Howell, Gilder win PGA rookie awards

<br>PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (AP) _ Charles Howell III was chosen as the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year, while Bob Gilder was picked for the same award on the Senior PGA Tour. <br><br>Howell, who

Thursday, December 27th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (AP) _ Charles Howell III was chosen as the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year, while Bob Gilder was picked for the same award on the Senior PGA Tour.

Howell, who began the year with no tour status, narrowly won in a vote of his peers over Jose Coceres and U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen.

Utilizing sponsor exemptions, Howell earned dlrs 1,520,632 to lead the tour's nonmember money list. Had Howell been considered a tour member, his earnings would have ranked No. 33 on the money list.

He made the cut in 20 of 24 starts and had five top-10 finishes, including a playoff loss at the Greater Milwaukee Open.

Gilder made the most of his first year on the senior tour by winning twice and earning dlrs 1,684,986 to finish No. 8 on the money list. Gilder had 13 top-10 finishes, including a victory at the season-ending Senior Tour Championship.

Comeback Players of the Year were Joe Durant on the PGA Tour and John Schroeder on the senior tour.

Tiger Woods, Allen Doyle and Chad Campbell earlier were chosen Players of the Year on the PGA Tour, the senior tour and the Buy.com Tour, respectively.