Vijay Singh became the PGA tour’s first ten million dollar man in 2004, setting a new record for winnings in a season and becoming only the fourth player since 1960 to win at least eight tournaments in a year. Few can dispute the fact that his 2004 season was great, but it still pales in comparison with Tiger Woods’ 2000 season.
Singh himself said in a story on PGA.com, “Tiger won three majors in 2000. You can’t beat three majors. It’s so much more difficult to win major events than normal tournaments. I’m just going to try to enjoy my own good season.”
Number of majors is not the only category where Woods’ 2000 season excelled. Tiger either broke or tied twenty-seven records during the season. The most notable of which was his breaking Byron Nelson’s fifty-five year old scoring title record with a non-adjusted average of 68.17. Almost as impressive as his scoring average was Tiger’s margin of victory in his tournaments. Woods’ total margin of victory in 2000 was a lop-sided 46 strokes including a record 15 stroke win at the US Open. Woods simply dominated the events he won. Vijay, on the other hand, won his nine tournaments by a total of sixteen strokes.
The excellence of Tiger’s wins in his 2000 season is further demonstrated by comparing both the number of events entered and strength of fields. In 2000, Woods entered in only twenty events, winning nine of them which eclipses Singh’s nine wins in twenty-nine events. Woods also won against much stronger fields: “All but one of his victories in 2000 included at least seven of the top 10 players on the PGA Tour money list that season.” Singh, however, won three events with fields that had only one of the top five players in the world.
Vijay’s most noted feat this year is his breaking Tiger’s single season earnings record. However, even this feat is taken down a peg when considering the dramatic increase in tournament purses. Had the tournaments in 2000 been as lucrative as they were in 2004, Woods would have won $13.3 million.
In 2004, Vijay Singh accomplished an incredible feat winning nine tournaments and earning over ten million dollars. However, a look at the numbers shows he’s nowhere close to Tiger and proves just how extraordinary Tiger’s record 2000 season truly was.
AMEN! I keep getting the gears from friends and don’t have the patience to constantly explain all of this to them. I’m just going to hand out cards now with this url.