Current season or competition: 2010 PGA Tour |
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Sport | Golf |
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Founded | 1916 (broke from PGA in 1968) |
Director | Tim Finchem |
Country(ies) | United States |
Most titles | Sam Snead (82) |
TV partner(s) | CBS Sports NBC Sports The Golf Channel ESPN Turner Sports |
Official website | PGATour.com |
The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the main professional golf tours in the United States. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville. Its name is officially rendered in all-capital letters as "PGA TOUR".
The PGA Tour became a separate entity in 1968, branching off from the PGA of America, which is now primarily an association of club professionals. Tournament players formed their own organization, the Association of Professional Golfers (APG). Later in 1968, the tournament players abolished the APG and agreed to operate as the PGA "Tournament Players Division," a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board.[1] The name would officially change to the "PGA Tour" in 1975.[2]
In 1981, the PGA Tour had a marketing dispute with the PGA of America and decided to officially change its name. Beginning in late August 1981, it became the TPA Tour, for the "Tournament Players Association."[3] The disputed issues were resolved within seven months and the tour's name was changed back to the "PGA Tour" in March 1982.[4]
Due to a multiplicity of similar names, it is worth emphasizing what the PGA Tour does and does not organize. The PGA Tour does not run any of the four major golf tournaments or the Ryder Cup. The PGA of America, not the PGA Tour, runs the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship, and co-organizes the Ryder Cup with the PGA European Tour. The PGA Tour is not involved with the women's tours in the U.S.; they are controlled by the LPGA. The PGA Tour is also not the governing body for the game of golf in the United States; this, instead, is the role of the USGA, which organizes the U.S. Open. What the PGA Tour does organize are the remaining 43 (in 2009) week-to-week events, including The Players Championship and the FedEx Cup events, as well as the biennial Presidents Cup.
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The PGA Tour operates the following three tours, all of which are primarily contested in the U.S.:
The PGA Tour also conducts an annual Qualifying Tournament (known colloquially as Q-School), a six-round tournament held each fall; the top 25 finishers, including ties, receive privileges to play on the following year's PGA Tour. Remaining finishers in the top 75, plus ties, receive full privileges on the Nationwide Tour.
The top 25 money-winners on the Nationwide Tour also receive privileges on the following year's PGA Tour. A golfer who wins three events on that tour in a calendar year earns a "performance promotion" (informally a "battlefield promotion") which garners PGA Tour privileges for the remainder of the year plus the following full season.
At the end of each year, the top 125 money-winners on the PGA Tour receive a tour card for the following season, which gives them exemption from qualifying for most of the next year's tournaments. However at some events, known as invitationals, exemptions apply only to the previous year's top 70 players. Players who are ranked between 126–150 receive a conditional tour card, which gives them priority for places that are not taken up by players with full cards.
Winning a PGA Tour event provides a tour card for a minimum of two years, with an extra year added for each additional win with a maximum of five years. Winning a World Golf Championships event or The Tour Championship provides a three-year exemption. Winners of the major championships and The Players Championship earn a five-year exemption. Other types of exemptions include lifetime exemptions for players with twenty wins on the tour; one-time, one year exemptions for players in the top fifty on the career money earnings list who are not otherwise exempt; two-time, one year exemptions for players in the top twenty-five on the career money list; and medical exemptions for players who have been injured, which give them an opportunity to regain their tour card after a period out of the tour.
Similar to other major league sports, there is no rule limiting PGA Tour players to "men only." In 2003, Annika Sörenstam and Suzy Whaley played in PGA Tour events, and Michelle Wie did so in each year from 2004 through 2008. None of these three made the cut, although Wie missed by only one stroke in 2004.
The LPGA like all other women's sports, is limited to female participants only.
There is also a PGA European Tour, which is separate from either the PGA Tour or the PGA of America; this organization runs a tour, mostly in Europe but with events throughout the world outside of North America, that is second only to the PGA Tour in worldwide prestige. There are several other regional tours around the world. However, the PGA Tour, European Tour, and many of the regional tours co-sponsor the World Golf Championships. These, along with the major championships, usually count toward the official money lists of each tour as well as the Official World Golf Rankings.
