Posted by Jason Sobel
I may be in the minority here, but if the PGA Tour season ended today, I wouldn't choose Tiger Woods as the Player of the Year. Despite the fact that the game's top-ranked player owns three wins in only seven starts, I've still got to give the nod to Zach Johnson, who trails Woods in victories, money earned and FedEx Cup points, but does have a Masters title under his belt.
After all, don't you think Tiger would trade wins at the Buick, Doral and Wachovia for a fifth career green jacket? Of course he would.
In fact, I don't even think the race for POY is the closest battle for a postseason award right now. Instead, I'd opt for the Rookie of the Year chase, which -- as of right now -- looks to be a two-man tangle between Anthony Kim and Jeff Quinney. Let's look at the Tale of the Tape, entering this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial:
| Rookie of the Year race, head-to-head |
| Player |
Anthony Kim |
Jeff Quinney |
| Age |
21 |
28 |
| Cuts/Starts |
9/13 |
9/13 |
| Top-10s |
4 |
5 |
| Best Finish |
T-3 |
3 |
| Money Earned |
$1,088,278 |
$1,268,175 |
Too close to call? Uh yeah, just a little bit. And it doesn't look like either player is going to let up anytime soon.
At stormy Colonial CC on Thursday, Kim set a blistering pace, taking the first-round lead following a 7-under 63 that featured nine birdies, including each of his final six holes.
"I've worked hard enough to be in the position I'm in and to be winning out here," Kim told Golf Channel after the round. "I don't feel like anybody has an advantage over me."
What's the key for Kim -- the youngest PGA Tour member this season -- to break through for his first career victory?
"It's trying not to win so hard," he said. "That's what cost me at the Byron Nelson a few weeks ago [when a third-round 77 dropped him from contention]. But I'm learning from all the experiences and hopefully moving forward."
For his part, Quinney is hardly getting left in the dust. The former U.S. Amateur champ started the year on absolute fire, finishing in the top-10 in four of his first five starts before cooling during the four-tournament period from the Heritage to Wachovia, missing the cut each time.
Since then, however, Quinney finished T-6 in his first-ever Players and he's just two shots behind Kim at Colonial after opening with a bogey-free 65.
Yep, the ROY contest is really too close to call right now, with Kim and Quinney fashioning such breakthrough seasons. Of course, this is the PGA Tour where wins are the thing. The guy who finds a trophy first could see himself with more hardware at season's end, but remember, there's a lot of golf left to be played.
