Here's a little thought exercise for your Monday. Just imagine what would happen if:

• Kenny Perry had drained a par putt on the 18th at Augusta.

• Phil Mickelson hadn't misfired on the 15th at Bethpage.

• Tom Watson had curled in a putt on the 18th at Turnberry.

• Y.E. Yang hadn't cleared the tree on the 18th at Hazeltine.

Imagine what would have happened if Perry, Mickelson, Watson and Tiger Woods had captured the majors this year. Has there ever been a greater cross-section of major winners in a single year? Could you imagine a year in which a Tiger major would have been, at most, the third-best story of the year?

Here's my take on what would have happened. Kenny Perry would have become a hero to weekend hackers everywhere, proof that golf stardom can come even to those in their late 40s. Then Mickelson would have followed up with the most touching story of the year, perhaps the decade, with a U.S. Open win for his ill wife. After that, Tom Watson would have delivered the best sports story in years by winning the British Open. And finally, Woods' win would have been an anticlimax, but after his British Open cut a reminder that nobody should doubt Tiger.

Alas, it wasn't to be. The story of golf is always the battle between star power and a good tale, and in 2009 we got plenty of good tales -- but at the expense of star power. We'll almost certainly never see this star-crossed collection of potential major winners all together again.

Many observers are saying this was the worst season for majors in recent memory. Not so; this was as good as it gets. But sometimes the ball doesn't quite go where you want it to, and sometimes the story doesn't end the way you want it to. Still -- and taking nothing away from Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink and Yang -- it's kind of cool to imagine what could have been, yes?