PGA Tour

PGA Tour
Current season or competition:
2010 PGA Tour
PGA Tour logo.svg
Sport Golf
Founded 1916 (broke from PGA in 1968)
Director Tim Finchem
Country(ies)  United States
Most titles United States 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.

Contents

Tours operated by the PGA Tour

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.

Charity fundraising

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]

Television and radio coverage

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 structure of the PGA Tour season

Outline of the season

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.

Tournaments

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]

2010 schedule

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 Australia Geoff Ogilvy (7) 46
Jan 17 Sony Open in Hawaii Hawaii Regular United States Ryan Palmer (3) 50
Jan 25[N 1] Bob Hope Classic California Regular United States Bill Haas (1) 30
Jan 31 Farmers Insurance Open California Regular United States Ben Crane (3) 42
Feb 7 Northern Trust Open California Regular United States Steve Stricker (8) 58
Feb 14 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am California Regular United States Dustin Johnson (3) 48
Feb 21 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Arizona WGC England Ian Poulter (1) 74
Feb 21 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun Mexico Alternate United States Cameron Beckman (3) 24
Feb 28 Waste Management Phoenix Open Arizona Regular United States Hunter Mahan (2) 56
Mar 7 The Honda Classic Florida Regular Colombia Camilo Villegas (3) 50
Mar 14 WGC-CA Championship Florida WGC South Africa Ernie Els (17) 74
Mar 15[N 2] Puerto Rico Open Puerto Rico Alternate United States Derek Lamely (1) 24
Mar 21 Transitions Championship Florida Regular United States Jim Furyk (14) 58
Mar 29[N 3] Arnold Palmer Invitational Florida Regular South Africa Ernie Els (18) 60
Apr 4 Shell Houston Open Texas Regular United States Anthony Kim (3) 52
Apr 11 Masters Tournament Georgia Major United States Phil Mickelson (38) 100
Apr 18 Verizon Heritage South Carolina Regular United States Jim Furyk (15) 48
Apr 25 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Louisiana Regular United States Jason Bohn (2) 28
May 2 Quail Hollow Championship North Carolina Regular Northern Ireland Rory McIlroy (1) 64
May 9 The Players Championship Florida Unique South Africa Tim Clark (1) 80
May 16 Valero Texas Open Texas Regular Australia Adam Scott (7) 26
May 23 HP Byron Nelson Championship Texas Regular Australia Jason Day (1) 38
May 30 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Texas Regular United States Zach Johnson (7) 62
Jun 6 The Memorial Tournament Ohio Regular England Justin Rose (1) 66
Jun 13 St. Jude Classic Tennessee Regular England Lee Westwood (2) 44
Jun 20 U.S. Open Championship California Major Northern Ireland Graeme McDowell (1) 100
Jun 27 Travelers Championship Connecticut Regular United States Bubba Watson (1) 38
Jul 4 AT&T National Pennsylvania Regular England Justin Rose (2) 48
Jul 11 John Deere Classic Illinois Regular United States Steve Stricker (9) 34
Jul 18 The Open Championship (British Open) Scotland Major South Africa Louis Oosthuizen (1) 100
Jul 18 Reno-Tahoe Open Nevada Alternate United States Matt Bettencourt (1) 24
Jul 25 RBC Canadian Open Canada Regular Sweden Carl Pettersson (4) 34
Aug 1 Greenbrier Classic West Virginia Regular Australia Stuart Appleby (9) 32
Aug 8 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Ohio WGC United States Hunter Mahan (3) 76
Aug 8 Turning Stone Resort Championship New York Alternate United States Bill Lunde (1) 24
Aug 15 PGA Championship Wisconsin Major Germany Martin Kaymer (1) 100
Aug 22 Wyndham Championship North Carolina Regular India Arjun Atwal (1) 28
Aug 29 The Barclays New Jersey Playoffs United States Matt Kuchar (3) 70
Sep 6 Deutsche Bank Championship Massachusetts Playoffs United States 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
  1. The tournament was scheduled to end on January 24, but the final round was pushed back to the following day due to Thursday's play being washed out by heavy rains.
  2. The tournament was scheduled to end on March 14, but the final round was pushed back to the following day due to Thursday's play being washed out by heavy rains.
  3. The tournament was scheduled to end on March 28, but play was suspended during that day's final round due to heavy rains, resuming on the following day.

