HOUSTON, Texas, 6 November 2003 — After four years of landslide triumphs in US PGA Player of the Year voting, Tiger Woods faces a possible balloting backlash this year when his peers decide the tight race for top honors in 2003.

Woods has won a tour-best five titles this year and has the lowest scoring average by a wide margin entering the season-ending Tour Championship, a showdown of the year’s 30 top money winners that starts here today.

But Woods has failed to win a major this year and his four-year reign atop the money list will end unless he wins here and pace-setter Vijay Singh of Fiji finishes fourth or worse.

That leaves the door ajar for such rivals as four-time 2003 winners Singh and Davis Love, Masters champion Mike Weir and US Open winner Jim Furyk. In a close fight, the newer name might carry the day for Player of the Year votes.

“People get tired of the same guy winning all the time,” Love said. “Yeah, Tiger might lose a couple. I still hear a lot of talk about Mike Weir around the locker room. I think guys will vote more on record than on names.”

Whoever wins the Tour Championship will gain a key edge, said Furyk, who rates himself no more than a longshot even with a major title and triumph here.

“If Tiger wins, he’s got a really good chance of being Player of the Year,” Furyk said. “If Vijay wins, having as many wins, more consistent, winning the money list, I have to think he gets it. Mike Weir would have four wins and a major. That’s awful nice.

“With a win, Vijay, he’s got my vote. If Tiger wins, he’s got the most wins. I think that’s important. Six wins is better in my opinion than three and a major.”

If someone other than the money leaders and major champions claims the crown here, Furyk expects a narrow margin when player votes are tallied next month.

“I think you will see a very close vote, a split vote, which hasn’t happened in a while,” he said. “It has been mail-in for Tiger the last few years. There was no close second.”

Canada’s Weir has not won since the Masters in April, making victory here critical for his chances.

“Maybe I still have a shot,” Weir said. “If I play well this week and happen to win, it would be great. It has been a great year no matter what.

“Tiger has had a lock on that thing the last few years. It hasn’t been much of a race. I’m sure he enjoys the competition.”

Singh leads the money race with $7,345,907 to $6,577,413 for Woods. But Singh will have played 27 events to 18 for Woods, whose better ratio will not go unnoticed, Love said.

“With Vijay and Tiger, you look at dollars per start. You’ve got to look at it that way,” Love said. “Tiger obviously is not going to play the schedule Vijay plays. Money can get a little skewed.”

And a money king is not always the same as being the year’s best player.

“It’s a good indication of the kind of year you have had but I don’t think it’s maybe as important as Player of the Year,” Love said.

Another edge will go to Woods here with his 114th consecutive cut, which will break the 1940s PGA mark of Byron Nelson. The six million-dollar event has no cut, like 23 others in Woods’ streak, but is counted by the PGA anyway.

“It’s very, very significant,” Love said. “It’s a pretty incredible record. I think in this day and age, with the exposure and the depth of field, it’s probably a better record than anybody else has ever put up in cuts.

“Obviously there’s a bunch of tournaments that there was no cut. I don’t think he would have missed any cuts in those because he won most of them.”

The cut streak, began in 1998, includes nine victories and 20 top-10 finishes in no-cut events among his 114 events in a row in the money.

“That’s an amazing statistic,” Weir said. “That’s a testament to what Tiger brings to the table each and every week. He doesn’t take any tournament for granted. He doesn’t play six weeks in a row when he’s worn out at the end. “It’s a great compliment to him to break that record.”