Arnold Palmer once said that “the official golf season doesn’t start until Augusta,’’ a reference to the Masters, which takes place in early April.

Well, who is to argue with “the King,’’ even if there are 14 PGA Tour events that come before the season’s first major championship? In a way, the West Coast Swing, and the four events in Florida that start this week with the Ford Championship at Doral, are just a tune-up.

These preliminary events are a little bit like baseball’s version of spring training. Of course, Palmer might have been referring to the Masters coming in early April, when the rest of the country (besides Arizona, California, Florida and Hawaii) gets the clubs out of the closet after a long winter.

However you choose to look at it, the results so far have been intriguing. Just when we’re thinking Phil Mickelson is the No. 1 player in the world after winning at Phoenix and Pebble Beach, along comes 24-year-old Adam Scott swinging like the Tiger Woods of old. Then David Toms puts on a clinic at the World Match Play -- knocking out Mickelson and Scott in the process -- and Toms looks like he belongs at the top.

Or how about this barometer of 2005: of the nine winners so far, only one -- Geoff Ogilvy in a weak Tucson field -- is a first-time champion. That’s right, the other winners -- Stuart Appleby, Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard and Tiger -- also are strong and seasoned.

As a fan, you’ve got to love it. And as the commissioner of the PGA Tour, Tim Finchem has to be licking his chops. Remember, Finchem is scheduled to due battle this summer with the network executives over the Tour’s upcoming television contract, and his troops have not looked this mighty in years.

Four of the big five -- Singh (No. 1), Woods (No. 2), Mickelson (No. 4) and Retief Goosen (No. 5) -- are playing this week at Doral, which had been hit hard by big-name desertions over the past decade, or ever since they started tweaking the Blue Monster. And a win or a second-place finish by Woods, coupled with a finish out of the top five by Singh, could vault Tiger to No. 1 again and end Vijay’s reign at 26 weeks.

Els, the No. 3 guy, isn’t going anywhere after two runner-up finishes on the West Coast. He chose to skip the World Match Play, and will play in the Dubai Classic this week. Obviously, the Big Easy doesn’t give a hoot about who’s No. 1, even if he is less than a point from Vijay at the moment.

As a rule, I don’t put a lot of stock into the world rankings, either, chiefly because they play out over a two-year period, with points doubling in the most recent 13-week period. Looking at it the other way, ranking points decline in eight equal quarter-year intervals.

What this all leads to is a rating system that constantly is behind time. For instance, much of Vijay’s dominance came when he was trying to catch Tiger, and now Mickelson is doing more of the same behind Singh, or possibly Woods should Tiger spring back to the top come Sunday.

Based on what we’ve seen so far, Lefty is the right choice for No. 1, considering he’s the only guy over $2 million in winnings this season, the only guy to win twice against solid fields, and the only guy to pick up an extra $500,000 (for the second straight year) by clinching honors as king of the West Coast Swing. Plus, and this is the real key, Mickelson is more in control of his game than he’s been in his 13 previous seasons.

Toms, who cracked the top 10 this week at No. 9 after his win in the World Match Play, is playing like he’s No. 2, judging from his sweet swing alone. Interestingly, that’s the exact order they fall on the money chart in ’05, with Tiger and Scott placing No. 3 and No. 4, which also might be a good indicator of their true rankings.

The next four weeks certainly will further separate the stars from the gazers. The Players Championship in late March will be a big clue, and two weeks later, the Masters -- hopefully! -- will resolve golf’s No. 1 riddle.

According to Arnie, such a scenario is the way it ought to be. Don’t you agree?