T.J.'s Take: These five are happy to see '09 come along

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From left, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and Daniel Chopra

A new year means a new beginning. A fresh start. A clean slate.

For five specific players competing in this week's season-opening, winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua's Plantation Course, this new beginning will be as refreshing as a sip of Mai Tai while taking in a day at one of Maui's immaculate beaches.

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While one tournament, especially the first of the year, certainly isn't going to make or break the season. However, it could certainly set the tone (but that's not always the case either as you'll read later on).

Let's get started...

Davis Love III
It seemed as though virtually every tournament he entered in 2008, Love had many believing it would be the week where the 1997 PGA Champion would snap out of a slump -- much of which was injury-induced.

As a whole, the '08 campaign was rather lackluster for Love until the Fall Series rolled around. During the seven-event series, he made six starts and hauled in three top-6 finishes.

The icing on the cake came in the season finale at the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart, where Love picked up his first victory since the 2006 Wyndham Championship and, more importantly, his 20th TOUR win overall, which meant a lifetime exemption.

For the first time in a long time, Love gets to tee it up without having to answer inquiries about when he'll finally breakthrough. Instead of pressing, he can relax and play, which could make him extremely dangerous.

Zach Johnson
Like Love, Johnson had a less-than-sensational season in 2008.

In fairness to the regular guy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, regardless of what he accomplished in 2008, it was sure going to be tough to top 2007, where he won twice -- most notably at the Masters -- and tied for second at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Aside from a tie for ninth at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship toward the end of March, it was a slow start for Johnson. He wound up with a respectable tie for 20th in his Masters title defense.

In June, Johnson's focus understandably drifted away from golf, as his hometown of Cedar Rapids was one of many devastated by the Midwest Floods. Johnson helped head a relief effort, taking a month off after the U.S. Open.

When he returned, Johnson played OK, but didn't do anything special until he broke through with a win at the Valero Texas Open during the Fall Series, proving to any doubters that he could in fact win an event outside of the state of Georgia, where three of his four TOUR victories have come.

Can Johnson add Hawaii to the list of state's with TOUR wins?

Adam Scott
Was anyone more frustrated with 2008 than Scott? That frustration started in just his fourth tournament of the year, the week before the Masters at the Shell Houston Open.

Scott shot an incredible 63 in the first round at Houston. The second round? Not so hot... a 76. What gives? Well, Scott was the victim of a terrible case of the flu and decided it would be best to withdraw after 36 holes in order to rest up for the year's first major.

It was a good move. Scott tied for 25th at the Masters and followed it up with an unbelievable playoff win over Ryan Moore at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, where the Aussie drained a 50-foot bomb on the third extra hole to snatch the hardware.

Shortly after the win, Scott's year took a bad turn after his hand somehow got slammed in a car door, breaking the pinkie finger on his right hand.

The rest of the season, Scott played well, but not to the caliber we've come to expect. He ended 2008 at home in Australia, where he was forced to pull out of a tournament due to a knee injury suffered while surfing.

It'll be tough for Scott to hang-loose in Hawaii this week without the surfboard, but if he can stay healthy this season he might just turn into the force we always predict he'll be in the majors.

Geoff Ogilvy
On paper, six top-10 finishes -- including a World Golf Championships win -- in 20 starts looks pretty darn good. Heck, it is pretty darn good.

But, consistency was no friend of Ogilvy in 2008 evidenced by his three missed cuts to start the season and the fact that he finished no better than a tie for 28th in six starts after June. It's easy to argue, however, that when your streaks are as hot as this Aussie's, consistency doesn't mean anything. If that's how you want to defend it, go ahead.

As far as I'm concerned, Ogilvy is a proven world-class player. Of his four career wins, one is a major and two are World Golf Championships. I expect him to contend every time he tees it up.

I think Ogilvy will be a multiple winner in '09 and I also anticipate more consistency.

Daniel Chopra
Remember what I wrote earlier about how a win in Maui doesn't necessarily set the tone for the season? Chopra is our case in point.

After taking down Steve Stricker in a playoff to kick off the TOUR season, Chopra left a lot to be desired. Who could have guessed that it would be his only top-10 of the season? Shoot, it was his second win in three starts dating back to 2007.

Chopra might be the most excited player to get things going this week. It's a place where he's obviously comfortable and he's got to be looking forward to building off of something in Maui this time around instead of making it the lone highlight of a long season.

What will these five players make of their clean slate?

Teeing it up in paradise sure isn't a bad place for a fresh start.

T.J. Auclair is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.