Golf season is upon us, so I’ve asked commenter/blogger Spencer096 to give us a little preview. In addition to being a Major League Jerk, he blogs about his favorite sports ever at Tuna Golf.

Golf season has already started (/shock) so why not take a look at what’s going on this year on the PGA Tour and what you can look forward to this summer.

Tiger’s Return:  I’m not going to spend much time on this…he’ll probably be back before The Masters (most likely at either the WGC Match Play, Arnold Palmer’s event at Bay Hill or the WGC CA Championship at Doral…you know…big money events at courses he likes) and he’ll probably come back his normal dominant self.  He’s already hitting full shots and playing a few holes, and let’s be honest here…it’s Tiger f-in’ Woods.

Race to Dubai:  This is a HUGE development in golf.  The FedEx Cup is a mess on an epic scale, and due to the fact that the American economy is in a port-o-pooper’s swill tank. Many of the PGA stalwarts are flocking across the pond (and to the Middle East) to get their Euro Tour status so they can get into the field for the ridiculous riches that await them at the Euro Tour season ending event in Dubai.

Anthony Kim, Vijay, Camillo Villegas, Boo Weekley and numerous other top 50 pros are taking advantage of this because it’s extremely easy to get their Euro Tour card.  Most of these guys are eligible for all the majors and all the WGC events, which all count towards Euro Tour status, meaning they only have to play three or four Euro events to have status.  What’s this mean for golf fans?  Only good things…better worldwide golf, and exposure to some of the lesser-known, but uber-talented Euro guys like Robert Karlsson, Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson. Plus, fans get an event towards the end of the year that’ll have a field that will rival any other this season.

Sucks for the PGA Tour stateside, but you know what?  This might spur commissioner, Tim Finchem into actually doing his job instead of being a glorified hand-shaker.  Note to Tim: Less drug testing; more focus on your product.

Sergio Garcia:  My mancrush is the second ranked player in the world and playing some of the most absurd golf (non-Tiger division) we have ever seen.  For all the knocks on El Niño, his immaturity and chokery, his game hasn’t been in sharper form.  He’s the best player in the world from tee-to-green, has an elite short game and has posted top-10’s in pretty much every tournament he’s entered since last August.

So why should we take notice?  Because his heel – his putting – has gone from a liability to increasingly steady.  While it’s not great, it doesn’t need to be because he consistently hits it closer than everyone else, giving him chances to score.  He ranked in the mid-100’s in putts per round, but second in overall scoring average…how ridiculous is that?  The dude takes a ton of putts but still manages, on average, to score under 70 per round, and that’s on the hardest courses, not the cream-puff birdie fests that a lot of guys inflate their stats with.

I’m telling you, this is going to be a HUGE year for Sergio, like it or not, and I’m going on record saying he’s winning the US Open AND the British Open this year.

FedEx Cup:  They changed the scoring format this year and tweaked some other things, but you know what?  It still blows.  It’s not interesting, it’s contrived, and there’s really nothing they can do in this format to keep Tiger from winning it every year he tees it up.

Meanwhile, the Race to Dubai is drawing the best players globally, to play in an event that’ll reward the living daylights out of the limited field and will undoubtedly be the most intense golf of the season outside of the majors.  So what can the powers at be do to combat this?

If I was Tour commish, I’d change the FedEx Cup drastically.  How exactly is the current format a “playoff?”  It’s not.  Why not do something awesome and unique?  Why not make the four tournaments’ scores accrue and the guy with the lowest aggregate score wins?  Why not take a page from the NCAA basketball tournament and do a gigantic match play event, halving the field after every two rounds until there are only two guys left standing and a 36 hole match play event with $10 million on the line?  Why not do some kind of modified stableford where eagles, birdies and bogeys are awarded points?

Want people to watch?  Here’s an idea, don’t try and force feed another bland stroke play event at boring courses with absolutely no storylines to an audience that’s already distracted by the NFL and college football seasons.  If you want this event to stand out, do something radical, something people won’t be able to see 20+ weekends per summer.  Tim, did you really think that four stroke play events would really get people to tune in when, each year so far, the outcome has been decided a week or two before the TOUR Championship?

The Majors:  Augusta has listened and is reportedly scaling their roided-up course back a little to make it into the exciting, last nine sprint that it always was instead of some tricked up show-pony golf course that looks pretty but reacts to shots like a menopausal porcupine.  The last two Masters have been atrocious, worse than any torture track US Open I can remember.  But change is in the air…so we’ve got that going for us.

The US Open is at the most difficult course in America, Bethpage Black.  In 2002, we had Tiger winning with Sergio and Mickeltits in hot pursuit and a boisterous New York crowd doing everything from inciting Sergio to give them the finger and singing “Happy Birthday” to Phil at the first tee.  As hard as it is, the Black weeds out the crappy PGA players and the cream rises.  We’re in for a treat here.

Just to finish things off…Turnberry is hosting the British Open, a staple in the Open rotation while the PGA heads to Hazeltine in Minnesota, where Rich Beem nipped Tiger to fluke his way to a major win. Cool courses, but compared to the tracks being played in 2010 (Augusta, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and the most creatively designed course in America, Whistling Straits), Bethpage is the only real “wow” course on the slate this year.

Outlook for 2009:  We’re approaching another Golden Age of golf.  Tiger is the best player by miles, but with his absence, and the fantastic Ryder Cup, some new faces have risen to the forefront, giving us a deeper field of quality players than the sport has ever seen.

Will Paddy Harrington get some crappy weather at a major where he can slop his way to a win and overcome the fact that, under ideal scoring conditions, he usually gets lapped?  Will Anthony Kim turn into the player we all think he’ll be?  What about Hunter Mahan and Sean O’Hair – talented wunderkinds who have the ability to break 60 on any given course?  Will Phil rebound?  Does Camillo Villegas actually have substance beneath the flashy veneer?  Will Vijay overcome his recent knee operation and be the steady force we’re used to?  Can Sergio actually step up and challenge Tiger Woods?  Will anyone notice that Geoff Ogilvy is one of the top 5 players in the game?  How much more talent will Adam Scott squander?

People…pay attention to golf this year.  We have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a growing pool of elite players than we’ve ever had before.  Even last season we didn’t have the same number of guys just chomping at the bit like we do now.  There are at least 10 guys out there just dying to get a major, golfers who want it so bad they’d kill for a chance to win.  Each week is going to be a dogfight between one of these top players and these guys have definitely separated themselves from the pack.

When golf had Jack squaring off against Arnie, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino every single major, the game was never better.  We’re entering another era just like that, except there are twice as many worthy challengers to the throne of a wounded king. It’s going to be one helluva season.