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12.28.2007
12:51 pm (ET)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Not many will complain about Steve Stricker being voted PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year because of his class, although consecutive years winning the award left casual fans confused. The Players Advisory Council was responsible for submitting the ballot, and it could be charged with falling asleep at the wheel. Except for a comeback from injury, the award might as well be called "Most Improved Player." And if that's the case, there were plenty of worthy candidates who were ignored. Paul Goydos only kept his PGA TOUR card with a tie for second in the final tournament of 2006. In his next start, he won the Sony Open in January for his first victory in nearly 11 years. It had been so long since Goydos won that Tiger Woods was still an amateur. Another candidate might have been Mark Calcavecchia. While exempt from his '05 Canadian Open victory, Calcavecchia narrowly finished inside the top 125 in 2006. What followed was his best season of the decade. Along with winning the PODS Championship, Calcavecchia finished 13th on the money list with a career-high $2.9 million and wound up No. 8 in the FedExCup. Calcavecchia knew he had a big year when he was invited to the Target World Challenge. "Pretty sporty company I'm in," Calcavecchia said. "I didn't think I'd be here at the start of the year." Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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