That Woods pushed himself to the front of the game is all the more remarkable considering the breadth and depth of competition on the PGA TOUR today, competition that promises to get even more fierce in the 21st century. Consider David Duval's four victories, including THE PLAYERS Championship, in 1999, along with a record-tying 59 during the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Consider the spectacular rookie season of Carlos Franco, the Paraguayan who won twice on the PGA TOUR in 1999. Consider the emergence of Spanish teenage sensation Sergio Garcia, who finished second to Woods in the PGA Championship, won twice on the PGA European Tour and endeared himself to fans around the world. And consider Notah Begay, a former teammate of Woods at Stanford University who elevated himself from the NIKE TOUR in 1998 to win two times during his rookie season in 1999.

PGA TOUR players will have the opportunity to play in 49 official money events in 2000 that range from the majors-the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship-to THE PLAYERS Championship and TOUR Championship, to the World Golf Championships. Purse money should reach $150 million in 2000, another all-time record. There will be two new events added to the schedule in 2000, the Pennsylvania Classic at the Waynesborough Country Club and the Tampa Bay Classic on the revitalized Copperhead Course of the Westin Innisbrook Resort.

The World Golf Championships, which were inaugurated in 1999, are the clearest evidence of the impact of golf worldwide. The World Golf Championships consist of the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa, NEC Invitational at Firestone Country Club, American Express Championship at Valderrama, Spain, and, starting in 2000, the World Cup. These championships are made up of small, elite fields playing for purses of $5 million each. The World Golf Championships are a presentation of the International Federation of PGA Tours, made up of the PGA TOUR, PGA European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa PGA Tour. Over the years, the four tournaments will be moved around the world, to the Pacific Rim, Australia, Europe and South Africa, an acknowledgment of the worldwide demand for the best that the competitive game has to offer.