Nelson, Irwin and Tewell capture our man's tour awards
Old names were up to their old tricks, but some other guys also made news in 2000.
Player of the year: A player vote will decide the official verdict, but by machine or hand count Larry Nelson deserves it. Nelson won six times, took the money title and had 23 top-10s in 30 starts. Armed with his old grit and a new diet, the only thing he lacked was a major victory.
Best major performance: Hale Irwin's U.S. Senior Open victory at Saucon Valley was his seventh senior major title, one shy of Jack Nicklaus' eight wins. Irwin shot 65-65 on the weekend, denying Bruce Fleisher his first senior major and making a case that Irwin is the best senior ever.
Best minor performance: Ironman Dana Quigley played like Superman when he answered local legend Tom Watson's final-round charge in the TD Waterhouse Championship. With Watson 10 inches from the cup for a tieing birdie on the final hole, Quigley made a 12-footer to win.
Rookie of the year: Doug Tewell won the rain-shortened PGA Seniors' Championship and two other events, giving him an edge over Tom Kite, who won twice. A playoff winner at the Tradition, Kite lost a Sunday lead at the Ford Senior Players Championship.
Best shots no one saw: On the 17th hole Sunday at the Boone Valley Classic, Tom Watson holed a 100-foot eagle chip to take a one-shot lead over Larry Nelson, who promptly holed a 30-foot eagle chip of his own to seal victory. Soggy grounds had forced officials to close the course to spectators.
Best drought-buster: Jim Thorpe hadn't won a tournament of any kind in 14 years before he broke through at The Transamerica.
Best comeback: Arnold Palmer followed a first-round 87 in the rain-interrupted PGA Seniors' with a second-round 71.
Best follow-up act: Although Fleisher let the U.S. Senior Open slip away, he backed up a seven-win 1999 rookie season with four victories and a No. 2 spot on the money list.
Worst follow-up act: Rookie Lanny Wadkins won in his first event, The Ace Group Classic, but, bothered by an elbow injury, had only one other top 10.
Wildest weather: At the Bank One Championship, temperatures were in the 90s with a 100-degree heat index the first two rounds. The final day, it was in the 60s with a wind chill in the 40s.
Best round that didn't count: Nelson shot a 12-under-par 58 in the pro-am preceding the Kroger Classic.
Most painful sight: Afflicted with painful arthritis, Brian Barnes was reduced to swinging one-handed through the ball.
November 17, 2000
Content provided by Golf Digest.
