Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The 2013 season saw four multiple winners on the year, but it was a player without a victory who claimed the top spot of the inaugural Web.com Tour Final Series.
John Peterson earned that distinction by closing out the year with a top-five finish in each of the four Final Series events, earning him full exempt status on the PGA Tour for the 2013-14 season.
Fifty players in all earned their PGA Tour cards for the 2013-14 season as the Web.com Tour made some changes to it's end-of-year award system. For the first time this year, the top 25 in the regular-season money list received their PGA Tour cards, and the remaining 25 were handed out following the Finals Series.
Those events included the top 75 on the Web.com Tour's money list along with Nos. 126-200 on the PGA Tour money list. The top player on the list at the end of the regular season money list and Finals Series money list each earned full exempt PGA Tour status for the 2013-14 season.
Now let's look at who did what in 2013:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - MICHAEL PUTNAM
This award could have gone to any of the multiple winners this season, but it was Putnam who distinguished himself from this pack.
Putnam, who topped the regular season money list, earned both his wins in back-to-back fashion at the Mexico Championship and Mid-Atlantic Championship.
He held at least a share of the third-round lead at both of those events.
Putnam followed those wins by missing the cut at the Air Capital Classic, but returned to form in his next two events with a sixth-place finish at the Rex Hospital Open and a tie for 14th at the United Leasing Championship.
He also closed the season in style, finishing inside the top 20 in four of the final five tournaments of the season.
The 30-year-old Web.com Tour veteran collected nine top-10 finishes in all and missed just four cuts in 23 starts on the year. He did, however, miss the cut in the one PGA Tour event he participated in, the Houston Open.
Also under consideration: The other two-time winners -- Chesson Hadley, Ben Martin and Andrew Svoboda.
TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR - COX CLASSIC
There were a pair of tournaments that saw a player post a 59 this season, but the tournament of the year was one that had the most drama attached to it, the Cox Classic.
It was the final event of the regular season and saw Bronson La'Cassie defeat Matt Bettencourt on the third playoff hole to move into the top 25 of the money list and earn his PGA Tour card for the upcoming season.
La'Cassie and Bettencourt each carded 4-under 67s in the final round to finish the tournament at 21-under-par 263.
La'Cassie had bogeyed the 16th hole to sit two strokes behind Bettencourt with two holes to play, but was able to erase that deficit with a pair of birdies over his final two holes, including a 10-foot putt at the 18th, to force the playoff.
After trading pars on the first two playoff holes, both players split the fairway on the third extra hole.
Bettencourt would eventually 3-putt for bogey, while La'Cassie saw his birdie effort stop within two feet of the hole and he tapped in for his first career win on the Web.com Tour.
It wasn't a total loss for Bettencourt, though, as his second-place finish moved him inside the top 25 of the money list and secured his PGA Tour card for next season.
SHOT OF THE YEAR - KNOX PUTTS TO 59
Although Will Wilcox had posted golf's magic number just two weeks prior, it was Russell Knox's final two holes at the Boise Open that were the most memorable.
Starting on the back nine on the second round of the tournament, Knox started his impressive day with birdie at the 10th, and later recorded birdies at the 15th and 17th around an eagle at the 16th.
At the first, Knox made a 50-footer for birdie. He then reeled off five straight birdies from the third that jumped him to 12-under for his round and set him up to need just a pair of pars to post 59.
After sailing his tee shot 50-feet past the hole at the par-3 eighth, Knox lagged his birdie effort to within five feet and converted his par.
He again found himself facing another lengthy birdie putt at the ninth, but this time saw his first putt roll about seven feet to the right of the hole.
Knox did not blink, though, and drained the par to post the fifth 59 in Web.com Tour history.
GOOD YEAR
Chesson Hadley: Two wins, including the Web.com Tour Championship, and topped the season-ending money list. His eight top-10 finishes tied him for second most on tour.
Ben Martin: Like Hadley, also posted a pair of wins, eight top-10 finishes and six in the top five. Claimed third on the money list.
Edward Loar: Two runner-ups and three third place finishes. He missed just three cuts in 18 starts and claimed the title at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
BAD YEAR
Brad Adamonis: He started 12 events, but made just four cuts.
Steven Alker: Won the Utah Championship, but that was his lone top-10 finish in 17 events. Missed the cut in four of his last five events and had eight cuts total.
Dusty Fielding: Advanced to the weekend in just five of his 20 events on the year.
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