A measure of the huge money currently available on the US Tour is that the $468,000 which Justin Leonard earned for his victory in the Texas Open on Sunday, was sufficient to lift him only from 22nd to 15th in the money list. More important for the former British Open champion, however, was that it was his first win in two and a half years.
There have been two highlights in Leonard's career up to now. The first came in 1997 at Royal Troon where he outscored Darren Clarke and Jesper Parnevik to capture the British Open title. The other in the Ryder Cup at Brookline last year, when he holed the 50-foot putt which signalled an invasion of the 17th green.
After this, his long-awaited fifth tournament win, Leonard insisted: "I don't read a lot of golf magazines. I don't watch a lot of golf on television. But I know that I haven't won in two and a half years."
Remarkably, the 28-year-old, who beat Raymond Burns in the Walker Cup at Interlachen in 1993, was gaining his first victory in his native state. "It was fun walking up the 18th knowing I could get a five or six or whatever it took," he went on. "It was a great way to end the week. Hopefully I won't wait as long to get another one."
A win is a win, they say, but Leonard will be acutely aware of the fact that his closest challenger, five strokes back, was tour veteran Mark Wiebe, whose last tournament victory was back in 1986. Indeed 42-year-old Wiebe's main concern was to move away from the danger zone in the money list, which he did in spectacular fashion.
In fact a handsome, second-place cheque lifted Wiebe from 142nd to 88th in the money list with $492,488, almost ensuring the retention of his playing rights for the coming season. Another player scrambling for survival is Jim Gallagher Jnr whose $175,000 for a share of third place with Blaine McCallister, moved him from 223rd to 156th, while securing a place in this week's $2.1 million Buick Challenge at Callaway Gardens, Georgia.
The top-10 in the US money list are (US unless stated): 1 Tiger Woods $8,286,821; 2 Phil Mickelson $3,387,457; 3 Ernie Els (South Africa) $3,207,739; 4 Hal Sutton $2,976,444; 5 Jesper Parnevik (Sweden) $2,322,345; 6 Davis Love III $2,087,612; 7 Vijay Singh (Fiji) $1,987,368; 8 Tom Lehman $1,970,499; 9 Kirk Triplett $1,865,882; 10 Jim Furyk $1,845,919. Other placing - 228 Keith Nolan (Ireland) $17,841.
Christy O'Connor Jnr, who earned $3,080 for a share of 54th behind Larry Nelson in the Bank One Senior Championship in Dallas last weekend, is now 55th in the seniors' money list with $279,089 from 19 tournaments.
