DON'T GO FRENCH ON US TIGER (via Glenn Dryfoos):

Money matters: Look for Woods to close out the year in winning fashion (Gary Van Sickle, October 28, 2003, ESPN)

Now that Tiger Woods has dropped to second place behind Vijay Singh on the PGA Tour money list following Vijay's win at Disney last weekend, Woods can say that winning the title doesn't mean that much to him. But he's wrong. The Player of the Year title sounds impressive, but who really remembers an award based on a vote by tour players or on a shaky points system (the PGA of America's award)? The money title, on the other hand -- now that's an honor with staying power. It's stronger than a Camel or a Chevy truck.

There are no fluke winners of this prize. Jack Nicklaus won the money title eight times -- even though, like Tiger, he played a limited schedule. Woods has won the money title four straight years, a record he shares with Tom Watson (1977-1980) at the moment. It would likely be six straight years if Tiger hadn't worked on swing changes in 1998, when he won only once and slipped to fourth on the money list -- although he would've needed one of his best years to top David Duval's career year.

While I wouldn't presume to know what Woods thinks about anything (since he keeps all us media types at arm's length) I can't help but feel that, if he winds up getting edged by Singh for the money title, Tiger is going to regret not playing at least one more tournament this year. No matter how you look at it, the 18 PGA Tour events Woods will have played this year is a light workload. The only place an 18-week work year is considered heavy lifting is in France.

No effect of the Iraq war run-up has been more salutary than the universalization of France-hatred.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 30, 2003 5:44 PM