The collective face of golf is about to undergo some nip and tuck, even if the cheeky smile of Tiger Woods will remain in place for years to come. Among the changes – both big and small -- for the professional tours in 2007 and beyond:

FASHIONABLY FALDO

No broadcaster, not even Ken Venturi in his heyday, have ever had the power in the TV booth that Nick Faldo will wield next season. Not only will the winner of six major championships be the new No. 1 for CBS, replacing Lanny Wadkins, he’ll also sit in the catbird seat for The Golf Channel.

So what is it that makes the big Brit so attractive to TV? Well, he looks like Harrison Ford, talks like Peter Aliss, sports a Monty Python-like personality, and is not afraid to shoot from the hip, a la the late Howard Cosell.

“I can look into a player’s eyes and really sense what’s going on,’’ said Faldo of what he cites as his No. 1 attribute as an announcer. “I can make a pretty good calculated guess that how I feel is, obviously, how they would feel.’’

OK, so that hasn’t worked all the time for NBC’s Johnny Miller, who would be bigger if not for NBC’s limited role in broadcasting golf. But it just might work for Faldo IF he doesn’t get too goofy.

Faldo will even have his wingman, Ian Baker-Finch, along side of him. Baker-Finch was hired by CBS on Tuesday. It’s a perfect fit, as CBS has grabbed the best of ABC, which will go belly up in golf with the exception of the British Open.

Meanwhile, every official money event on the PGA Tour will begin (Thursday and Friday) and sometimes end (Saturday and Sunday), on The Golf Channel. Interesting, now that Kelly Tilghman has been named “the woman’’ in the booth in charge of Faldo and the boys, which will include rookie reporter Rocco Mediate.

THE BIGGEST LOSER

The rich will get richer and the poor poorer as the PGA Tour’s new $1.2 billion television contract kicks into high gear in ’07 with its NASCAR-like FedExCup conclusion ($10 million to the winner!).

With the better players being slotted into the megabucks events like the major championships, WGC events and the FedExCup, not even the makeup money – the Fall Series – will be able to save a lot of players from going under (No. 125 on the money list). And if the lesser-healed do survive, it will come via a lot of late-season stress.

If the goal was to get guys like Tiger and Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh more money, mission accomplished. But it’s more like a whiff for aging veterans and struggling rookies.

YOUTH MOVEMENT

Say good-bye to the Champions Tour as you knew it. Some might say “good riddance,’’ although the Big Five of yesteryear – Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino – will be missed. So will the “the Sherriff,’’ better known as Hale Irwin.

Even the Senior Skins Game, which seemed to be the last frontier for the aforementioned, will probably be stocked with the likes of today’s better players on the 50-and-over circuit -- Jay Haas, Loren Roberts, Brad Bryant and Scott Simpson.

But wait! There’s an infusion of talent on the horizon with a magnificent seven rookies making their debuts in ’07 – Mark O’Meara, Nick Price, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Jeff Sluman, John Cook and Faldo, who says he will play occasionally.

‘THE QUEEN’ IS DEAD?

Both Lorena Ochoa and Karrie Webb have more wins (and money) than Annika Sorenstam this season, which is hard to believe. Of course, that could change this week when Sorenstam, who has won six straight LPGA player of the year awards, goes after her 70 th career victory in the Samsung World Championship, where she has won five times.

What’s going on? For those who witnessed the “Jay Leno Show’’ on Monday night, this looks like a new Annika, with longer locks, a more mature presence, and perhaps a new and more open attitude on life. Could it be that her new beau, Mike McGee, has had a dramatic effect on the stoic Swede?

It would not be all that surprising if Sorenstam decided to lay down her clubs in the near future for a new role in life – motherhood. It was something she had longed for with the former “Mr. Sorenstam’’ (David Esch).