It was only three weeks ago that we last saw Steve Stricker, as a bout with laryngitis left him trying to speak as little as possible at the Shark Shootout in Naples, Fla.
Stricker has his voice back, thankfully. And his swing sure didn't seem under the weather as he and teammate Jerry Kelly finished two strokes shy of a back-to-back triumph in the partnership event.
Even so, the winner of nine PGA Tour trophies admits a certain apprehension every January.
"You're not sure what this new year is going to bring," Stricker told reporters at this week's Hyundai Tournament of Champions. "I don't know if they are doubts, but you're just not sure what's going to happen. We haven't teed it up yet this year."
Funny what the turn of a calendar page can do to the psyche.
Tiger Woods surely is glad to see the calendar change. Perhaps not so much for Graeme McDowell or Matt Kuchar, who might prefer a few extra months in 2010. Either way, here's a short list of who and what to keep an eye on.
Woods: Good, bad or tawdry, the cat moves golf's needle like no other. Unlike other years, when we would ask who finally might give him a challenge, now it's about when he will win again.
He came close at the end of 2010, when McDowell stared him down in that Chevron World Challenge playoff. Instead, his 59 weeks without a victory is the longest dry spell since he turned pro.
U.S. vs. Europe: Lee Westwood is the first European to hold the No. 1 ranking since Nick Faldo in 1994. Euros hold six of the next 10 spots too.
The real buzz, though, centers more on where they play.
Westwood and No. 3 Martin Kaymer turned down PGA Tour cards that come with a victory. No. 10 Rory McIlroy gave his back.
To be fair, we'll still see Westwood, Kaymer and McIlroy at the majors and WGC stops. And McDowell is taking up dual membership. But this year figures to provide the most tour-vs.-tour intrigue since the early 1990s.
Dustin & Rickie: Anthony Kim or Hunter Mahan could be on this list just as easily, but we chose Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler as the bigger needle-movers (for now) of the young-gun set.
After two body blows at the U.S. Open and PGA, Johnson appears ready to claim his first major — perhaps as soon as Augusta National. Fowler has the game, teen-idol looks and cool head to attract a new audience — if he just would get that first victory.
Who's next? The most potential of this year's rookie crop belongs to Jamie Lovemark, who nearly won the 2009 Frys.com Open in his fourth pro start. He went to the Nationwide Tour, where at 22 he became the youngest to win the money title.