Event categories

This is the trophy to be presented to the winners of the playoffs.
This is the Ryder Cup trophy, which is between men of Europe and the USA every two years now in odd numbered years.

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".

2010 money leaders

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.

Money winners and most wins leaders

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 United States Tiger Woods 10,508,163 6: Tiger Woods
2008 Fiji Vijay Singh 6,601,094 4: Tiger Woods
2007 United States Tiger Woods 10,867,052 7: Tiger Woods
2006 United States Tiger Woods 9,941,563 8: Tiger Woods
2005 United States Tiger Woods 10,628,024 6: Tiger Woods
2004 Fiji Vijay Singh 10,905,166 9: Vijay Singh
2003 Fiji Vijay Singh 7,573,907 5: Tiger Woods
2002 United States Tiger Woods 6,912,625 5: Tiger Woods
2001 United States Tiger Woods 5,687,777 5: Tiger Woods
2000 United States Tiger Woods 9,188,321 9: Tiger Woods
1999 United States Tiger Woods 6,616,585 8: Tiger Woods
1998 United States David Duval 2,591,031 4: David Duval
1997 United States Tiger Woods 2,066,833 4: Tiger Woods
1996 United States Tom Lehman 1,780,159 4: Phil Mickelson
1995 Australia Greg Norman 1,654,959 3: Lee Janzen, Greg Norman
1994 Zimbabwe Nick Price 1,499,927 6: Nick Price
1993 Zimbabwe Nick Price 1,478,557 4: Nick Price
1992 United States Fred Couples 1,344,188 3: John Cook; Fred Couples; Davis Love III
1991 United States Corey Pavin 979,430 2: 8 players (note 1)
1990 Australia Greg Norman 1,165,477 4: Wayne Levi
1989 United States Tom Kite 1,395,278 3: Tom Kite; Steve Jones
1988 United States Curtis Strange 1,147,644 4: Curtis Strange
1987 United States Curtis Strange 925,941 3: Paul Azinger; Curtis Strange
1986 Australia Greg Norman 653,296 4: Bob Tway
1985 United States Curtis Strange 542,321 3: Curtis Strange; Lanny Wadkins
1984 United States Tom Watson 476,260 3: Tom Watson; Denis Watson
1983 United States Hal Sutton 426,668 2: 8 players (note 2)
1982 United States Craig Stadler 446,462 4: Craig Stadler, Tom Watson, Calvin Peete
1981 United States Tom Kite 375,699 4: Bill Rogers
1980 United States Tom Watson 530,808 7: Tom Watson
1979 United States Tom Watson 462,636 5: Tom Watson
1978 United States Tom Watson 362,429 5: Tom Watson
1977 United States Tom Watson 310,653 5: Tom Watson
1976 United States Jack Nicklaus 266,439 3: Ben Crenshaw, Hubert Green
1975 United States Jack Nicklaus 298,149 5: Jack Nicklaus
1974 United States Johnny Miller 353,022 8: Johnny Miller
1973 United States Jack Nicklaus 308,362 7: Jack Nicklaus
1972 United States Jack Nicklaus 320,542 7: Jack Nicklaus
1971 United States Jack Nicklaus 244,491 6: Lee Trevino
1970 United States Lee Trevino 157,037 4: Billy Casper
1969 United States Frank Beard 164,707 3: 4 players (note 3)
1968 United States Billy Casper 205,169 6: Billy Casper
1967 United States Jack Nicklaus 188,998 5: Jack Nicklaus
1966 United States Billy Casper 121,945 4: Billy Casper
1965 United States Jack Nicklaus 140,752 5: Jack Nicklaus
1964 United States Jack Nicklaus 113,285 5: Tony Lema
1963 United States Arnold Palmer 128,230 7: Arnold Palmer
1962 United States Arnold Palmer 81,448 8: Arnold Palmer
1961 South Africa Gary Player 64,540 6: Arnold Palmer
1960 United States Arnold Palmer 75,263 8: Arnold Palmer
1959 United States Art Wall, Jr. 53,168 5: Gene Littler
1958 United States Arnold Palmer 42,608 4: Ken Venturi
1957 United States Dick Mayer 65,835 4: Arnold Palmer
1956 United States Ted Kroll 72,836 4: Mike Souchak
1955 United States Julius Boros 63,122 6: Cary Middlecoff
1954 United States Bob Toski 65,820 4: Bob Toski
1953 United States Lew Worsham 34,002 5: Ben Hogan
1952 United States Julius Boros 37,033 5: Jack Burke, Jr., Sam Snead
1951 United States Lloyd Mangrum 26,089 6: Cary Middlecoff
1950 United States Sam Snead 35,759 11: Sam Snead
1949 United States Sam Snead 31,594 7: Cary Middlecoff
1948 United States Ben Hogan 32,112 10: Ben Hogan
1947 United States Jimmy Demaret 27,937 7: Ben Hogan
1946 United States Ben Hogan 42,556 13: Ben Hogan
1945 United States Byron Nelson 63,336 18: Byron Nelson
1944 United States Byron Nelson 37,968 8: Byron Nelson
1943 No records kept - 1: Sam Byrd, Harold McSpaden, Steve Warga
1942 United States Ben Hogan 13,143 6: Ben Hogan
1941 United States Ben Hogan 18,358 7: Sam Snead
1940 United States Ben Hogan 10,655 6: Jimmy Demaret
1939 United States Henry Picard 10,303 8: Henry Picard
1938 United States Sam Snead 19,534 8: Sam Snead
1937 United States Harry Cooper 14,139 8: Harry Cooper
1936 United States Horton Smith 7,682 3: Ralph Guldahl, Jimmy Hines, Henry Picard
1935 United States Johnny Revolta 9,543 5: Henry Picard, Johnny Revolta
1934 United States 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:

