After playing 13 events, we’ve reached the ¼ mark of the 2006 season. Before we start the second quarter at the BellSouth Classic, it’s time to look back at what we’ve seen so far and what we can look forward to over the next couple of months.

Player of the First Quarter

Uh, Tiger Woods. Two wins on the TOUR. Two world-wide. Yes, Rory Sabbatini is leading the money list, but you can’t argue with wins at the Buick Invitational and Ford Championship. Even though he had a tough PLAYERS – who didn’t? It’s looking a lot like 2000.
-- Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.com Correspondent

How could it be anyone but Tiger Woods? He’s already won two of his first six starts on the PGA TOUR – including his 2006 debut at the Buick Invitational in a playoff with Jose Maria Olazabal and Nathan Green. Woods didn’t maintain his torrid pace in his last two starts at the Bay Hill Invitational and THE PLAYERS Championship. But his quick trip to California to see his dad, who is battling cancer, last week shows there may have been more pressing issues on his mind.
-- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com’s Chief of Correspondents

David Toms. Faltered at THE PLAYERS Championship, but the Louisiana native won once and was sniffing around leaderboards throughout the early season.
-- Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent

Davis Toms (WireImage)

David Toms. Four top-10s, including a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Except for THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass, where Toms usually struggles, he’s had a fantastic season. Currently ranked fourth in the money list, he leads the TOUR in putting average, birdie or better conversion percentage, par-4 birdie percentage, and scoring average. Toms has also made almost half of his putts from 15-20 feet – also tops on TOUR.
-- Mike Vitti, PGATOUR.com’s ShotLink Analyst

David Toms. Forget the THE PLAYERS Championship. We blame LSU for that. (Conspiracy theory alert: Toms struggles after undoubtedly staying up late to watch his beloved Tigers beat Duke and misses the cut the day before they play Texas in Atlanta, which is a very short trip from Ponte Vera Beach. Think about it.) Anyway, a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii, two other top fives and no finish worse than 13th in six tournaments before THE PLAYERS isn’t just a couple of good months. That’s a season for some guys.
-- Joe Wojciechowski, PGATOUR.com Senior Editor

First Quarter Surprise

The Baby Bashers. We knew they were coming. We knew they cut their teeth on Tiger moments. We knew their drives would resemble cannon shots. We didn’t know they’d:
a) be the talk of the locker room
b) win (J.B. Holmes) or come close (Camilo Villegas)
c) have rock-star-like effects on the crowds
d) have people take pictures of their forearm muscles
e) make Tiger gush
-- Melanie Hauser

J.B. Holmes (WireImage)

The rookies. Not that they weren’t talented but even so, you would have to consider them well ahead of schedule. For J.B. Holmes to go from Q-school medalist to PGA TOUR champion in just five events is nothing short of amazing. And Camilo Villegas’ steady play – which includes three top-three finishes, most recently at THE PLAYERS Championship – has captured the attention of fans around the world. And don’t forget Nathan Green, who finished fifth and lost in a playoff in his first two starts. As a whole, they’re brash, brave and bombers – and it will be fun to watch them this year, and beyond.
-- Helen Ross

Phil Mickelson. Lefty rarely goes this late into the season without winning. Mickelson hasn’t seemed to put all his talents together for one week, driving poorly some days, putting poorly others. You know he’ll figure it out, but so far Mickelson hasn’t put forth his best in crunch time.
-- Dave Shedloski

Rookie power. Eleven of the top-20 driving distance averages on the PGA TOUR are owned by rookies. Bubba Watson leads the pack averaging an awesome 319 yards off the tee, followed closely by fellow rookies J.B. Holmes (313 yards) and Camilo Villegas (309 yards). The surprise is not only in the power, but in the way they and other rookies have piled up top-10 finishes.
-- Mike Vitti

The Kids Are Alright. Led by the trio of Camilo Villegas, J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson, who have combined for seven top 10 finishes and one win (Holmes’ victory at the FBR Classic), this year’s rookie class is turning heads around the TOUR and in the galleries. Fans have flocked to watch Holmes and Watson launch balls distances that need tracking satellites, not ShotLink and Villegas has the girls swooning for his matinee idol looks while their boyfriends lust after his all-around solid game. It’s still early, but the Class of 2006 is quickly becoming golf’s version of the NFL’s Class of 1983.
-- Joe Wojciechowski

