls.

-- And for his second hour of the 2008 season ...

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