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Tiger Woods checks wind direction before driving on the fourth tee during the final round of the AT&T National golf tournament at Congressional last week. Patrick Semansky/AP/Press Association Images
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Tiger Woods could top $100million in career earnings this weekend

The former world number one needs to win back-to-back titles for the first time since August 2009 against an impressive field at the Greenbrier Classic.

NICE WORK IF you can get it.

Tiger Woods could take his career earnings on the PGA Tour to over $100 million at this week’s Greenbrier Classic.

To do that, the 36-year-old needs to win back-to-back titles for the first time since August 2009 against an impressive field in West Virginia.

Woods’ two-shot win at the AT&T National in Maryland last week saw him overtake Jack Nicklaus with 74 PGA Tour successes, leaving only Sam Snead (82 titles) ahead of him.

“I’ve had a number of good years in my career so far and I feel like I’ve got a lot more ahead of me,” Woods said after his win. ”It feels great to get to 74 wins and obviously pass Jack. It’s something I’m very proud of.”

This week’s tournament will be Woods’ first at the course though, and the 14-time major winner has not won an event in his maiden appearance at a PGA Tour event since 1999. The Greenbrier Classic only began in 2010, with Australian Stuart Appleby triumphing in the maiden event after firing an amazing 11-under 59 on Sunday to win with an overall score of 22 under.

The course was lengthened for the 2011 event with 16 of the 18 holes changed, while all of the 18 greens were reseeded. This made play harder and ultimately more competitive, with American Scott Stallings saluting with a score of 10 under, winning a three-way playoff against Bill Haas and Bob Estes. Wild storms hit the course on Friday in preparation for the 2012 event, with over 70 trees damaged, but hundreds of local volunteers helped clear the wreckage.

The layout of the golf course will help the big hitters, with wide fairways followed by challenging greens on most holes. While Woods is the favourite, he will face stiff competition from the likes of compatriots Webb Simpson, Dustin Simpson and Jim Furyk.

Simpson recorded a top-10 finish in the event last year and is in handy form following his US Open success. Johnson and Furyk will love the set-up of the course with big fairways suiting both players nicely. American Tom Watson — an eight-time major winner — is joined by experienced competitors Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh (four and three major triumphs respectively) and that trio are sure to fancy their chances.

With the British Open just around the corner, a strong international contingent has been attracted to the event. Australia lead the way, with Marc Leishman – a recent winner at The Travelers Championship – and seven of his compatriots taking part in the event, including Appleby.
K.J. Choi and four other South Koreans will play while Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe is an outside chance, given that he has finished third and tied for fourth in the two previous Greenbrier Classic events.

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