Top Two Finishes; Plus Jack vs. Tiger

I wrote the following in May 2013 during LPGA Kingsmill.  Thought I'd share it here again....


Before the fourth round of Kingsmill and during an interview with Golf Channel, Cristie Kerr stated that she felt her career accomplishments had  "Hall of Fame" status.  She was 10 points shy of the minimum requirements, but she said if you considered her second place finishes behind upper tier golfers like Annika and Lorena, it is worthy and equivalent.  Looking at the numbers, Cristie has 35 top 2 finishes after Kingsmills.  Just for fun, let's see how some current Hall of Famers compare.  Annika has 118 top 2 finishes, which is impressive, but Kathy Whitworth had 183 top 2's!  Some might argue that Kathy competed in a weaker field.  Maybe true, but still a staggering number to behold.  Si Re Pak has 40 top 2's, which is more in line with Cristie's 35.  Someone inclined to agree with Cristie would be Laura Davies.  Laura has been 2 points shy of the Hall for quite some time, and she has 42 top 2's.  What about the men?  Sam Snead has 139 top 2's, Jack Nicklaus has 131, and Tiger has 105 with potential for more.  One last top 2 fact, Jack Nicklaus has more second place finishes in a major than wins, 19.  Of course he won 18, making it 37 top 2's in major championships.  No one even comes close to that.  Tiger has a chance (diminishing every year) to past Jack in total majors won, but with today's competition, 38 major top 2's is virtually impossible.

Most LPGA Career Events and Money Earned Per Event

I was curious to see which LPGA player made the most per event.  Historically, the purses for women’s golf have been small.  But things are changing with the advent of the CME quest for one million dollars this year.

I tabulated career earnings along with the respective total events.  From that, I could calculate how much each player earned per event.  The money was not adjusted to today’s dollar and none of the earnings include sponsor's money or appearance fees.  My conclusions are skewed by that fact.

Here is the list of Top 50 based on rank in career earnings.  Juli Inkster is still active at 642 events at start of 2014 season.  She may be slowing down since she will be doing golf commentary for television this year.

Here is the Top 50 when sorted according to Career Events.  Marlene Hagge is credited with 930 events, but the women golfers at LPGA’s inception played many one round events.  Most events today consist of three or four rounds, and minimum of 36 holes must be completed in order for it to be an official event.  The LPGA has fewer tournaments per year compared with the Sandra Palmer and Betsy King years.

The Top 50 based on money earned per event.  The most efficient was Lorena Ochoa who earned $84,933 per event.  Yani Tseng was on a torrid money making pace with her early Major wins, but has stalled and is wrestling with golfing demons that are preventing her from reaching the winner's circle.

There were 817 total golfers in the list.  The Average Money/event is $4,851.  205 golfers averaged higher than that over their careers.  Today’s golfer has to do much traveling, since LPGA is now an international competition.  What are today’s cost for an entry fee, airfare, room and board for a week at Asia, England, or Australia?  If sponsorship is not available, then making cuts is the only way to survive.