Tour Championship Is No. 3 for Duval

The year that started with 21-year-old Tiger Woods winning the first event with a near hole-in-one in sudden death ended with 25-year-old David Duval taking the Tour Championship at Houston for his third consecutive victory.

“This is the best group of young players we have had in our history,” Commissioner Tim Finchem said Sunday at the Champions Golf Club, where Duval picked up the $720,000 first prize and denied Davis Love III a chance to edge out Woods for the season money title.

Duval, who made a 40-foot eagle putt on No. 13 to move into a tie for the lead and then scrambled from the rough on Nos. 17 and 18 for pars, became the first player to win three consecutive starts on the PGA Tour since Nick Price in 1993.

Duval lost control of his driver down the stretch but never lost his composure, making the important shots when he had to for a 68 to finish at 11-under-par 273, one stroke better that Jim Furyk and two better than Love.

Duval, who will be 26 next week, had seven second-place finishes and was developing a label as a guy unable to finish off tournaments until his recent breakthrough.

The money title went to Woods with a record $2,066,833.

Duval finished second on the money list with $1,885,308 and Love was third with $1,635,953.

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Cindy Figg-Currier led the way as the United States LPGA team won 10 of Sunday’s 18 singles matches and tied another to finish with a 23-13 victory over Japan in the $675,000 Nichirei International tournament at Ina, Japan.

It was the Americans’ 13th consecutive victory in the competition between the two LPGA tours and 17th overall against only two losses since 1979.

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Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie won the European PGA money title for a record fifth consecutive year when the Volvo Masters was shortened to 54 holes by heavy rain, making Lee Westwood of England the winner with a 16-under-par 200 total.

Montgomerie finished with earnings of $1,278,315. Bernhard Langer of Germany was second with $1,107,836.

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In the Money

Final PGA Tour money leaders: *--*

No. Player Events Earnings 1. Tiger Woods 21 $2,066,833 2. David Duval 29 $1,885,308 3. Davis Love III 25 $1,635,953 4. Jim Furyk 27 $1,619,480 5. Justin Leonard 29 $1,587,531 6. Scott Hoch 22 $1,393,788 7. Greg Norman 15 $1,345,856 8. Steve Elkington 17 $1,320,411 9. Ernie Els 19 $1,243,008 10. Brad Faxon 23 $1,233,505 11. Phil Mickelson 21 $1,225,390 12. Jesper Parnevik 19 $1,217,587 13. Mark O’Meara 22 $1,124,560 14. Mark Calcavecchia 27 $1,117,365 15. Loren Roberts 24 $1,089,140

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