This system, which has been used since 1988, was instituted so that a player does not gain an advantage because of which tournaments and courses he plays during the year. Woods's 1998 scoring average based strictly on his actual scores is 69.97 for 69 rounds on the PGA Tour. Duval's actual scoring average is 69.57 for 79 rounds. Thus, both players averages have been lowered by the adjusted score method, though Woods's average has been lowered more. This indicates Duval has played a few more rounds on easier scoring days than Woods has.
Woods can finish as high as second on the money list.
He has finished in the top 25 in 37 of the 48 events and missed just one cut, at the 1997 Bell Canadian Open. Woods has been No. 1 for a total of 34 weeks this year. Woods regained the top spot in the World Rankings from Ernie Els on June 15. No. 1 for a total of 10 weeks in 1997, including nine consecutive weeks from July 7-September 1, before finishing the year at No. 2 behind Greg Norman.