First of three parts.

Boo Weekley came to the season opener on the PGA Tour loaded for bear.

Word to the wise, Boo: No more carrying ammo through airports. (Getty Images)

The affable and homespun Weekley, one of 2007's biggest breakout players and a country music song waiting to be written, went on a hunting trip in the offseason, which in itself is no surprise. But when he mistakenly left two .308-caliber bullets in the bottom of his carryon bag, he felt like he'd become the prey when he went through airport security on his way to Hawaii for last week's season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship.

All of a sudden, those mostly bored TSA dudes had a demonic glint in their eye. They called the airport cops and Weekley had some fast explaining to do. When that failed, he rolled over, like a possum.

"I just begged and pleaded," he said. "I just sat there and shook my head like I was an idiot, you know?"

Airport officials said he can expect more of the same every time he travels in the near future and stopped just short of giving Weekley a full cavity search.

For those who like that degree of probity, we're doing Weekley one better. We've packed enough ammo to take shots on three different fronts as the 2008 season glides into view in Hawaii.

The '07 season featured the most aggressive overhaul in history with the implementation of the FedEx Cup format and the controversial signing of a record 15-year broadcast deal with the Golf Channel, but storylines were plentiful elsewhere, too.

Which is why we have divvied up our opening analytical blast into three sections, set to appear over the first three weeks of the season. The Faces, Places and Cases of 2008 will foreshadow the PGA Tour season from the context of its key players, crucial tournaments and forthcoming trends or compelling issues.

So there's a lot of ground to cover and plenty of targets to scope out. Unlike Weekley, we're packing heat and it's no accident. We'll need the inordinate ordnance. Ready, aim ...

Faces of 2008

Tiger Woods

Why start with the salad course when you can skip right to the prime rib? All Woods did in the second half of 2007 was reinvent his swing and reaffirm for the umpteenth time that there's nobody close to him, as evidenced by his world ranking total that's more than double that of No. 2 Phil Mickelson. By the end of the FedEx Cup, Woods was hitting fairways and greens, setting scoring records and all but toying with the opposition, causing Zach Johnson to crack that he'd won the "first flight" in finishing second to Woods at the Tour Championship. Woods put the clubs away for a spell, then massacred runner-up Johnson and the field by seven shots at the unofficial Target event three months later. With his next victory, Woods will tie iconic Arnold Palmer for victories with 62, the fourth-best total ever. Daunting as this sounds, Woods is only now entering his sporting prime, having turned 32 on Dec. 30. Moreover, he spent most of his offseason working on his conditioning. Which brings us to a guy who likely didn't ...

Phil Mickelson

Let's see how Lefty does with coach Butch Harmon. (Getty Images)

It whetted appetites for more of the same in 2008 when the hefty lefty will have a full season under his belt with Harmon, Woods' former teacher. But just when we thought Mickelson had remade himself, he had a frightening six penalty strokes in the final round and nearly puked on his shirt before nailing down a win at a Chinese event last fall, reverting back to his careening, unpredictable ways.

Then again, that's what makes him so much fun to watch, right?

Rory Sabbatini

Sabo is a nickname employed by many, including his wife. It's shorthand for his surname, though it might just as well be an abbreviation for sabotage. No player put his spiked foot in his mouth more often last year than did the feisty South African, who made a point of mentioning that Woods, while dominant, is hardly an infallible god. He's right, of course, but when Sabbatini failed on multiple fronts to beat Woods, the fans didn't stomach his comments too well. He was heckled. He was torched in print. Sabbatini was even skewered back home after being named the country's player of the year by Golf Digest, since he rarely plays there. Then he withdrew from Woods' charity event last fall, citing shin splints. Our advice to Sabo with regard to Woods in 2008: Don't poke the bear.

Sergio Garcia

Given the number of older players whose careers are seemingly ebbing, why pick at Garcia, here and now? Because Garcia seems to be at a crossroads. The perception is that the move to the belly putter last year helped revive his flagging putting, which had become unwatchably bad, and there's an element of truth to that. But Garcia nonetheless hasn't won anywhere in the world since 2005, a drought that makes his No. 13 world ranking seem pretty thin. That said, had Garcia made his potential winning par putt on the 72nd hole at the British Open last year, the timbre and perspective with regard to his entire career would have changed. Right now, he has plenty of mountains left to climb and a reputation that needs resurrection.

