Shigeki Maruyama

Maruyama seems to be fading a bit. His last win came a few years ago during the fall season and he seems to be lacking the oomph he once had. A problem for Maruyama looking ahead to 2007 is that he most likely will not be in the field for the WGC Match Play event or the Masters unless he makes a quick leap up the world rankings. Without those two events, it will be hard for Maruyama to dramatically improve upon his 2006 numbers.

Maruyama also salvaged a sub-par regular season by playing well during the fall. Unlike Pettersson, Maruyama didn't have an excuse. This is a tough call. I like Maruyama, but I'm not sure I'd want to spend $1.9 million on a bounce back. Maruyama has consistently been near the $2 million mark the last few years, so there isn't much risk involved, but the upside might not be there anymore.

Maruyama is probably one of the safest bets on Tour. Since becoming a full time member in 2000 Maruyama has earned at least $1 million each year. He went from $1.6 million in 2003 to $2.3 million last year. The thing we really like about his 2004 season was the way he closed it out. Maruyama teed it up in 11 events after the US Open and missed the top 30 just once in that span. He only missed four cuts in 26 events. He's a safe pick with a potentially high upside.