The PGA Tour places a strong emphasis on charity fundraising, usually on behalf of local charities in cities where events are staged. With the exception of a few older events, PGA Tour rules require all Tour events to be non-profit; the Tour itself is also a non-profit company. In 2005, it started a campaign to push its all-time fundraising tally past one billion dollars ("Drive to a Billion"), and it reached that mark one week before the end of the season. However, monies raised for charities derive from the tournaments' positive revenues (if any), and not any actual monetary donation from the PGA Tour, whose purse monies and expenses are guaranteed. The number of charities which receive benefits from PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour events is estimated at over 2,000. In 2009, the total raised for charity was some $108 million.[5]
In January 2006, the PGA Tour announced a new set of television deals covering 2007 to 2012. CBS Sports will remain the main carrier of PGA Tour golf, and will increase its events from 16 to 19 per season. NBC Sports will increase its coverage from 5 to 10 events. The Golf Channel will be the Tour's cable partner on a 15-year contract, providing early round coverage of all official money events and four round coverage of a few events at the beginning and towards the end of the season. These deals do not cover the major championships as the PGA Tour does not own the rights to them. The broadcast television rights to the majors are held by CBS (The Masters and PGA Championship) and NBC (U.S. Open). (NBC is the only major broadcast network to offer four days of major coverage over the air.) Beginning in 2010, ESPN will provide exclusive coverage of The Open Championship. ESPN and Turner Sports are the broadcast networks' cable partners for the other majors, with ESPN providing coverage of the first and second rounds of The Masters and U.S. Open and TNT covering the PGA Championship.
The fees involved were not mentioned in the press release, but it stated, "total prize money and other financial benefits to players will increase approximately $600 million over the term as compared to the previous six years, a 35-percent increase".[6]
The PGA Tour is also covered extensively outside the United States. In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports was the main broadcaster of the tour for a number of years up to 2006. However, Setanta Sports won exclusive UK and Ireland rights for six years from 2007 for a reported cost of £103 million. The deal includes Champions Tour and the Nationwide Tour events, but like the U.S. television deals it does not include the major championships, and unlike the U.S. deal, it does not include the World Golf Championships. Setanta set up the Setanta Golf channel to present its coverage.[7] On June 23, 2009 Setanta's UK arm went into administration and ceased broadcasting. Eurosport picked up the television rights for the remainder of the 2009 season.[8] Sky Sports regained the TV rights with a eight year deal from 2010 to 2017.[9] In South Korea, SBS, which has been the tour's exclusive TV broadcaster in that country since the mid-1990s, agreed in 2009 to extend its contract with the PGA Tour through 2019. As a part of that deal, it will sponsor the season's opening tournament, a winners-only event that will be renamed the SBS Championship effective in 2010.[10] The Indian broadcaster NEO Sports obtained exclusive rights to the PGA Tour on the Indian subcontinent in 2008, and has since extended its deal through the 2015 season.[11]
In the United States and Canada, radio coverage of the PGA Tour is available on XM Satellite Radio, on the PGA Tour Network, channel 146.
The table below illustrates the structure of the PGA Tour season.
Three of the four majors take place in eight weeks between June and August. In the past, this has threatened to make the last two and a half months of the season anti-climactic, as some of the very top players competed less from that point on. In response, the PGA Tour has introduced a new format, the FedEx Cup. From January through mid-August players compete in "regular season" events and earn FedEx Cup points, in addition to prize money. At the end of the regular season, the top 125 FedEx Cup points winners are eligible to compete in the "playoffs," four events taking place from mid-August to mid-September. The field sizes for these events are reduced from 125 to 100 to 70 and finally the traditional 30 for the Tour Championship. Additional FedEx Cup points are earned in these events. At the end of the championship, the top point winner is the season champion. To put this new system into place, the PGA Tour has made significant changes to the traditional schedule.
In 2007 The Players Championship moved to May so as to have a marquee event in five consecutive months. The Tour Championship moved to mid-September, with an international team event (Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup) following at the end of September. The schedule was tweaked slightly in both 2008 and 2009. After the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship, the Tour takes a full week off. In 2008, the break came before the Ryder Cup, with the Tour Championship the week after that. In 2009, the break was followed by the Tour Championship, with the Presidents Cup taking place two weeks after that.