Best Moment of the First Quarter

Tiger showing us what’s really important in life. Earl came first Tuesday of PLAYERS Championship week. When Tiger heard something he didn’t like in his father’s voice – he’s been battling cancer – Tiger criss-crossed the country to remind Earl how much he loved him and to keep fighting, then flew back for the opening round. He shot 71, but the score didn’t matter. Neither did all those majors. Tiger reminded us family is everything and this? This is just a game.
-- Melanie Hauser

Tiger Woods (WireImage)

Actually, it’s two. First was seeing Stephen Ames on the range at La Costa within hours of his crushing 9-and-8 defeat at the hands of Tiger Woods in the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. As he tried to straighten out a game that had essentially lain dormant during a 10-week layoff, the naturalized Canadian was cordial and candid in talking with two reporters about his comments on the control Woods did – or didn’t – have over his swing. The second moment came a month later, at the TPC Sawgrass, when Ames won THE PLAYERS Championship – beating Woods and 47 of the other top 50 players in the world by a dominating six strokes. He had come full circle.
-- Helen Ross

Greg Owen, Bay Hill Invitational. No we’re not trying to be facetious or mean-spirited here. Watching Owen throw away a PGA TOUR victory with an inexplicable 3-putt on the 71st hole was excruciating. How he handled the gaffe in the aftermath, facing up to tough questions and displaying dignity and grace, was an exhibition in sportsmanship many of his fellow players could learn from.
-- Dave Shedloski

Stephen Ames eagle on the 16th hole in the final round at THE PLAYERS Championship. Even though it was the easiest hole on the course that week, Ames knew when that putt from the fringe dropped that he had won the event.
-- Mike Vitti

The uproar caused when moments after winning THE PLAYERS Championship, Stephen Ames said he might skip the Masters. Jaws hit the floor in disbelief when he said he’d rather take a vacation with his family than go to Augusta. Ames later talked to his family and they altered their plans so he could play, but the beauty of it was Ames obviously didn’t expect to win THE PLAYERS and receive an invite to The Masters. He was just being honest about the fact that he made plans with his wife, who’s recovering from cancer, and his sons, who are on spring break. It was refreshing to see that for that one moment, there was no polished or politically correct answer. It was simply a guy thinking about the promise he made to his family about a vacation.
-- Joe Wojciechowski

What To Watch For In The Next Three Months

The Big Five and the Ryder Cup race. Tiger’s the only member of the elite five to have a PGA TOUR win so far, but they’re all rounding into form with two majors on the horizon. And the Ryder Cup race? The big boys are locks, but the race for the rest of the spots is on. It’s going to be fun watching players like Arron Olberholser, Lucas Glover, J.B. Holmes, Vaughn Taylor and Bubba Watson try to play their way onto this team.
-- Melanie Hauser

Retief Goosen (WireImage)

We’ll have two majors in the next three months and the battle to claim spots on Tom Lehman’s U.S. Ryder Cup team will intensify. Right now, Woods and Retief Goosen appear to have the upper hand on the other players in the Big Five – Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, who, oddly enough, have yet to really contend this year. Sergio Garcia has played well, but he needs to get over the hump on Sunday, while Rory Sabbatini and Chad Campbell look to regain their momentum from early in the year. Judging by the way he’s played so far, this could be the year Luke Donald, the winner of The Honda Classic, takes his game up a level on the major stage.
-- Helen Ross

Other than Woods, the Big 5 haven’t been much of a factor, but with two majors on the horizon, we could see the others – Mickelson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh – honing their chopsticks and getting their fill at the winner’s buffet.
-- Dave Shedloski

Retief Goosen seems to have regained his putting stroke and could be a force at the first two Majors of the season. Last year he finished T-61st in putting average and T-154th in putts per round, but in 2006 he ranks sixth in putting average and first in putts per round.
-- Mike Vitti

The rookies and surprise winners have been nice and show the TOUR’s depth, but with The Masters and the U.S. Open looming, look for the Big 5 to re-emerge. Tiger Woods is the only one among the group with a TOUR win this year, but Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have all played well at times in the first part of the season. They’ll join Tiger in the win column here before long.
-- Joe Wojciechowski