KEY POINTS:
Adam Scott or Trevor Immelman? Padraig Harrington or Chris DiMarco? Henrik Stenson or Justin Rose?
A perennial pastime for golf fans before the start of a new season is speculating which players will break through at the highest level over the coming months.
Although the dominance of world number one Tiger Woods is all-but-guaranteed for 2007 - impending baby notwithstanding - the continuing search for his heir apparent has so far been fruitless.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson and three-times major winners Vijay Singh and Ernie Els have enjoyed spells close to, or briefly at, the game's summit but none has maintained the consistency to usurp Tiger's hold in the tournaments that matter most.
Driven by his desire to be the best player in history, Woods has painstakingly won 12 major titles, three more than the combined totals achieved by Mickelson and co.
Peerless in the way he prepares for the majors and meticulously works out his tournament schedule for each year, Woods has distanced himself from his closest challengers.
Although fellow American Mickelson, Fijian Singh and South African Els have the abilityto make a significant impact at this year's majors, none of them is in the flush of golfing youth.
Left-hander Mickelson is 36, Singh 43 and Els, below his best last year while recovering from knee surgery, 37.
Of the three, Mickelson has the strongest claim to Woods' crown based on form over the past 12 months.
However, the entire golfing world will watch with interest to see if the gifted Californian can bounce back from his US Open meltdown at Winged Foot last June.
Mickelson, who had won the previous two majors, blew a golden opportunity for victory with a wild drive and a double-bogey six at the final hole.
Shell-shocked after folding with the title within his grasp, he told reporters: "I just can't believe I did that. I am such an idiot."
Had he triumphed, he would have been widely recognised as the game's leading player after Woods missed the cut that week for the first time in a major as a professional.
But the wounded Mickelson barely registered on the golfing barometer for the rest of the year as Woods took over, edging closer to his career target of overhauling the 18 career majors posted by his idol Jack Nicklaus.
Former world number one Nick Faldo, who like Woods completely overhauled his swing in pursuit of golfing excellence, believes the title-hungry American will achieve his long-term goal.
"He's phenomenal, he's quite amazing," six-times major champion Faldo said late last year.
"The way he swings, the way he plays, nobody else could do that. He does it through sheer physical strength - his arms, his rotator cuffs, his whole body. We all say we want to train specifically for golf, but like everything else he does, he has taken that to a new level.
"What he does out of the rough is amazing. He hits 50 per cent of the fairways but he's like number one or number two in greens just about every week coming from the rough.
"He's got the desire, he's got the determination. He's going to be around until he has beaten Jack's record and decides how many more majors he wants to add after that."
If Faldo is correct in his assessment, it is probably wise to confine the search for Woods' likeliest challenger to the younger brigade, players who have no mental scar tissue because of missed opportunities at the majors.
In this group, Australians Geoff Ogilvy and Scott, South African Immelman, Swede Stenson and Britain's Luke Donald and Justin Rose come to mind.
Ogilvy, winner of last year's US Open after benefiting from collapses by Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie at the 72nd hole, has already made his mark at the highest level.
The 29-year-old, a keen student of the game, has long been regarded as a class act by his peers and is almost certain to be a factor at this year's majors.
Scott, 26, Immelman, 27, Donald, 29, and Stenson, 30, cemented places in the world's top 15 with polished performances and victories in big events last year.
All four are extremely talented golfers known for mental strength and a hunger to reach the very top.
Englishman Rose, 26, ended a four-year title drought on the European Tour by winning the Australian Masters in November and appears ready to fulfil the rich potential he showed as an amateur.
His golf has taken a significant leap forward since he ended a long association with top swing coach David Leadbetter midway through last year and the majors could be the making of him in 2007.
- REUTERS