The Tour will continue through the fall, with the focus on the scramble of the less successful players to earn enough money to retain their tour cards. A circuit known as the Fall Series, originally with seven tournaments but now with five, was introduced in 2007. In its inaugural year, its events were held in seven consecutive weeks, starting the week after the Tour Championship. As was the case for the FedEx Cup playoff schedule, the Fall Series schedule was also tweaked in 2008 and 2009. The first 2008 Fall Series event was held opposite the Ryder Cup, and the Fall Series took a week off for the Tour Championship before continuing with its remaining six events.
The Fall Series saw major changes for 2009, with one of its events moving to May and another dropping off the schedule entirely. It will return to its original start date of the week after the Tour Championship. Then, as in 2008, it will take a week off, this time for the Presidents Cup. It will then continue with events in three consecutive weeks, take another week off for the HSBC Champions (now elevated to World Golf Championships status), and conclude the week after that.
2007 saw the introduction of a tournament in Mexico, an alternate event staged the same week as the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.[12] A tournament in Puerto Rico was introduced in 2008 as an alternate event staged opposite the WGC-CA Championship.
The 2010 season includes 49 events in 44 weeks, of which 46 are official money events, including four alternate events played the same week as a higher status tournament. The other three events are:
Most members of the tour play between 20 and 30 tournaments in the season. The geography of the tour is determined by the weather. It starts in Hawaii in January and spends most of its first two months in California and Arizona during what is known as the "West Coast Swing," and then moves to the American Southeast for the "Southern Swing." Each swing culminates in a significant tour event. In April, tour events begin to drift north. The summer months are spent mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest, and in the fall (autumn) the tour heads south again.
In most of the regular events on tour, the field is either 132, 144 or 156 players, depending on time of year (and available daylight hours). All players making the cut earn money for the tournament with the winner usually receiving 18% of the total purse.
In 2008, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved a change in the number of players that will make the cut. The cut will continue to be low 70 professionals and ties, unless that results in a post-cut field of more than 78 players. Under that circumstance, the cut score will be selected to make a field as close to 70 players as possible without exceeding 78. Players who are cut in such circumstances but who have placed 70th or better will get credit for making the cut and will earn official money and FedEx Cup points. This policy affected two of the first three events with cuts, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Buick Invitational. In late February, the Policy Board announced a revised cut policy, effective beginning with the Honda Classic. The new policy calls for 36-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties and, if that cut results in more than 78 players, a second 54-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties.[15]
The following table lists the main season events for 2010. "Date" is the ending date of each event. The designations in the "Status" column are explained in the notes below the table. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on tour up to and including that event.
Date | Tournament | Location | Status | Winner | OWGR[16] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 10 | SBS Championship | Hawaii | Unique | Geoff Ogilvy (7) | 46 |
Jan 17 | Sony Open in Hawaii | Hawaii | Regular | Ryan Palmer (3) | 50 |
Jan 25[N 1] | Bob Hope Classic | California | Regular | Bill Haas (1) | 30 |
Jan 31 | Farmers Insurance Open | California | Regular | Ben Crane (3) | 42 |
Feb 7 | Northern Trust Open | California | Regular | Steve Stricker (8) | 58 |
Feb 14 | AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | California | Regular | Dustin Johnson (3) | 48 |
Feb 21 | WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | Arizona | WGC | Ian Poulter (1) | 74 |
