Best of 2004 prepare for USPGA Tour Championship
BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2004 PGA Tour Championship | General | 29 Oct 2004
Players in the top 30 on the PGA Tour Money List and currently qualified to compete in the season-ending Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 2-7, have accounted for 35 of the 46 victories on Tour this year.
Starting with Vijay Singh, who has won eight times so far this year, there are seven players who have multiple PGA Tour victories in 2004. With his success, Singh has been able to overtake Tiger Woods as the No. 1-ranked player in the Official World Golf Rankings. He has earned more than $9.8 million, a PGA Tour record for single-season earnings.
Singh returns to East Lake after having won here at the 2002 Tour Championship. In his 10 starts at The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola, Singh has finished in the top-10 eight times.
The PGA Tour’s No. 2 money leader for 2004, Phil Mickelson, won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic to start his 2004 campaign and reached a new plateau in his golf career a few weeks later by winning his first major championship at the Masters. Mickelson, winner of The Tour Championship held at East Lake in 2000, will be playing in the season-ending tournament for the ninth time.
Ernie Els had a strong start, middle and end to his season when he successfully defended his title at the Sony Open in Hawaii, won again at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament in May and then was recently victorious at the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship in Ireland.
Adam Scott has enjoyed a break-out season on Tour in 2004. With a wins at The PLAYERS Championship and the Booz Allen Classic, Scott seems to have made the transition from rising star on the PGA Tour to an established front-line player. It has been a career-year for Scott, who has earned more than $3 million for the first time in his career. Scott currently sits at No. 11 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Leader in the race for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Todd Hamilton called on his experience playing overseas on the Japan Golf Tour to win the British Open in his first year as a member of the PGA Tour. Hamilton, who won 11 times on the Japan Golf Tour, made is presence known early in the PGA Tour season with his victory at the Honda Classic. With nearly $3 million earned this season, he sits No. 10 on the PGA Tour Money List.
After going winless in 2003, Sergio Garcia came back with playoff victories at both the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and the Buick Classic in 2004. His great play this year contributed to earning a spot on the victorious European Ryder Cup team. Garcia has passed the $3 million mark for the first time in his career and will be playing in his third Tour Championship.
Other players who have won in 2004 and are currently qualified for the tournament are Tiger Woods (World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship), Stewart Cink (MCI Heritage, WGC-NEC Invitational), Stephen Ames (Cialis Western Open), Stuart Appleby (Mercedes Championships), Retief Goosen (U.S. Open), Mike Weir (Nissan Open), Mark Hensby (John Deere Classic), Steve Flesch (Bank of America Colonial), Zach Johnson (Bellsouth Classic), Defending Champion Chad Campbell (Bay Hill Invitational by MasterCard), John Daly (Buick Invitational), David Toms (FedEx St. Jude Classic), Fred Funk (Southern Farm Bureau Classic), Carlos Franco (U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee) and Rod Pampling (The INTERNATIONAL).
“The Tour Championship is special because it takes the year’s best players, no exceptions,” said Todd Rhinehart, Executive Director. “It’s the only time of the year you that you will see the 30 best golfers from 2004 square off against each other.”
Source – PGA Tour
