YEAR 2002

Players of the year
Year of the woman
$22 million for the silly season

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- Tiger Woods and Anika Sorenstam have been designated players of Year 2002 and will be honored at the GWAA's annual awards dinner April 9 at Augusta, Ga. It is the second straight year for Anika and the fourth consecutive for Tiger.

- Ernie Els of South Africa, after winning the Nedbank Challenge, the biggest monetary prize in golf at Sun City, has won the 2002 Asprey Golfer of the Year Award at the end of a remarkable season in which he captured six individual titles worldwide, including the 131st Open Golf Championship at Muirfield (Scot).

- Sam Torrance's inspired captaincy of Europe's Ryder Cup Team at The De Vere Belfry has earned the 49 year old Scot an OBE in the New Year Honours List to set alongside the MBE he received for services to golf in 1996.

- An already wonderful year for Europe's Ryder Cup Team ended in perfect fashion when Sam Torrance's side emerged as overwhelming winners of the Golf Writers' Trophy for 2002.
Europe's thrilling victory against The United States in The 34th Ryder Cup Matches and the outstanding triumph by Ernie Els in the 131st Open Golf Championship are just two of the great moments of a season of high drama captured in The 15th European Tour Yearbook
(more European news on europeantour.com)

but year of the woman

First player in 30 years to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam, Tiger Woods even concedes that 2002 in golf was the year of the woman. Why?

- No one played better than Anika Sorenstam. She had the most dominant season on the LPGA Tour in nearly 40 years by winning 13 times around the world, including a major. The 32-year-old Swede finished out of the top 10 only three times and shattered her own scoring record. She's is the first lady winning more than $11M.``She performed at the highest level for the longest period of time,''

-The only woman who successfully crashed an all-male party was Suzy Whaley. The 36-year-old club pro from Connecticut became the first woman to qualify for a PGA Tour event when her victory in a PGA sectional tournament -- even though she played from a shorter set of tees -- made her eligible for the Greater Hartford Open. ``I'm going to do it the best I possible can, and that's going to have to be good enough,'' said Whaley, who will have to play from the championship tees.

- No one made more headlines than Martha Burk and her crusade for a female member at Augusta National has led to the messiest controversy in the 68-year history of the Masters, one that threatens to overshadow Woods' bid for a third consecutive green jacket in April. But the Constitution Journal of Atlanta asked women represented by Martha Burk about the Augusta National membership issue and many of them said there are more serious obstacles facing women. Is the story coming back to good sense?

$22 millon for the last silly season

The silly season is the six weeks time since the PGA Tour officially ended. There have been 11 tournaments around the world with prize money topping $22 million, more than the total purse on the PGA Tour 20 years ago, when The Skins Game was created.

``But to be invited to these events is a thrill,'' said Colin Montgomerie who was in South Africa for the Nedbank Challenge, competing against Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia.

The Big Easy won $2 million more than half of his season's winings. Simply showing up was worth $150,000 in Sun City and $130,000 at Sherwood Country Club.

So more and more players are reloading their bank accounts:
Ernie Els: $2,000,000
Pad Harrington: $1,187,500
Tiger Woods: $1,025,000
Mark O'Meara: $775,000
Phil Mickelson: $695,000
Jim Furyk: $569,000
Rich Beem: $547,000
Davis Love III: $525,000
Colin Montgomerie: $520,000
David Toms: $472,500