There’s a lot to dislike about Chris Baldwin. From that smug, goofy look on his photo. To his complete and utter inability to take a photo of a golf course. To his references of timely, modern-day heroes like Kreskin. To the fact that he plays golf dozens of times a year and couldn’t break 120 if you let Calvin Peete drive for him (figured I’d go Baldwin-esque with my choice of accurate-driving references.)

One thing you have to admit about Baldwin, however. He tends to be right a lot. Which again is usually something to dislike about him. But he saw that Michelle Wie was an over-hyped media creation when she was out of the womb. He saw that Paula Creamer would be better than Wie ever would. He also saw that Retief Goosen was finished as a major contender a few years back.

So despite the fact that Baldwin will go to great lengths explaining how trickle-down economics is super-fantastic, he can be a pretty good judge of players.

Like on Monday, Dec. 31, 2007, I wrote: “Tiger Woods will go undefeated in 2008.” and Baldwin was the only one to see the brilliance of that prediction.

Sure, now more and more folks are jumping on the “Tiger may go unbeaten” bandwagon, and I don’t expect to get one iota of credit for seeing it before anyone else. But I grudgingly tip my hat to Chris Baldwin for his support on this one. He may think George W. Bush is the second coming of Ronald Reagan, but I suppose I can forgive him that.

Because Baldwin may be wrong in just about every other area of his god-forsaken, nightmarish life, but he’s pretty good when it comes to seeing what the future holds for golfers. So just remember, when you hear more and more about Tiger Woods going undefeated in 2008, I came up with it first. But give Baldwin some credit for seconding it.

–WKW