THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
The PGA Tour underwent a shift in power this season with a record 18 players winning for the first time.
New names replaced mainstays David Duval, Hal Sutton and Tom Lehman at the Tour Championship as 14 of last year's top-30 money winners failed to qualify.
With the strong influx of talent, it clearly has become more difficult to win, and even harder to stay on top.
Tiger Woods remains the exception, although his high standards have forced widespread improvement.
"I think it shows how deep our tour really is," Woods said. "A lot of young kids are starting to win, the next generation of players, as well as some older players. It's great to see that our tour is healthy with that many good players out here."
Woods has helped keep the tour healthy through hard economic times. Prize money will continue to grow with the tour's new television contract beginning in 2003. And despite the demise of several tournaments and others searching for title sponsors, a fully sponsored schedule with the same number of events is expected next year.
Woods will finish 2002 with an unprecedented fourth straight money title, about $2.6 million more in earnings than Phil Mickelson, who is second for the third straight season. Woods will be player of the year for the fourth straight year, the fifth time in six seasons.
"To see the discrepancy between where he is on the money list and the 30th guy -- even the second guy -- just shows you that with as many great players as there are, he's still that far ahead," said Charles Howell III, last season's rookie of the year and a first-time winner this season. "It's something to work towards. Helps me get out of bed in the morning."
While Woods has improved the depth of talent with players pushing themselves to catch him, his dominance has not waned, as his fourth straight scoring title attests. In his sixth full season as a pro, he won five times, including two majors. He is the first player since Tom Watson in 1977-80 to win at least five times in four straight seasons.
"I've had a great year," Woods said. "One of the best I've ever had. Winning one major in a year is great, and I'm lucky enough to get two."
Woods did not putt as well as he did in 2000, when he won nine times and set the scoring record.
But he came relatively close to winning the Grand Slam. He captured the Masters and the U.S. Open, then a third-round 81 with the rain blowing sideways
knocked him out of the British Open. He lost the PGA Championship by one stroke to El Paso's Rich Beem.
Woods has forced major championships to set up courses differently and his rivals to change their strategies. Beem played as if he had nothing to lose, going aggressively at pins to hold off Woods, who birdied the final four holes.
"You look at the way we've always thought the greatest player in the game attacked a major, which was Jack Nicklaus," Mickelson said. "He always said he would wait and wait and wait and let other people fall back, and he would be right there to get the trophy at the end.
"That doesn't happen anymore with Tiger. He doesn't make those mistakes, so you can't just wait. You have to attack and play exceptional golf to win championships in which he is in the field."
With Woods setting such high standards, players have taken advantage of new technology and rigorous fitness and instructional programs to keep up.
Craig Perks won The Players Championship, which has the strongest field of any tournament. Kevin Sutherland and Craig Parry won World Golf Championships events. Jonathan Byrd won his first event by beating 19 of the top 30 players on the money list in the Buick Challenge.
Players such as Howell patterned their games after Woods in the hope of overtaking him. And established players Jerry Kelly and Len Mattiace not only became first-time winners, but won twice.
Ernie Els reestablished himself as a major player with his British Open victory. And Mickelson, despite going another year without a major, won twice along with Vijay Singh.
But for some veterans, 2002 proved disappointing.
After winning the 2001 British Open, Duval seemed poised to contend regularly in majors. But he plummeted to 80th on the money list, his worst finish -- by 69 positions -- since he began playing fulltime in 1995.
Lehman finished 74th, his worst position in 11 seasons. Mike Weir, last year's Tour Championship, failed to crack the top 10 of any tournament. Sutton, selected as Ryder Cup captain in 2004, fell to 153.
On the Senior PGA Tour, Hale Irwin, at 57, became the first to ever win $3 million. And on the LPGA Tour, Annika Sorenstam has won eight times with two events remaining.