| Akron,
Ohio, 30th
August 1998 - David Duval became the second player in PGA Tour history
to record more than $2 million in annual winnings with a two-stroke victory at
the 37th and final World Series of Golf on Sunday. Duval
carded a 2-under-par 68 at the Firestone Country Club South Course and won with
a 72-hole total of 11-under 269. The
26-year-old Floridian started the day with a one-shot lead and quickly eagled
the second hole. He fended off former champion Phil Mickelson's challenge with
back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th holes and coasted to his tour-high third
victory of the year. Duval
joined Tiger Woods as the tour's only $2 million men, using the $405,000 first
prize to boost his 1998 earnings to $2,115,283. Woods set a single-season PGA
record last year with $2,066,833. Hale
Irwin and Gil Morgan both eclipsed the $2 million mark last year on the Senior
Tour, a feat Irwin already has repeated this year. Duval
broke out of a recent slump that saw him miss the cut at his previous two starts,
the PGA Championship and Sprint International. Mickelson,
who led after the first round, also closed with a 68 to stand alone in second
place. Davis Love was third at 8-under 272. John Cook was four shots back, one
stroke ahead of Woods and Loren Roberts. Fiji's
Vijay Singh, coming off consecutive victories at the PGA Championship and Sprint
International, posted his third 71 of the tournament and was 12 shots back at
1-over 281. The
World Series, which began in 1962 as a four-man exhibition, gives way next year
to the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational, which will feature the members
of the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams. The purse will be increased to $5 million.
The par-70 Firestone
Country Club South Course measures 7,189 yards. | 
