Columnist Adam Candee: Futures are now for tour money title hopefuls

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004 | 8:56 a.m.

Adam Candee covers golf for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at candee@lasvegassun.com.

The sound of silence in the golf world does not deafen in its brief three-week existence from mid-December to early January.

Rather, it's an absence so sweet that it should not be disturbed by anything short of my long-awaited round at Pebble Beach with Jennifer Garner. (Does she even play golf? Do I care?)

Let the machine that burns for 10 months before winding down in the silly season rest for a bit. Of course, some white noise is already creeping in, what with the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii just eight days from teeing off the 2005 PGA tour schedule. Future odds on who will win the tour money title are already on the board.

With numbers in hand from the Green Valley Ranch sports book, let's take a look at a few interesting ways to go:

Safe harbor

But if your idea of a good time includes canasta and a big stein of Diet Coke, then here's the bet for you because Vijay is as safe as it gets for two reasons: talent and volume.

Singh has won the money title in the past two years, and he hasn't finished outside the top five since 1997. During that seven-year stretch, Singh has improved his total earnings each year, rising from $2.24 million in 1998 to a tour-record $10.9 million last year. So there's no doubting the skill curve, obviously.

What makes Singh even more attractive is the number of tournaments he enters. Singh has played no less than 26 events in a season in each of the past seven years, easily outdistancing his regular companions at the top of the money pile.

So I think of it this way: The man is entirely too talented to finish outside the top five. There's no telling if he will play enough events to keep up with Singh's grind, considering Woods has not cracked the 20-event mark since 2000. And most importantly, who has really known what to expect from the guy in the past couple of years?

This is mostly listed as a public service announcement for a public that always wants to see how Tiger stacks up. It's not a bad play, but I'd much rather put a few bucks on ...

End of the pier:

This is not some sucker bet, though; the reason for the number is obvious. Els simply does not play much in the United States. Outside of the majors, he made just 12 appearances on the PGA tour a year ago.

But that also shows just how well he played in those starts to earn $5.79 million in 16 tournaments. Everything must line up for Els to win the money crown, but few players give as much reason to believe it can happen as he does. You could do a lot worse at 10-1.

With his swing changes finally completed last year, Garcia finished ninth on the PGA tour money list with $3.24 million. He won three times, including a victory in Europe, where he still spends a good deal of his time and detracts from his value in this situation.

So if you're a suffering Cubs fan accustomed to hoping that this just might the year of the breakthrough, why not take a chance that this is the year that Garcia solves his putting woes (129th in putting average and 192nd in putts per round last year) and puts everything together?

Ripples in the ocean

Scott finished seventh on the 2004 money list (thanks in large part to his win at The Players Championship) despite struggling to control the ball a bit from tee to green. His length off the tee covers some of those blemishes and he finds ways to make a load of birdies.

With a swing created in the mold of Woods by Butch Harmon, Scott, a one-time UNLV standout, is as talented as any player out there. Asking him to make the leap to the top of the money list in 2005 is a bit of a stretch, but with a couple of big wins, it is not out of the realm of possibility.

When he's right, Furyk does not miss greens or putts. He is not the longest off the tee, but his control game translates to the toughest tournaments of the year. Furyk is a candidate to pull in big dough at a few events and strengthen his admittedly pedestrian chances of leading the money list.