Golden Bear tops on earnings list as Tiger is pushed to 17th

WORLD number one Tiger Woods may have thought he had achieved all he could in golf, but the authors of a new book have given the great one a fresh challenge.

Tue, 20 May, 2003 - 01:00

Simon Lewis

Golf’s Greatest Eighteen McGraw Hill/Contemporary Books) attempts to settle the eternal debate of who really are the greatest golfers of all time.

It puts the game’s great champions on a level playing field by applying modern-day prize money to their career achievements.

The result is a fascinating yardstick of where players, whose careers were as much as 80 years apart, stand head to head.

On the PGA Tour’s all-time money list, the great Jack Nicklaus ranks a lowly 84th, with $5.7 million. Tiger is number one, with $36m.

On the new list, compiled by the book’s editor David Mackintosh and statistician Joey Kaney, the Golden Bear leaps to the top of the pile with an adjusted career total of $126,384,894, while Tiger drops to 17th.

Tiger’s achievements are put into further perspective with the book’s year-by-year money analysis. His spellbinding millennium year, when he netted three of that year’s majors, ranks as only the third best season in golf.

“We’re giving Tiger a new target to shoot for,” Mackintosh says.

Adjusted career money

1 Jack Nicklaus $126,384,894

2 Sam Snead $125,680,812

3 Arnold Palmer $96,862,410

4 Billy Casper $88,535,299

5 Ben Hogan $85,812,109

6 Tom Watson $78,383,494

7 Byron Nelson $72,968,899

8 Gary Player $70,078,031

9 Gene Sarazen $65,393,740

10 Lee Trevino $64,353,096