Feb 21 | Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun | Mexico | Alternate | Cameron Beckman (3) | 24 |
Feb 28 | Waste Management Phoenix Open | Arizona | Regular | Hunter Mahan (2) | 56 |
Mar 7 | The Honda Classic | Florida | Regular | Camilo Villegas (3) | 50 |
Mar 14 | WGC-CA Championship | Florida | WGC | Ernie Els (17) | 74 |
Mar 15[N 2] | Puerto Rico Open | Puerto Rico | Alternate | Derek Lamely (1) | 24 |
Mar 21 | Transitions Championship | Florida | Regular | Jim Furyk (14) | 58 |
Mar 29[N 3] | Arnold Palmer Invitational | Florida | Regular | Ernie Els (18) | 60 |
Apr 4 | Shell Houston Open | Texas | Regular | Anthony Kim (3) | 52 |
Apr 11 | Masters Tournament | Georgia | Major | Phil Mickelson (38) | 100 |
Apr 18 | Verizon Heritage | South Carolina | Regular | Jim Furyk (15) | 48 |
Apr 25 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Louisiana | Regular | Jason Bohn (2) | 28 |
May 2 | Quail Hollow Championship | North Carolina | Regular | Rory McIlroy (1) | 64 |
May 9 | The Players Championship | Florida | Unique | Tim Clark (1) | 80 |
May 16 | Valero Texas Open | Texas | Regular | Adam Scott (7) | 26 |
May 23 | HP Byron Nelson Championship | Texas | Regular | Jason Day (1) | 38 |
May 30 | Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial | Texas | Regular | Zach Johnson (7) | 62 |
Jun 6 | The Memorial Tournament | Ohio | Regular | Justin Rose (1) | 66 |
Jun 13 | St. Jude Classic | Tennessee | Regular | Lee Westwood (2) | 44 |
Jun 20 | U.S. Open Championship | California | Major | Graeme McDowell (1) | 100 |
Jun 27 | Travelers Championship | Connecticut | Regular | Bubba Watson (1) | 38 |
Jul 4 | AT&T National | Pennsylvania | Regular | Justin Rose (2) | 48 |
Jul 11 | John Deere Classic | Illinois | Regular | Steve Stricker (9) | 34 |
Jul 18 | The Open Championship (British Open) | Scotland | Major | Louis Oosthuizen (1) | 100 |
Jul 18 | Reno-Tahoe Open | Nevada | Alternate | Matt Bettencourt (1) | 24 |
Jul 25 | RBC Canadian Open | Canada | Regular | Carl Pettersson (4) | 34 |
Aug 1 | Greenbrier Classic | West Virginia | Regular | Stuart Appleby (9) | 32 |
Aug 8 | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | Ohio | WGC | Hunter Mahan (3) | 76 |
Aug 8 | Turning Stone Resort Championship | New York | Alternate | Bill Lunde (1) | 24 |
Aug 15 | PGA Championship | Wisconsin | Major | Martin Kaymer (1) | 100 |
Aug 22 | Wyndham Championship | North Carolina | Regular | Arjun Atwal (1) | 28 |
Aug 29 | The Barclays | New Jersey | Playoffs | Matt Kuchar (3) | 70 |
Sep 6 | Deutsche Bank Championship | Massachusetts | Playoffs | Charley Hoffman (2) | 70 |
Sep 12 | BMW Championship | Illinois | Playoffs | ||
Sep 26 | The Tour Championship | Georgia | Playoffs | ||
Oct 3 | Ryder Cup | Wales | Team | N/A | |
Oct 3 | Viking Classic | Mississippi | Fall Series | ||
Oct 10 | McGladrey Classic | Georgia | Fall Series | ||
Oct 17 | Frys.com Open | California | Fall Series | ||
Oct 24 | Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open | Nevada | Fall Series | ||
Nov 14 | Children's Miracle Network Classic | Florida | Fall Series |
There are also a number of events which are recognized by the PGA Tour, but which do not count towards the official money list. Most of these take place in the off season (November and December). This slate of unofficial, often made-for-TV events (which includes the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, the Franklin Templeton Shootout, the Skins Game, etc.) is referred to as the "Challenge Season" or more disapprovingly as the "Silly Season".
This shows the current money leaders for the 2010 PGA Tour season through The Barclays, which ended on August 29.
Rank | Player | Country | Events | Prize money ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Matt Kuchar | United States | 22 | 4,244,798 |
2 | Ernie Els | South Africa | 17 | 4,112,611 |
3 | Steve Stricker | United States | 16 | 3,627,735 |
4 | Phil Mickelson | United States | 14 | 3,409,223 |
5 | Justin Rose | England | 19 | 3,357,331 |
6 | Hunter Mahan | United States | 21 | 3,327,954 |
7 | Jeff Overton | United States | 23 | 3,318,056 |
8 | Jim Furyk | United States | 18 | 3,308,872 |
9 | Tim Clark | South Africa | 20 | 3,101,881 |
10 | Bubba Watson | United States | 19 | 2,999,236 |
There is a full list on the PGA Tour's website here.