  1. Players with 2 wins in 1991: Billy Andrade, Mark Brooks, Fred Couples, Andrew Magee, Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Tom Purtzer, Ian Woosnam
  2. Players with 2 wins in 1983: Seve Ballesteros, Jim Colbert, Mark McCumber, Gil Morgan, Calvin Peete, Hal Sutton, Lanny Wadkins, Fuzzy Zoeller
  3. Players with 3 wins in 1969: Billy Casper, Raymond Floyd, Dave Hill, Jack Nicklaus

Multiple money list titles

The following players have won more than one money list title through 2009:

Player and rookie of the year awards

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 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods Australia Marc Leishman None[19]
2008 Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington Argentina Andrés Romero United States Dudley Hart
2007 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Brandt Snedeker United States Steve Stricker
2006 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods South Africa Trevor Immelman United States Steve Stricker
2005 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Sean O'Hair United States Jay Haas
2004 Fiji Vijay Singh Fiji Vijay Singh United States Todd Hamilton United States John Daly
2003 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Ben Curtis United States Peter Jacobsen
2002 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Jonathan Byrd United States Gene Sauers
2001 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Charles Howell III United States Joe Durant
2000 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Michael Clark II United States Paul Azinger
1999 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods Paraguay Carlos Franco United States Steve Pate
1998 United States Mark O'Meara United States Mark O'Meara United States Steve Flesch United States Scott Verplank
1997 United States Tiger Woods United States Tiger Woods United States Stewart Cink United States Bill Glasson
1996 United States Tom Lehman United States Tom Lehman United States Tiger Woods United States Steve Jones
1995 Australia Greg Norman Australia Greg Norman United States Woody Austin United States Bob Tway
1994 Zimbabwe Nick Price Zimbabwe Nick Price South Africa Ernie Els United States Hal Sutton
1993 Zimbabwe Nick Price Zimbabwe Nick Price Fiji Vijay Singh United States Howard Twitty
1992 United States Fred Couples United States Fred Couples United States Mark Carnevale United States John Cook
1991 United States Corey Pavin United States Fred Couples United States John Daly United States Bruce Fleisher, United States D. A. Weibring
1990 England Nick Faldo United States Wayne Levi United States Robert Gamez -
Year PGA Player of the Year
1989 United States Tom Kite
1988 United States Curtis Strange
1987 United States Paul Azinger
1986 United States Bob Tway
1985 United States Lanny Wadkins
1984 United States Tom Watson
1983 United States Hal Sutton
1982 United States Tom Watson
1981 United States Bill Rogers
1980 United States Tom Watson
1979 United States Tom Watson
1978 United States Tom Watson
1977 United States Tom Watson
1976 United States Jack Nicklaus
1975 United States Jack Nicklaus
1974 United States Johnny Miller
1973 United States Jack Nicklaus
1972 United States Jack Nicklaus
1971 United States Lee Trevino
1970 United States Billy Casper
1969 United States Orville Moody
1968 No award
