Wednesday, June 20, 2001
Tiger and TV: Skins Game back
in the picture
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tiger Woods already
has his own silly-season tournament for 16 players and the Battle
of Bighorn, a mixed-team affair including David Duval, Annika
Sorenstam and Karrie Webb.
Next on the horizon: The Skins Game.
Expect to see Woods return this year as
part of his new endorsement deal with Disney.
Woods has played the Skins Game only twice,
finishing third in 1996 and 1997. The Thanksgiving weekend event,
which began in 1993, has been lackluster in recent years with
few marquee players. Colin Montgomerie is the defending champion.
Woods is expected to sign the Disney deal
on Wednesday, a contract that has been whittled down to what IMG
agent Mark Steinberg described as a “creative golf package.”
Instead of promoting Mickey Mouse or any
of Disney's theme parks, Woods will do a number of televised golf
exhibitions that are carried by ABC Sports or ESPN, both of which
are owned by Disney.
When asked if Woods will return to the Skins
Game, Steinberg said, “It's possible.”
The Disney contract took over six months
to negotiate. One of the sticking points was avoiding confusion
over Woods' marketing image as the chief Nike pitchman, and making
sure it did not encroach on his time or responsibilities to his
other dozen endorsements.
“It not where we started, but it was
the most logical place to end up,” Steinberg said of the
contract. “Everybody on all sides is comfortable with it.”
———
FOREIGN SLAM: Retief Goosen put an end to
Tiger Woods' hopes of winning the Grand Slam in the same season,
thanks to his playoff victory in the U.S. Open.
He also shut down the American slam.
It now has been 19 years since Americans
won all four majors in the same season, dating to 1982 when Craig
Stadler won the Masters, Tom Watson won the U.S. Open and British
Open, and Raymond Floyd won the PGA Championship.
———
WEBB WORKING OUT: The fitness craze has
finally caught up with Karrie Webb, and the two-time U.S. Open
champion doesn't like it.
“When I was younger, I could get away
with not working out,” the 26-year-old Australian said. “Now
I'm older, and I can't do that anymore.”
Webb said she has been exercising the past
couple of years, but only started getting serious about it six
months ago. She runs three times a week, and works on the treadmill.
“I have to admit, I don't enjoy it
all,” Webb said. “But I know I need to feel good on
the golf course and I don't want to be totally exhausted by December.”
Her only weakness?
“I like a beer or two,” she said.
———
GOOSE IS LOOSE: Retief Goosen became the
first player to make the U.S. Open his first victory on American
soil since fellow South African Ernie Els.
He won the first U.S. Open playoff since
Els in 1994. He became the first international champion since
Els in 1997.
The next question is whether Goosen —
like Els — will leave Europe and play the majority of his
tournaments on the PGA Tour.
“I'll definitely still support the
European tour,” he said. “I've been living in London
now for eight years, and that's sort of home for me. I'll give
it until the end of the year and then decide whether I'm going
to play fulltime here or not.”
Goosen's name will not appear on the PGA
Tour money list because he is not a member. But his victory gives
him a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and a return trip to
the U.S. Open for the next 10 years.
———
RYDER CUP POINTS: Sergio Garcia had a good
opportunity to win his first major championship until he closed
with a 77 in the final round of the U.S. Open and tied for 12th.
Worse yet, he wasted Ryder Cup points.
The 21-year-old Spaniard is playing primarily
in America this year, meaning the majors are his best chance to
pick up points. Third place likely would have secured a spot on
Europe's team, which is determined by money.
Instead, he moved up only to 13th place.
In the current standings, only five Europeans have Ryder Cup experience.
———
STREAKING: In took five days to decide,
but two streaks stayed alive in major championships at Southern
Hills.
Retief Goosen became the fifth winner in
six championships to have led from start to finish, and the 36-hole
leader has won every time. Also, no winner has ever made par or
better on the final hole. Goosen three-putted for bogey on Sunday,
and made bogey in the playoff.
One other streak of note — the winner
has always had at least a two-stroke lead going into the final
hole of the tournament.
———
DIVOTS: The Evian Masters was her fourth
LPGA Tour victory, but the first with a new name. Rachel Teske
won her first three events as Rachel Hetherington, but decided
this year to take her husband's name. They have been married three
years. “You kind of lose a little bit of publicity when you
change your name. It's like starting again as a rookie,”
she said. ... It's not exactly a Ryder Cup preview, but captains
Curtis Strange and Sam Torrance were scheduled to play a Shell's
Wonderful World of Golf match Tuesday at Carnegie Abbey on Narragansett
Bay near Newport, R.I. ... Lee Patterson, the top media official
whose southern charm has been a fixture on the PGA Tour for 12
years, is leaving to join Sports Communications Group as executive
vice president.
———
STAT OF THE WEEK: Curtis Strange in 1988-89
was the last player to win back-to-back U.S. Opens. Since then,
the best result by a defending champion was Hale Irwin, who tied
for 11th at Pebble Beach in 1992.
———
FINAL WORD: “I couldn't have possibly
broken as many clubs as I was supposed to have broke. They haven't
made that many.” — Tommy Bolt, the 1958 U.S. Open champion
at Southern Hills, on his reputation for a terrible temper.
Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
|