Players who lead the money list on the PGA Tour win the Arnold Palmer Award (since 1981).
Year | Money winner | Earnings (US$) | Most wins |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | Tiger Woods | 10,508,163 | 6: Tiger Woods |
2008 | Vijay Singh | 6,601,094 | 4: Tiger Woods |
2007 | Tiger Woods | 10,867,052 | 7: Tiger Woods |
2006 | Tiger Woods | 9,941,563 | 8: Tiger Woods |
2005 | Tiger Woods | 10,628,024 | 6: Tiger Woods |
2004 | Vijay Singh | 10,905,166 | 9: Vijay Singh |
2003 | Vijay Singh | 7,573,907 | 5: Tiger Woods |
2002 | Tiger Woods | 6,912,625 | 5: Tiger Woods |
2001 | Tiger Woods | 5,687,777 | 5: Tiger Woods |
2000 | Tiger Woods | 9,188,321 | 9: Tiger Woods |
1999 | Tiger Woods | 6,616,585 | 8: Tiger Woods |
1998 | David Duval | 2,591,031 | 4: David Duval |
1997 | Tiger Woods | 2,066,833 | 4: Tiger Woods |
1996 | Tom Lehman | 1,780,159 | 4: Phil Mickelson |
1995 | Greg Norman | 1,654,959 | 3: Lee Janzen, Greg Norman |
1994 | Nick Price | 1,499,927 | 6: Nick Price |
1993 | Nick Price | 1,478,557 | 4: Nick Price |
1992 | Fred Couples | 1,344,188 | 3: John Cook; Fred Couples; Davis Love III |
1991 | Corey Pavin | 979,430 | 2: 8 players (note 1) |
1990 | Greg Norman | 1,165,477 | 4: Wayne Levi |
1989 | Tom Kite | 1,395,278 | 3: Tom Kite; Steve Jones |
1988 | Curtis Strange | 1,147,644 | 4: Curtis Strange |
1987 | Curtis Strange | 925,941 | 3: Paul Azinger; Curtis Strange |
1986 | Greg Norman | 653,296 | 4: Bob Tway |
1985 | Curtis Strange | 542,321 | 3: Curtis Strange; Lanny Wadkins |
1984 | Tom Watson | 476,260 | 3: Tom Watson; Denis Watson |
1983 | Hal Sutton | 426,668 | 2: 8 players (note 2) |
1982 | Craig Stadler | 446,462 | 4: Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Calvin Peete |
1981 | Tom Kite | 375,699 | 4: Bill Rogers |
1980 | Tom Watson | 530,808 | 7: Tom Watson |
1979 | Tom Watson | 462,636 | 5: Tom Watson |
1978 | Tom Watson | 362,429 | 5: Tom Watson |
1977 | Tom Watson | 310,653 | 5: Tom Watson |
1976 | Jack Nicklaus | 266,439 | 3: Ben Crenshaw, Hubert Green |
1975 | Jack Nicklaus | 298,149 | 5: Jack Nicklaus |
1974 | Johnny Miller | 353,022 | 8: Johnny Miller |
1973 | Jack Nicklaus | 308,362 | 7: Jack Nicklaus |
1972 | Jack Nicklaus | 320,542 | 7: Jack Nicklaus |
1971 | Jack Nicklaus | 244,491 | 6: Lee Trevino |
1970 | Lee Trevino | 157,037 | 4: Billy Casper |
1969 | Frank Beard | 164,707 | 3: 4 players (note 3) |
1968 | Billy Casper | 205,169 | 6: Billy Casper |
1967 | Jack Nicklaus | 188,998 | 5: Jack Nicklaus |
1966 | Billy Casper | 121,945 | 4: Billy Casper |
1965 | Jack Nicklaus | 140,752 | 5: Jack Nicklaus |
1964 | Jack Nicklaus | 113,285 | 5: Tony Lema |
1963 | Arnold Palmer | 128,230 | 7: Arnold Palmer |
1962 | Arnold Palmer | 81,448 | 8: Arnold Palmer |
1961 | Gary Player | 64,540 | 6: Arnold Palmer |
1960 | Arnold Palmer | 75,263 | 8: Arnold Palmer |
1959 | Art Wall, Jr. | 53,168 | 5: Gene Littler |
1958 | Arnold Palmer | 42,608 | 4: Ken Venturi |
1957 | Dick Mayer | 65,835 | 4: Arnold Palmer |