1967 United States Jack Nicklaus
1966 United States Billy Casper
1965 United States Dave Marr
1964 United States Ken Venturi
1963 United States Julius Boros
1962 United States Arnold Palmer
1961 United States Jerry Barber
1960 United States Arnold Palmer
1959 United States Art Wall, Jr.
1958 United States Dow Finsterwald
1957 United States Dick Mayer
1956 United States Jack Burke, Jr.
1955 United States Doug Ford
1954 United States Ed Furgol
1953 United States Ben Hogan
1952 United States Julius Boros
1951 United States Ben Hogan
1950 United States Ben Hogan
1949 United States Sam Snead
1948 United States Ben Hogan

Multiple Player of the Year Awards

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:

Career money leaders

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.

See also

Notes and references

  1. PGA.com – history – 1960–69
  2. PGA.com – history – 1970–79
  3. "Pro Golf Tour Changes Name". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 1981-08-31. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE7DC133BF932A0575BC0A967948260. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 
  4. "Tour Changes Its Name Again". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). 1982-03-20. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA071EFA3D5D0C738EDDAA0894DA484D81. Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
  5. PGA Tour Charity Blog
  6. "PGA Tour reaches television agreements". http://www.pgatour.com/info/company/story/9158540. 
  7. Broadcaster is seeking £200m for TV soccer. The Sunday Times, 1 July 2006.
  8. PGA Tour (2009-06-25). "Eurosport to show remainder of 2009 Tour events in UK". Press release. http://www.pgatour.com/2009/r/06/25/eurosport/index.html. 
  9. Sky Sports, PGA TOUR extend deal for U.K viewers
  10. PGA Tour (2009-05-07). "SBS to sponsor season-opening event through 2019". Press release. http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tournaments/r016/05/07/sbs/index.html. Retrieved 2009-09-30. 
  11. PGA Tour (2009-10-22). "TOUR extends broadcasting deal with India's NEO Sports". Press release. http://www.pgatour.com/2009/company/10/22/broadcasting.deal/index.html. Retrieved 2009-10-25. 
  12. PGA Tour to conduct official-money event in Mexico
  13. PGA TOUR (2010-03-03). "First TOUR-sanctioned event in Southeast Asia set for October". Press release. http://www.pgatour.com/2010/r/03/03/sponsor.malaysia/index.html. Retrieved 2010-04-18. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 Associated Press (2009-04-29). "China gets World Golf Championship with asterisk". Golf.com. http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1894510,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-30. 
  15. PGA Tour (2008-02-28). "PGA Tour Policy Board makes immediate changes to cut policy". Press release. http://www.pgatour.com/2008/r/02/26/cut/index.html. 
  16. Each tournament is allocated a certain number of Official World Golf Rankings points for its champion, and points for lower finishes are based on a sliding scale. The major championships and the Players Championship have fixed allocations, but the points of the other tournaments depend on the strength of the field so they are not available in advance.
  17. PGA Tour Player of the Year: Past winners
  18. PGA Tour Rookie of the Year: Past winners
  19. No comeback player of year in '09

External links