Wednesday, May 30, 2001
The Memorial: Tougher par-5s to greet Woods
By KELLIE TAYLOR
Scripps Howard News Service
DUBLIN, Ohio — Holes have been lengthened and more sand traps
brought into play but even the Golden Bear himself knows that
the course that Jack built — even with his latest tinkerings
— may not be enough to stop Tiger Woods from winning his
third straight Memorial Tournament.
The changes to Muirfield Village Golf Club weren't made to “Tiger-proof”
the course, Jack Nicklaus said, but the golf legend and Muirfield
used a Woods example to show why some alterations needed to be
made.
“On No. 11, we had the Tiger factor,” said Nicklaus,
who faced a number of “Bear-proof” courses in his time.
“He played it with a 2-iron off the tee and a 2-iron to the
green. Who uses a 2-iron off the tee on a par-5? . . . So I said
the only thing I saw there was to lengthen the hole and make the
tee shot a little more demanding.”
On No. 7, another par-5, Nicklaus brought the fairway sand traps
in from 330 yards to 285 to cause more deliberation on tee shots.
Slight alterations around the green were also made on two other
par-5s, the fifth and 15th.
“I don't think it makes a difference what you do here,”
Nicklaus said. “His likelihood of winning a third is always
pretty good, because he plays so well.”
If Woods wins this year, he will be the only person in the last
20 years to win the same event in three consecutive years. The
last player to do so was Tom Watson, a 1996 Memorial champion
who won the Byron Nelson Classic in 1978, '79 and '80.
Woods shot 9-under-par 269 in the 2000 Memorial, one stroke off
of Tom Lehman's 1994 record, and finished five strokes ahead of
second-place Ernie Els and Justin Leonard.
The tournament marked Woods' first successful title defense and
the first time any golfer won back-to-back Memorials. Woods, who
won the 1999 Memorial with a score of 273, went on to defend titles
in the PGA Championship (1999-2000), World Golf Championships/NEC
Invitational (1999-2000) and Bay Hill Invitational (2000-2001).
Woods has won three PGA Tour tournaments in nine events this year
and leads the tour in official money ($3,497,857), scoring (68.73)
and birdies (4.81 per round).
“It's more fun playing in a tournament when Tiger is playing,”
said Spain's Sergio Garcia. “You know that he is always going
to be there, he makes you take everything out of you to beat him.
You know you have to play as well as you can. If not, you are
probably not going to beat him. I think it helps get you to a
different level and that's what you are searching for.”
And don't expect Nicklaus to be too upset to see his younger counterpart
wrap up his fourth tournament win this weekend.
“You've got the best player in the game winning your golf
tournament,” Nicklaus said. “It's a compliment to your
golf course and your tournament.
“You'd love to have him coming back and winning. From the
gallery's standpoint, you want him to win four or five years in
a row. Then you're assured of having people there the next year.”
MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Site: Dublin, Ohio.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (7,221 yards, par 72).
Purse: $4.1 million. Winner's share: $738,000.
Television: USA (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday,
3-6 p.m.; Sunday, 2-6 p.m.).
Last year: Tiger Woods successfully defended his title, beating
Ernie Els and Justin Leonard by five strokes in a Monday finish.
Last week: Frank Lickliter won the Kemper Insurance Open for his
first tour title. Lickliter held off J.J. Henry by a stroke in
a Monday finish.
Notes: Woods won the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open two weeks ago in Germany,
his fourth victory in five starts. ...
Payne Stewart, killed in a plane crash in 1999, is the tournament
honoree. ...
Tournament host Jack Nicklaus designed the course and won the
event in 1977 and 1984. ... Tom Lehman set the tournament record
in 1994, shooting four 67s for a 20-under 268 total. John Huston
set the course record of 11-under 61 in 1996.
(Contact Kellie Taylor of the Cincinnati Post at http://www.cincypost.com.)
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