1956 | Ted Kroll | 72,836 | 4: Mike Souchak |
1955 | Julius Boros | 63,122 | 6: Cary Middlecoff |
1954 | Bob Toski | 65,820 | 4: Bob Toski |
1953 | Lew Worsham | 34,002 | 5: Ben Hogan |
1952 | Julius Boros | 37,033 | 5: Jack Burke, Jr., Sam Snead |
1951 | Lloyd Mangrum | 26,089 | 6: Cary Middlecoff |
1950 | Sam Snead | 35,759 | 11: Sam Snead |
1949 | Sam Snead | 31,594 | 7: Cary Middlecoff |
1948 | Ben Hogan | 32,112 | 10: Ben Hogan |
1947 | Jimmy Demaret | 27,937 | 7: Ben Hogan |
1946 | Ben Hogan | 42,556 | 13: Ben Hogan |
1945 | Byron Nelson | 63,336 | 18: Byron Nelson |
1944 | Byron Nelson | 37,968 | 8: Byron Nelson |
1943 | No records kept | - | 1: Sam Byrd, Harold McSpaden, Steve Warga |
1942 | Ben Hogan | 13,143 | 6: Ben Hogan |
1941 | Ben Hogan | 18,358 | 7: Sam Snead |
1940 | Ben Hogan | 10,655 | 6: Jimmy Demaret |
1939 | Henry Picard | 10,303 | 8: Henry Picard |
1938 | Sam Snead | 19,534 | 8: Sam Snead |
1937 | Harry Cooper | 14,139 | 8: Harry Cooper |
1936 | Horton Smith | 7,682 | 3: Ralph Guldahl, Jimmy Hines, Henry Picard |
1935 | Johnny Revolta | 9,543 | 5: Henry Picard, Johnny Revolta |
1934 | Paul Runyan | 6,767 | 7: Paul Runyan |
1933 | N/A | N/A | 9: Paul Runyan |
1932 | N/A | N/A | 4: Gene Sarazen |
1931 | N/A | N/A | 4: Wiffy Cox |
1930 | N/A | N/A | 8: Gene Sarazen |
1929 | N/A | N/A | 8: Horton Smith |
1928 | N/A | N/A | 7: Bill Mehlhorn |
1927 | N/A | N/A | 7: Johnny Farrell |
1926 | N/A | N/A | 5: Bill Mehlhorn, Macdonald Smith |
1925 | N/A | N/A | 5: Leo Diegel |
1924 | N/A | N/A | 5: Walter Hagen |
1923 | N/A | N/A | 5: Walter Hagen, Joe Kirkwood, Sr. |
1922 | N/A | N/A | 4: Walter Hagen |
1921 | N/A | N/A | 4: Jim Barnes |
1920 | N/A | N/A | 4: Jock Hutchison |
1919 | N/A | N/A | 5: Jim Barnes |
1918 | N/A | N/A | 1: Patrick Doyle, Walter Hagen, Jock Hutchison |
1917 | N/A | N/A | 2: Jim Barnes, Mike Brady |
1916 | N/A | N/A | 3: Jim Barnes |
Notes:
The following players have won more than one money list title through 2009:
PGA Tour players compete for two player of the year awards. The PGA Player of the Year award dates back to 1948 and is awarded by the PGA of America. Since 1982 the winner has been selected using a points system with points awarded for wins, money list position and scoring average. The PGA Tour Player of the Year award,[17] also known as the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, is administered by the PGA Tour and was introduced in 1990; the recipient is selected by the tour players by ballot, although the results are not released other than to say who has won. More often than not the same player wins both awards; in fact, as seen in the table below, the PGA and PGA Tour Players of the Year have been the same every year from 1992 through 2009. The Rookie of the Year award was also introduced in 1990.[18] Players are eligible in their first season of PGA Tour membership; several of the winners had a good deal of international success before their PGA Tour rookie season, and some have been in their thirties when they won the award.
