This entry in our Handicap FAQ concerns matches played between golfers who can't agree on the tees. You know, you want to play from the Blues and your buddy wants to play from the Whites. Not to worry - the handicap system has got you covered. You can still compete using course handicaps, there's just one extra step you need to take to decide who gets strokes and how many.

Annika Sorenstam's retirement announcement is a big deal because of just how big a deal Sorenstam herself is in the history of the LPGA Tour. One way to tell that story is through the numbers. For example, where is where Sorenstam ranks on some of the most important LPGA career lists:

• Career wins: Third with 72 victories.
• LPGA majors: Tied for fourth with 10 wins in majors.
• Player of the Year Awards: First with eight Player of the Year trophies.
• Money titles: Tied for first with eight.
• Scoring titles: Second with six Vare Trophy award wins for low scoring average. (Sorenstam had the lowest scoring average in a couple other seasons, too, but didn't meet the minimum rounds played requirement.)

We break down the numbers another way, and include many more, here:
Annika Sorenstam by the numbers

Annika Sorenstam on Tuesday announced the she will retire from tournament golf at the end of the 2008 season. Her final tournament will be the Dubai Ladies Masters, a Ladies European Tour tournament in December.

The move certainly provides an initial shock, without any forewarning of the specific timing of the announcement, and by a player who appears on the verge of being back on top of her game following injuries and two down years. Yet, it's also not completely surprising, given that Sorenstam has spoken frequently of her desire to start a family, and that she has a burgeoning business empire - not to mention, a wedding to plan. (She's engaged to Mike McGee, son of former PGA Tour pro Jerry McGee.) She's 37 years old - 38 at the end of the year - she's getting married, and it's time to focus on things outside of competitive golf.

Sorenstam will leave a legacy of great play, great sportsmanship and great passion for the game. She'll retire as one of only three women golfers with more than 70 LPGA Tour victories. With at least 10 major championships. With a slew of scoring titles and money titles and Player of the Year Awards. Looking over her accomplishments on the course, the worst that can be said about her standing among LPGA greats is that she is very near the top of the list. (My answer to the poll question is a resounding "yes.")

Said Annika at her news conference:

"I think I've achieved more than I ever thought I could. I have given it all, and it's been fun.

... "I'm leaving the game on my terms."

Sorenstam will be sorely missed in tournament golf, but her accomplishments will never be forgotten, and I'm sure that she'll continue in some fashion to have an impact on the game she loves.

What They're Saying

Transcript: Annika's retirement announcement

About Annika Sorenstam

Annika Sorenstam biography

Annika Sorenstam pictures

Annika by the numbers

Rankings: Top 50 women golfers of all-time

See also:

• AP: Sorenstam to retire this year

A couple interesting items in the news:

Nearly a month after undergoing knee surgery, Tiger Woods is back at work on his golf game, chipping and putting.

"The rehab is going well," Woods said from Orlando. "I'll you what, I'm getting sick and tired of riding the (exercise) bike."

... "I'm chipping and putting. I hope to work up from that. I need to get stronger and get my game ready to compete and get back out there."

Woods is hoping to make his return to the PGA Tour at Jack Nicklaus' tournament, The Memorial, on May 29. But barring any setbacks, he'll definitely be back at least by the U.S. Open, which begins June 12.

Phil Mickelson's manager said that while Mickelson is not considering joining the European Tour "at this time," such a move is "an option in the future, given the global nature of professional golf."

Mickelson would not have to choose between the U.S. PGA Tour and European Tour, however; he could play both without much of an adjustment to his current schedule. Because the four majors and three World Golf Championships are considered official tournaments on the European Tour, Mickelson is already close to meeting the requirement of 11 events played for Euro Tour membership.

He also plans to play in three other events this year that will have Euro Tour status in 2009, meaning he would need to add only one tournament to his schedule if he wanted to try for Euro Tour membership in '09.

The potential prize for Mickelson - or Tiger Woods, who has expressed interest in Euro Tour membership in the past - is the European Tour's new season-ending championship in Dubai and its $10 million purse.

Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., has hosted the PGA Championship and is the site of the 2008 Ryder Cup. It's also the subject of a new photo tour by About.com Golf Travel guide Blair Howard. Check out the photos.