Retief Goosen

Is the Goose cooked at age 38? No prominent player took more of a nosedive in 2007 than the two-time U.S. Open winner, who dropped from No. 8 last January to No. 26 this week. A founding member of the old Big Five, he's now merely the fourth-best South African, according to the world rankings. Most of the trouble seems to emanate from his driver, which keeps sending spectators along both sides of the ropes diving for cover. As Woods likes to say, an unpredictable two-way miss off the tee is a big issue to solve. Most guys like to take one side of the course out of play. Goosen can't keep it in the proper hemisphere.

Ernie Els

Since Els last played in the United States, he has butchered a chance to win a top event at St. Andrews after putting a ball into a bunker in the final round, raised ire and eyebrows by complaining that the European Tour should have changed its schedule to accommodate him and made a staggering triple-bogey eight on the 72nd hole of a Euro Tour event to blow what should have been an easy victory. Els hasn't won in the States since mid-2004 and, like countryman Goosen, is beginning to generate whispers about whether he's on the back nine of his career. He might stand fourth in the world rankings, but in our view, Els badly needs a PGA Tour victory -- and soon.

Jason Day

Woods might have endured more verbal shots in 2007 than he had in the first 11 years of his career combined. Sabbatini took a few shots at him, followed by Woody Austin, who said he outplayed Woods on the day the latter shot a record-tying 63 at the PGA Championship. Then, adding insult to insult, if you will, 20-year-old Aussie Jason Day took aim at Woods and said he plans to someday unseat him as the game's top dog. Day, promoted from the Nationwide Tour, will rank as the youngest player on the PGA Tour in 2008 once he shakes off the effects of a lingering wrist injury. We admire his moxie, and at some point, some youngster surely will replace Woods, but how about getting a few at-bats against big-league pitching first, huh, rook? Elsewhere on the kiddie-corps parade, Euro Tour rookie Rory McIlroy, 18, bears watching as the hottest young player on that circuit since Garcia. These two might, someday, actually be the ones to topple Woods from his throne. Let's see, how many times have I written that in the past and been proved wrong?

Henrik Stenson

Quick, can you name the guys who bested Woods twice in 2007? Mickelson did it at the Players Championship and Deutsche Bank events, while K.J. Choi won with Woods in the field at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and AT&T National. But Stenson did it first, winning on the European Tour's Dubai stop and then at the star-filled WGC Match Play event. Then, after climbing to the highest perch ever occupied by a Swede in the world rankings at No. 5, he essentially disappeared. For a player who has already battled through a nasty case of the yips -- Stenson rather famously walked off a course a few years back in Europe because he was struggling -- he's capable of incredible comebacks. But it's hard to believe that 10 short months ago, Sports Illustrated picked him as the man to beat at the Masters.

Vijay Singh

Count on Vijay cutting back on his '08 schedule. (Getty Images)

Well, the Fijian turns 45 on Feb. 22, and all of a sudden, he's making some concessions to Father Time. Singh said he plans to pare back his schedule some in 2008 after playing 27 or more times each season over the past six years. After winning twice before the end of March, he seemingly hit the wall late in the year, though he was implementing some swing tweaks during the FedEx Cup that resulted in some unusually homely scores.

But he found fewer greens and required more putts to negotiate them than in any of the previous five years. Red flags, both.

Justin Rose

Woods fashioned the best cumulative record at the four majors last year. Care to guess who ranked second? Indeed, it was the 27-year-old Englishman, who finally began to deliver on his promise as a breakthrough global player. With a late rally and Els electing to take an appearance fee elsewhere, Rose won the European Tour Order of Merit in the season finale and climbed to No. 6 in the world rankings entering this season. If he can keep a nagging back problem at bay, he is poised to win his first PGA Tour event, which is way past due. Flatly stated, if Rose can learn how to close the deal Sundays, he could win two or three times each year. Until then, break out the Dramamine when Rose is contending on Sundays, because he makes Mickelson look like a rock.

