As I did a year ago, I'll profile each of my Top 30 players five at a time and will write up several others who might be of interest.  After each player's name, I will list in order where they ranked at the end of 2007, my preseason ranking, and the highest position they were ranked during the 2008 season.  So without further ado...

#1  Lorena Ochoa  (1-1-1)

Lorena is your Rolex and Hound Dog Player of the Year for the third consecutive season.  Where do I begin with the stats?  Seven victories, one of them at the Kraft Nabisco.  In 22 starts, Ochoa finished in the Top 10 17 times and in the Top 5 13 times.  She missed no cuts.  She averaged 69.7 strokes per round, winning her third straight Vare Trophy and finishing three-quarters of a stroke better than runner-up Annika Sorenstam.  Ochoa won five times in her first six starts this year and six times in her first nine.  Only once all year did she fail to finish in the Top 20 (T31 at the U.S. Open).  Lorena ended the season on a slight downer, failing to finish Top 10 in her last three events but that only looks bad compared with the rest of her numbers.  I'll end with two more stats - 58 Top 10s in 72 starts since the beginning of 2006, and a current streak of 75 cuts made dating back to October 2005.

#2  Paula Creamer  (3-2-2)

Four victories, second on the money list, second in Top 10 percentage, third in scoring, no missed cuts.  Paula now has eight victories in four seasons and at age 22, she has a great chance of qualifying for the Hall of Fame.  Around 2015, I would wager.

Every few events we hear somebody mention how Paula would like to get a little more distance so she wouldn't have such a disadvantage off the tee.  I've gotten to where I now can resist the urge to yell obscenities at the screen whenever this subject is mentioned.  Listen, folks - as I just said in the previous paragraph, Paula Creamer is on her way to the Hall of Fame.  The combination of her abilities to hit the green in regulation and putt (#2 and #3 on Tour this year, respectively) makes her the special player she is.  She ranked T79 in driving distance this year - which is about the Tour average, not "short".  If you want Paula to spend more time working out to improve her strength (and as a by-product, her length somewhat as well), by all means encourage her.  But PLEASE don't suggest swing changes of any kind.  Any 5-10 yard gain on distance would not be worth the risk of damaging the form and tempo that has taken Creamer years to develop.  Lord knows, we've seen enough players make that mistake already.

#3  Ji-Yai Shin  (NR-NR-3)

You may have doubts about Shin ranking higher than Sorenstam, so here's why I did it.  Each won three times in 2008 but one of Ji-Yai's victories was a major.  Shin accomplished this in 10 starts, compared to Annika's 21.  She also earned more money in those 10 starts.  I know, the ADT win skews the money list.  First I'll say - so what?  Sorenstam had the chance to win that million dollars and she didn't.  Second, even if you devalue the ADT win to $585,000 (equal to the first-place check of the U.S. Open, the next-richest first-place prize), Ji-Yai would still have earned $1.35 million - sixth on the money list instead of third.  If I adjust the point totals in my system to reflect that change, Shin still comes out significantly ahead of Sorenstam. 

#4  Annika Sorenstam  (12-3-2)

Now that the Sorenstam Era has drawn to a close, I hope to present a list of the greatest LPGA players of all time during this off-season.  At this point in my analysis, Annika definitely ranks in the top five and may be as high as number two.

#5  Yani Tseng  (NR-NR-4)

The 2008 Rookie of the Year (both Rolex and I agree for the seventh consecutive season).  Five runner-up finishes to go along with her LPGA Championship.  Yani didn't finish the year on a great note, allowing Na Yeon Choi to stay in the ROY running until ADT.  Even so, hers was the best rookie season since 2005 (Creamer) and the second-best since 1998 (Se Ri Pak).  When I previewed this year's rookies back in January, Yani was my second choice to win the award after Momoko Ueda.  Congrats to Bill Roberts for being right on the money about Tseng!