Columnist Peter Benton: Tiger again cashes in on PGA Tour

Peter Benton

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 11:12 a.m.

Peter Benton's golf column appears Wednesday.

Canadian Mike Weir's victory at the recent Tour Championship and Cameron Beckman's win in the Southern Farms Bureau Classic signalled an end to the official 2001 PGA Tour schedule.

Tiger Woods, atop the money list, captured five titles which increased his career total to 29, matching Jack Nicklaus for most Tour victories by a player in his 20s.

Earning $5,687,777 in official money, Woods, who turns 26 next month, led the Tour's money race for the third consecutive year. This brought him his fourth Arnold Palmer Award (given to the leading money winner on the PGA Tour) in five years.

Following El Tigre, one person, Phil Mickelson, earned more than $4 million; three players, David Toms, Vijay Singh and Davis Love III, pocketed more than $3 million, and 11 won $2 million-plus.

Woods, who won $6,616,585 and eight victories last year, was one of 36 players who surpassed $1 million in earnings in 2000. Indicative of how the tour is progressing money-wise, this year 55 players topped the $1 million mark.

Although Beckman garnered his first victory in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, that was but part of the story with the conclusion of the PGA season, as Dan Forsman and Brandt Jobe's play proved.

Forsman entered the final week 137th on the money list. He earned $115,200 with a fourth-place finish to move into 114th place and secure his card.

Jobe began the week at 126th, but picked up two spots on the money list.

Jobe and Forsman's arrival on the top 125 meant departures for Bradley Hughes, the previous No. 125, and Spike McRoy, who fell from the 124th spot to 127. Woody Austin earned $4,632 and dropped from 123rd to 125th, a mere $94 ahead of Hughes.