| AP Sports Headlines |
Thursday, July 18, 2002
By JIM MCCABE
c.2002 The Boston Globe
GULLANE, Scotland - Final details of preparation for the 131st British Open were being stepped off at about 6 o'clock Wednesday morning, with Andy Martinez marching down what reportedly is the first fairway at Muirfield.
"Plenty wide enough for walking," Martinez was told, and the caddie for Tom Lehman laughed.
A solitary figure making his way between waist-high heather that framed each side of the razor-thin first fairway, Martinez had marched off some 200 yards before he reached the widest part of the short grass. Looking left, then right, Martinez laughed again, and said, "Wide enough for an iron. Nothing more," then continued on his merry way.
Watching him make his way toward the green at the end of the 448-yard hole, it was hard to distinguish Martinez as the gray morning fog, rolling off the Firth of Forth, enveloped him. Later, the fog gave way to a Scottish mist that continued to play havoc with the visibility; if you didn't have a sea of umbrellas in your way, you had wind blowing into your eyes.
Uncomfortable, perhaps. But rest easy, because there is an easy focus to the proceedings here. It concerns Tiger Woods and only Tiger Woods.
Intimidation?
Many sides of the Woods saga have come rushing forward the past few weeks, with opinions and reactions causing more opinions and reactions. That is what happens when something of historical value percolates.
To set the stage: Having won the Masters and US Open earlier this season, Woods is halfway to the Grand Slam. A victory in this championship on the east coast of Scotland would send him to Chaska, Minn., next month with the opportunity to win the PGA Championship and complete a sweep of the season's majors. No one has ever done that, but fewer and fewer people are betting against Woods pulling it off.
After all, he's done a lot of things that no one else has ever done.
Like finishing double-digits under par in a US Open.
And winning that event by 15 strokes.
Like shooting 18 under at the Masters.
And rolling to a 12-shot victory.
Like earning $6.6 million in prize money.
Then cashing out the next year at $9.1 million.
But as he stands halfway toward an improbable feat, Woods's most amazing achievement is that he's got just about all his colleagues nodding their heads in agreement, uttering words that seemingly are delivered with a white flag.
"The bottom line is, I know that every single week Tiger's in the field, I need to be on my best," said Chris DiMarco. "That doesn't mean I'm intimidated by him, and it doesn't mean I don't think I can beat him. It's the fact that it's reality.
"And the reality is, if he plays his best game and I play my best game, he's going to beat me. That's just reality, and I'm man enough to admit that."
Man enough? Legends from yesteryear consider such talk cowardice. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Tom Watson have all expressed opinions that challengers need to play better, work harder, exercise better discipline, and stop rolling over when they come against Woods.
As one would expect, players who have served as doormats to Woods for several years are less than happy with men they have always considered heroes and role models.
Brad Faxon called the comments of the legends "ridiculous," and Ernie Els said they were comparing apples to oranges because "we play a different game out there today."
While not taking it personally, David Duval offered that "it's an easy thing to sit up here and talk with a bunch of folks like yourself (reporters) and say players today are better than yesteryear (or vice versa) when you can't compare. There is no way to say when you can't compare."
But, of course, people are having their say. This is all part of the Woods phenomenon, which goes far beyond his 320-yard drives, slingshot 2-irons that cover 270, or dead-eye par-saves that happen to roll in at a rate that surely is the highest in history. He'll usually beat the opposition with his clubs and it's a virtual certainty he'll win the battle of minds every day.
And without doubt, he'll gladly head to the range and work on his game while his challengers expend valuable energy and play volleyball with the media over the situation that faces them.
"Well, we hope Tiger doesn't perform and then we all will have an opportunity," said Colin Montgomerie.
Darren Clarke bristled. "If Monty wants to think that way, it's up to him. If he wants to stand on the first tee and feel that way, good luck to him. If I play as I can on a links golf course and I play my best, I can compete with Tiger."
Phil Mickelson has expressed surprise at how few players have stood up to Woods and instead have "wilted."
"Is he including himself in that category?" asked Jerry Kelly, who had the lead in The Players Championship in 2001, only to be beaten head-to-head by Woods in Round 4.
"I know I didn't wilt," said Kelly. "It was far from a fear factor. I don't think it's a fear factor as much as it's a talent-level difference. When Tiger is in contention and playing well with his mind, you can't make a mistake, otherwise it just gets compounded by him making birdie on top of your mistake."
Back and forth they go, week after week, tournament after tournament, answering questions, defending their positions, trying to explain how it is that the same man has won seven of the last 11 major championships and is 8-0 when in possession of at least a share of a 54-hole lead in those events.
"Any player who is intimidated by another player is in the wrong game," said Greg Norman, but Duval insisted it wasn't a fear of Woods. Nor was it Woods's talent, "because I think that there are other players as talented."
So what is it? "I think he tends to outthink a lot of people and outmanage other players," said Duval.
Muirfield, which is playing host to the British Open for the 15th time, is set up at 7,034 yards, relatively short given today's talent and technology. That gives more players a chance, or so goes the theory. Or maybe it makes things easier for Woods, because he is deadly straight with his 2- and 3-irons, which will be the clubs of choice off many tees. Extending that theory, it is assumed Woods will find a good number of fairways and thus a good number of greens and thus be in position to shoot a lower number.
All of it is too silly to sort out, because the equation is quite simple.
"If Tiger played putt-putt, he still would be favored," said Davis Love.
Chasing history
Starting in the 12th pairing of this morning's first round, Woods should be finished around the time you are beginning breakfast. Like legends before him - Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Palmer, Nicklaus, Watson - Woods has been embraced by the Scottish fans. Only unlike all those others, many of whom were unknown entities when they arrived here, Woods comes with a ton of advance billing.
And his quest to win the Grand Slam is easily the focal point of the world's oldest and grandest golf championship. Just don't try and tell Nicklaus that it should be.
"I think it's insignificant. I think he's already done it. Nobody else has done it," said Nicklaus, referring to the fact that Woods won the last three majors of 2000, then the 2001 Masters. Four consecutive over two seasons, not the "pure" Grand Slam, but with all four pieces of hardware sitting on his mantel at home, Woods couldn't be told that he had not won the Grand Slam.
There are also those who are quick to remind you that if he wins this weekend, Woods wouldn't exactly establish precedent. That's because Hogan authored golf folklore in 1953 when he played in his only British Open after winning the Masters and US Open. Playing links golf for the first time and studying the course like a maestro, Hogan prevailed.
That was a simpler time, with far less hype and a spotlight that never burned as bright. Hogan wasn't chasing history and knew nothing about a Grand Slam.
Believe it or not, there was no way he could have attempted it, either, for the events overlapped and because of the transportation logistics of the time, he never could have made it back from Scotland for the PGA Championship.
Not that it mattered. Hogan only wanted the challenge, which he hurdled with the precision and commitment that helped mold his legend.
Different hurdles face Woods. Though he tries to downplay the Grand Slam attempt, there's no doubt his mind is focused on succeeding at something that no one else has done.
And if he were to win? What then?
Look for another challenge, said Woods. Perhaps he'd try to do it again.
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