Year | PGA Player of the Year | PGA Tour Player of the Year | PGA Tour Rookie of the Year | Comeback Player of the Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Marc Leishman | None[19] |
2008 | Pádraig Harrington | Pádraig Harrington | Andrés Romero | Dudley Hart |
2007 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Brandt Snedeker | Steve Stricker |
2006 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Trevor Immelman | Steve Stricker |
2005 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Sean O'Hair | Jay Haas |
2004 | Vijay Singh | Vijay Singh | Todd Hamilton | John Daly |
2003 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Ben Curtis | Peter Jacobsen |
2002 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Jonathan Byrd | Gene Sauers |
2001 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Charles Howell III | Joe Durant |
2000 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Michael Clark II | Paul Azinger |
1999 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Carlos Franco | Steve Pate |
1998 | Mark O'Meara | Mark O'Meara | Steve Flesch | Scott Verplank |
1997 | Tiger Woods | Tiger Woods | Stewart Cink | Bill Glasson |
1996 | Tom Lehman | Tom Lehman | Tiger Woods | Steve Jones |
1995 | Greg Norman | Greg Norman | Woody Austin | Bob Tway |
1994 | Nick Price | Nick Price | Ernie Els | Hal Sutton |
1993 | Nick Price | Nick Price | Vijay Singh | Howard Twitty |
1992 | Fred Couples | Fred Couples | Mark Carnevale | John Cook |
1991 | Corey Pavin | Fred Couples | John Daly | Bruce Fleisher, D. A. Weibring |
1990 | Nick Faldo | Wayne Levi | Robert Gamez | - |
Year | PGA Player of the Year |
---|---|
1989 | Tom Kite |
1988 | Curtis Strange |
1987 | Paul Azinger |
1986 | Bob Tway |
1985 | Lanny Wadkins |
1984 | Tom Watson |
1983 | Hal Sutton |
1982 | Tom Watson |
1981 | Bill Rogers |
1980 | Tom Watson |
1979 | Tom Watson |
1978 | Tom Watson |
1977 | Tom Watson |
1976 | Jack Nicklaus |
1975 | Jack Nicklaus |
1974 | Johnny Miller |
1973 | Jack Nicklaus |
1972 | Jack Nicklaus |
1971 | Lee Trevino |
1970 | Billy Casper |
1969 | Orville Moody |
1968 | No award |
1967 | Jack Nicklaus |
1966 | Billy Casper |
1965 | Dave Marr |
1964 | Ken Venturi |
1963 | Julius Boros |
1962 | Arnold Palmer |
1961 | Jerry Barber |
1960 | Arnold Palmer |
1959 | Art Wall, Jr. |
1958 | Dow Finsterwald |
1957 | Dick Mayer |
1956 | Jack Burke, Jr. |
1955 | Doug Ford |
1954 | Ed Furgol |
1953 | Ben Hogan |
1952 | Julius Boros |
1951 | Ben Hogan |
1950 | Ben Hogan |
1949 | Sam Snead |
1948 | Ben Hogan |
The following players have won more than one PGA Player of the Year Award through 2009:
The following players have won more than one PGA Tour Player of the Year Award through 2008:
The table shows the top ten career money leaders on the PGA Tour as of the PGA Championship on August 15, 2010. Due to increases in prize funds over the years, this list consists entirely of current players. The figures are not the players' complete career prize money as they do not include FedEx Cup bonuses, winnings from unofficial money events, or earnings on other tours such as the European Tour. In addition, elite golfers often earn several times as much from endorsements and golf-related business interests as they do from prize money.
Rank | Player | Country | Prize money ($) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tiger Woods | United States | 93,734,625 |
2 | Vijay Singh | Fiji | 63,018,590 |
3 | Phil Mickelson | United States | 59,264,889 |
4 | Jim Furyk | United States | 46,065,213 |
5 | Davis Love III | United States | 39,997,468 |
6 | Ernie Els | South Africa | 39,908,319 |
7 | David Toms | United States | 32,380,860 |
8 | Kenny Perry | United States | 31,595,665 |
9 | Justin Leonard | United States | 29,944,541 |
10 | Stewart Cink | United States | 29,090,175 |
There is a full list on the PGA Tour's website here.
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