PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Tom Lehman was 37 when he captured his first major in the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, and that's when he first met and took a liking to a 16-year-old from Spain.

Sergio Garcia played in his first British Open that year. Lehman handed him the claret jug and said to Garcia, "Someday, you'll win this."

It hasn't happened -- yet -- although a major is just a matter of time.

In the meantime, news from the PGA TOUR on Tuesday showed how far Garcia has come since then.

Lehman tied for sixth at The Players Championship and earned $307,563. Garcia won in a playoff and took home $1.71 million. The significance? Both crossed the $20 million mark in career earnings.

RYDER FEVER: A half-dozen players from the top 50 in the world ranking did not compete in The Players Championship, mainly because of injury (Tiger Woods), fatigue (Martin Kaymer) or illness (Trevor Immelman).

For Robert Karlsson, it was all about the Ryder Cup.

The Swede was the only player in the top 50 competing last week somewhere other than Sawgrass. Karlsson was at the Italian Open, where he contended on the weekend and eventually finished third behind Hennie Otto and Oliver Wilson.

But he picked up 9.6 world ranking points, the equivalent of finishing 12th at The Players.

CLARKE STAYS HOME: Darren Clarke also has the Ryder Cup on his mind, enough to skip U.S. Open qualifying in Europe.

Clarke, whose victory in the BMW Asian Open two weeks ago was his first since his wife died of breast cancer, withdrew Tuesday from U.S. Open qualifying to boost his chances of making the Ryder Cup team for the sixth straight time.

He instead will play the Wales Open at Celtic Manor, which coincidentally hosts the 2010 Ryder Cup.

"My win in China really put my career back on track and I want to do everything I possibly can to be part of Nick Faldo's side for Valhalla next September," Clarke said.

Clarke said he would have played the U.S. Open had he been exempt from qualifying. He still hopes to play his way into the British Open and PGA Championship, which offer high ranking points and count as official money on the European Tour.

He is playing the Irish Open this week.

SPIN OF THE WEEK: World ranking points are awarded to the Nationwide Tour in an effort to boost its credibility. U.S. Amateur champion Colt Knost won last week and received 14 points.

That's more than Brett Quigley, Tom Lehman, Ben Crane and Ernie Els received after they tied for sixth at The Players Championship.

DIVOTS: In its weekly newsletter, the PGA TOUR noted that Ben Curtis had gone 345 consecutive holes without a three-putt, dating to the Honda Classic. He promptly three-putted his 12th hole in the second round of The Players Championship, ending the streak at 374 ... Sergio Garcia is the first player to go from runner-up to winner in consecutive years at The Players Championship since Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2001. ... Alexis Thompson, the 12-year-old who qualified for the U.S. Women's Open last year, was at The Players Championship watching older brother Nicholas. She didn't look like the same girl at Pine Needles, though, because she has grown 5 inches.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Hal Sutton in 1983 is the only player to win The Players Championship and his first major in the same season.

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