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When I was a kid, Jack Nicklaus, my boyhood hero, was in the process of building a massive lead on the all-time PGA Tour money list.
By the early 1980s, his career total of more than $4 million in earnings was far ahead of everyone else.
It would take years before someone would eclipse Nicklaus' mark, and by September of 2000 Tiger Woods eventually earned top spot on the PGA Tour's career money list.
Amazingly, Woods has held onto that position for the past 26 years with a grand total that currently stands at $120,999,166. Despite that lofty total, Woods' reign as the career leader is likely to end within the next week or two.
Current PGA Tour superstar Scottie Scheffler's lifetime earnings rose to an eye-popping $119,964,411 after his victory at last week's FedEx St. Jude Championship. He now trails Woods by just over $1 million (mere pocket change to today's elite golfers).
Scheffler will need a finish of solo third or better at this week's BMW Championship to eclipse Woods. If not, he'll almost certainly land the top spot after the Tour Championship later this month where the top eight finishers earn more than $1 million.
Fink's grand total
A couple of weeks ago, Sinking Valley's Artie Fink Jr. took home yet another local two-ball title after teaming with Nick Helsley to win the Summit Invitational
That victory brought Fink's number of wins in local two-man events to the amazing total of 63.
I can remember when Fink teamed with good friend Jim Roseberry to capture his first two-man title at the Down River Invitational in 1996. After that, his victories began to accumulate at rapid pace, and among Fink's many accolades, his 63 local two-man titles are at the top of the list.
A quick look at his career two-man titles show that Fink has won with a total of 13 different partners, including: Anthony DeGol (22), Todd Homan (14), Jimmy Gillam (8), Ed Strickler (5), Bernie DiLoreto (3), Greg Ferguson (2), John Miraglia (2), William Smith (2), Jim Roseberry (1), Leo DelBaggio (1), Bobby Sweitzer (1), Derek Fink (1) and Nick Helsley (1).
Looking at his victory total by venue shows: Iron Masters (14), Sinking Valley (11), Summit (11), Down River (9), Scotch Valley (8), Park Hills (5), and Mount Union (5).
Those crazy totals are almost too hard to believe.
Club championships
Congrats to the winners so far this year at local club championships in the greater Altoona area: Quintin Dziabo (Summit), Todd Homan (Park Hills), Wes Elder (Iron Masters) and Nick Helsley (Sinking Valley). On the women's side: Kelli Plunkett (Summit), Cassidy Miksich (Sinking Valley) and Gwen Paden (Iron Masters).
With that said, I really want to give a shout out to someone who didn't win, but finished in a very respectable second place.
At 69 years old, Iron Masters' Ron Hinish carded rounds of 75-75-72-71 to finish in second position behind winner Wes Elder. Hinish didn't receive any age-related advantage. He played from the same back tees as everyone else and still posted four great rounds.
Most in the local golf community know Hinish as a man who loves golf. He always handles himself with class on the golf course and has a deep respect for the game.
I know I have a strong love for the game of golf, but Hinish outdoes me, and nearly everyone else I know. Shooting a score of 293 for 72 holes at age 69, is an amazing feat.
Hinish deserves high praise for his performance.
45 years ago
During the third week of August in 1981, Altoona's Dan Lawruk scored rounds of 74 and 76 to capture the club championship at Summit Country Club.
Lawruk finished three shots ahead of second-place finisher Ed Dongell (75-78) and would later go on to win multiple club championships at Park Hills and Scotch Valley.
Ken Love covers local golf for the Mirror. He can be reached at GLTR777@atlanticbb.net.