Of everything that happened in 2008, the U.S. victory at the Ryder Cup may have been the highlight of the year. Paul Azinger did exactly what was needed to motivate his team to win, and what a win it was. It really brought back memories from my great Ryder Cup experiences.

This year saw also some great majors, with Harrington really establishing himself as a golfing force and who can ever forget that dramatic US Open when my fellow Pennsylvanian Rocco Mediate battled it out with Tiger Woods, whose victory was astonishing considering the pain he was enduring. Golf was certainly the winner that day.

The Arnold Palmer Design Company was happy to see several of our courses open this year, and several more get underway. Newport Dunes is especially exciting because it features holes along the water and brings links golf to Texas. On the other side of the world, our Cascades course in Beijing was named “Best New Course in China” this year and our course in Kunming is going great.

I’m happy to report that 2008 was also the first year for the Kingdom Cup, the tournament associated with my magazine, which took place here at Bay Hill. Matthew Squire and his team did an excellent job putting together the competition and I’m sure there will be many more to come.

Looking forward to next year, I’ll be hosting the Bob Hope in January. Bob and I were such great friends. I remember being on his television show before I was even a professional. Having won it five times, I consider it an honor to host the tournament on its 50th anniversary.

I’m also looking forward to Tiger’s return. Recovery from an injury is always tough, but I’m sure he will be back at the front of the pack soon. Maybe it will be at my tournament in March.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all of my fans for their kind holiday wishes. My family and I will be spending the season together as I hope you and yours will be. I wish all of you the best and good fortune in the new year both on the course and off. I look forward to seeing you all next year.