See also:

• Ryder Cup index

Is this the final year of the PGA Tour AT&T Classic? The tournament has been played since 1967, but is in danger of disappearing. One thing is certain: AT&T will not be back as title sponsor. The telecom giant announced not too long ago that it was opting out of its sponsorship deal following this year's tournament.

So the PGA Tour has been scrambling to find a new title sponsor for this Atlanta tournament. Something it is also doing for its Tampa, Fla., tournament, what has been called the Pods Championship. Tour commissioner Tim Finchem recently let slip that a new sponsor is in the works for the Tampa event, but it doesn't appear there's been much luck so far with the Atlanta event.

If the AT&T Classic disappears altogether, it's likely that the Tour would move the Texas Open into this slot on the schedule, and group the four Texas tournaments together.

But before the AT&T Classic is given up for dead, there's at least one more tournament to play. And that happens beginning Thursday. Check out our AT&T Classic profile for the list of past champions plus tourney trivia and more info.

It was a major win on Sunday for Sergio Garcia, even if it wasn't quite a major championship. Garcia held his nerve down the stretch at The Players Championship, even sinking a must-make par putt on the 72nd hole, then defeated Paul Goydos in a playoff when Goydos' shot on the first extra hole found water.

It's the biggest win to date for Garcia - a victory that many, including Garcia himself, see as a long overdue. Garcia burst onto the international golf scene at age 19. Greatness seemed a sure thing. And while he's posted victories on the PGA Tour - The Players Championship is win No. 7 - and has contended in majors (including losing a playoff at last year's British Open), Garcia hasn't reached the heights everyone expected him to reach.

But perhaps this huge win can be the propellant Garcia needs? Keep in mind, although it seems like he's been around forever, he's only 28 years old. And he's now working with Stan Utley on his short game, and Utley is the guru du jour among golf instructors. Garcia struggled with putting at times during The Players Championship, but he also sank some very important putts, especially on Sunday.

Garcia has always had the game, tee-to-green, to be a big winner. His fortunes have always turned on his putting. Maybe those fortunes just took a turn for the better.

See also:

• Off the wire: Garcia wins Players Championship in playoff

A couple weeks ago, following her win in the Stanford International Pro-Am, we noted Annika Sorenstam still had a long way to go to catch Lorena Ochoa. Sorenstam and Ochoa had played in the same tournament four times in 2008, and Ochoa had won all four of those events, finishing a combined 45 strokes ahead of Sorenstam.

Well, Sorenstam has taken a big step toward rectifying that disparity. She dominated the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open, winning by seven shots on Sunday and beating Ochoa by 12. As noted, it's the first time this year Sorenstam has beaten Ochoa.

Sorenstam and Ochoa have now combined to win eight of the 11 LPGA tournaments played thus far, and Annika certainly looks like she's back in the mix, coming on strong against Ochoa.

She's also back in the mix in the chase to Kathy Whitworth's LPGA career victories record. After tailing off in 2006, and going winless in 2007, Sorenstam's chances of breaking Whitworth's mark of 88 career wins appeared dim. Now, well, they're at least a bit brighter again.

Annika's win at the Michelob Ultra Open was career win No. 72, 16 behind Whitworth.

See also:

• LPGA career wins list

Tommy Armour is best-known as a great golfer, and for the golf clubs that still carry his name. But he was also one of the most sought-after instructors of his time. So when the Silver Scot talked, golfers listened. And they should still listen to what he had to say about a proper setup: "Before they ever begin swinging, I can improve nine out of every ten typical amateur golfers."

The setup is the most important - but overlooked - full-swing fundamental, according to current instructor Michael Lamanna. Lamanna explains what Armour was talking about, and why the setup - alignment, foot position, ball position, balance, posture, arm and hand position - is so important to a golfer's success. Find out what makes for a proper golf setup.

See also:

• Video: Correct golf posture
• Video: Ball position at setup

During the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open broadcast, Judy Rankin reminded viewers that Suzann Pettersen sometimes putted with her eyes closed last season (Pettersen is apparently no longer using this trick). And Andy North jumped in to say that during one of his PGA Tour seasons, he spent several weeks putting with his left eye closed. "It took the hole out of view and forced me to focus only on the ball," North said.

We talked about Pettersen's eyes-closed trick last year when it was first revealed that she was doing it. Check out the article, "Why pro golfers sometimes putt without looking at the ball."

See also these drills and quick tips:

• Close your eyes for this putting drill
• Another eyes-closed putting routine
• A full-swing "eyes closed" practice techique