Big 12 Insider: Which school has produced the PGA Tour’s biggest money makers?
An interesting email landed in the inbox the other day that broke down the biggest money makers on the PGA Tour by school.
The Big 12’s leader? Oklahoma State with its players earning a combined $233.6 million, according to a recent study done by Golfer Logic. The Cowboys have produced plenty of household names in the golfing world including Rickie Fowler and Hunter Mahan. Rising stars such as Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff also played at Oklahoma State.
But none of those aforementioned players top the money list of former Oklahoma State golfers. That distinction belongs to Charles Howell III, who has earned $40.4 million in his career.
Golfer Logic collected data through the PGA Tour’s The American Express last month.
Oklahoma State ranked second in the country, trailing only Arizona State ($255.7 million). Hey, ASU sees a spike in its final number with an alum such as Phil Mickelson earning $92.2 million.
The University of Texas checked in at No. 4 with $177.1 million, courtesy in part of Jordan Spieth’s $41.4 million. Oklahoma State and Texas were the only two Big 12 schools ranked in the top-20. Texas A&M came in at No. 18 ($60.7 million) with Colleyville resident Ryan Palmer leading the way for the Aggies with $29.7 million.
For those wondering, Stanford is No. 8 with $147 million with Tiger Woods being the bell cow for that program with $120.9 million in career earnings.
TCU, meanwhile, has produced players who have earned $24 million on the PGA Tour. J.J. Henry leads the way with $16.9 million followed by Tom Hoge ($6 million) and Charles Coody ($1.2 million).
As far as the states are concerned, California is in the top spot with a combined $733 million. Mickelson and Woods are Californians, of course.
Texas is the No. 2 earnings state with $420 million.
Basketball talk
The Baylor Bears men’s basketball team has yet to stumble. They rallied for a 77-72 victory over Iowa State on Tuesday to improve to 18-0 overall, 10-0 in the Big 12.
The Bears were coming back from an extended COVID break, playing their first game in 21 days. They couldn’t have asked for a better opponent than the league’s bottom feeder Iowa State.
Baylor had similar fortune during its other extended COVID break earlier this season, returning from a 10-day break against lowly Kansas State.
There’s nothing the Bears could do about how the schedule fell, of course, but it begs the question of how a team will be remembered during a COVID-plagued season. If the Bears run the table, is it fair to put them alongside the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers and the other perfect seasons in the sport’s history?
Yours truly would say yes. If Baylor plays the rest of its games and goes on to win the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments, it would finish 31-0. That Indiana team went 32-0.
Track & Field championship
The Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championship is being held Friday and Saturday in Lubbock.
Fans are not allowed to attend due to the pandemic, but the meet will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, the conference’s streaming service through ESPN.
As always, it’s a loaded field with the Big 12 having six men’s teams ranked in the top-25: No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 11 Texas, No. 14 Iowa State, No. 22 Oklahoma, No. 23 TCU and No. 25 K-State. On the women’s side, five programs are in the top-25: No. 3 Texas, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 15 Baylor, No. 19 K-State and No. 24 Oklahoma State.
Big-time baseball
The State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field didn’t disappoint last weekend. The SEC dominated the Big 12, wining eight of the nine games, but the contests were more competitive and entertaining than that outcome suggests.
The big-time baseball between the SEC and Big 12 continues this weekend at the Round Rock Classic.
Friday’s games feature Auburn vs. Oklahoma and Baylor vs. Texas A&M. Saturday’s games are Baylor vs. Auburn and Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma. On Sunday, the conferences take on each other with A&M vs. Auburn and Oklahoma vs. Baylor.
Hello, WNIT
The Postseason WNIT announced plans to play one of its four regionals for this year’s tournament at Fort Worth’s Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.
The event will feature eight teams and both championship and consolation bracket action.
The 2020 WNIT was canceled due to COVID-19. The 2019 tournament had a couple of Big 12 schools in it with TCU and West Virginia. TCU lost to Arizona, 59-53, in the semifinals, while West Virginia reached Round 3.