Chris DiMarco

The ol' Clawdaddy has slipped for two years in a row and has started to draw fire for his work ethic. Golfworld magazine questioned whether the two-time Ryder Cup player, who fell from seventh to 53rd to 107th on the money list over the past two seasons, is willing to work hard enough to recapture his form. His putter, always his best asset despite that ungainly claw grip, has been uncharacteristically spotty. But after having shoulder surgery last fall, at least his body parts are sound. After losing consecutive majors in playoffs three years ago, DiMarco now must rally just to earn berths in the fields at the Grand Slam events this year.

Zach Johnson

It's a stretch to say Johnson will ever be considered one of the game's headline grabbers, a la Woods or Mickelson, but he could easily develop into another steady grinder like Jim Furyk. Not the longest hitter, Johnson is fearless on the greens and answered those who whispered that his Masters win last year was a fluke when he won a few weeks later in nearby Atlanta. Now that he is getting a dose of big-time spotlight as the owner of a green jacket, will it affect how he plays?

Steve Stricker

To recap, by the end of 2005, Stricker's game had deteriorated to the point where he was forced to play at Q-school, where he failed to secure his card for the following year. In 2006, he somehow pieced together enough starts and success to regain his status, and won his first tour event in six years last fall in the inaugural FedEx Cup event. Stricker has won back-to-back Comeback Player of the Year honors, which some might view as a dubious distinction. But when you are that far down the pecking order and washing out at Q-school, you're thrilled to be considered for postseason hardware of any sort. Starting this year at an almost inconceivable No. 5 in the world, Stricker at age 40 seems unlikely to remain a consistent threat given the waves of superior firepower around him. Then again, who thought he could improve in his 2006 season, really?

Woody Austin

For years before he has laser surgery on his eyes, similar to Tom Kite, Austin was recognizable for the large glasses he wore while playing. Who knew that donning some comparably sized swim goggles at the Presidents Cup would put him back on the map? Austin's accidental swan dive in Montreal made him a YouTube hero -- although the pratfall footage still ranks behind the video of Austin angrily bashing his putter over his head a few years ago in total views. The hilarious mishap also made fans overlook his stellar play that week, if not all fall. After all, this Woody nearly took down the other dude nicknamed Woody, as in Tiger, at the PGA Championship. Think about this: What if the combustible Austin continues his solid play in 2008 and we send him out to battle thin-skinned Colin Montgomerie at the Ryder Cup. Think anybody would pay money to watch that? Heck, I'd tape-record it for posterity.

Fred Couples and Davis Love

These two have been inextricably tied for two decades, so why buck the trend in 2008, when they have other things in common? Of all the players mentioned heretofore, these 40-somethings can hear the biological click ticking loudest of all. Couples, 48, never a guy who worked particularly hard on his game, barely played last season because of his nagging, career-long back issues. Love, before breaking an ankle in a freak mishap, did little to demonstrate he has much left in the tank going forward. Here's a question to mull: With 19 career wins, including one major, is Love, 43, a future Hall of Fame pick? What about Couples, with 15 wins and one major? As it stands, neither of those victory totals are going to change. Their next big splash might come as Ryder Cup captains.

John Daly

Last, and perhaps least, is the man who ranked among the tour leaders in a dubious category: withdrawals. Daly, who hasn't made enough money to keep his full status in either of the past two seasons, will continue to seek sponsor exemptions in 2008. Whether he'll land many, after continuing his galling habit of quitting whenever his scores are not to his liking, is another issue. Still one of the game's biggest draws because of his ability to turn balls into vapor trails, Daly last year became a golfing sideshow freak after withdrawing six times for various, and frequently vague, reasons. People mostly watched to see when the wheels would fall off. Daly intimated in December that he planned to begin working with Butch Harmon heading into 2008. Perhaps Harmon, a taskmaster who once convinced the layabout Couples to work more fervently on his game, can reprogram Daly. Good luck, because if a series of PGA Tour fines, lost endorsements, gambling debts, 12-step programs and a parade of ex-wives have failed to modify his behavior, Harmon might need a miracle cure. At this point, with five career wins Daly has wasted more talent than any player of the past two decades.