Wednesday, June 19,
2002
Like
Nicklaus before him, Tiger awaits Muirfield
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
FARMINGDALE, N.Y.
(AP) — Tiger Woods might want to think about bringing his
own pillow to Muirfield for the British Open.
Muirfield is the
next destination on Woods' improbable journey toward an indisputable
Grand Slam, just as it was for Jack Nicklaus in 1972. Nicklaus
won the Masters and the U.S. Open, and had high hopes of winning
all four majors in one year.
Until he got to Scotland.
“I had hurt
my neck on Sunday before the tournament, and I was tight in the
back and couldn't swing,” Nicklaus said. “I was determined
that I was going to try to do the best I could with what it was.
It finally loosened up about Saturday. I kept myself reasonably
close to contention and almost won the golf tournament.
“I was really
disappointed and upset. Ever since then, I've carried my own pillow
with me.”
Maybe a bad back
will stop Woods. Nothing else seems to be working.
His eighth major
championship at the ripe age of 26 was another example of mental
toughness, raw power and the ability of Woods to do whatever the
situation required.
He three-putted the
first two holes for bogey to bring Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia
back into contention, then did not make another bogey until it
didn't matter.
Woods had birdie
putts on every hole but one, had to chop out of the gnarly rough
on only two holes and never let his lead shrink below two.
The result was a
three-stroke victory over Mickelson, making Woods the first player
to go wire to wire in the U.S. Open twice. He also ran away from
the field at Pebble Beach two years ago, winning by 15 shots.
Woods made it look
easy on the longest course in U.S. Open history (7,214 yards),
but he swears that wasn't the case.
“I don't think
anyone realizes how tough it is to win a major championship,”
said Woods, who has won seven of the last 11 — as many in
three years as Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen won in
their careers.
The next one could
be the toughest of all.
Woods is only the
fifth player to win the first two majors of the year, but just
the third who has a realistic chance of the Grand Slam.
Craig Wood won the
Masters and U.S. Open in 1941, but the British Open had been canceled
that year because of World War II. Ben Hogan won in 1951 and 1953,
but in those days, the British Open and PGA Championship overlapped.
Palmer was the first,
which was appropriate since he's the one who dreamed up the idea
of winning all four professional majors in the same year. After
winning the Masters and U.S. Open in 1960, the King came up one
stroke short of Kel Nagle's winning score at St. Andrews.
Nicklaus came just
as close.
Once he got his back
in shape and started pounding driver instead of irons off the
tee, Nicklaus charged home with a 66 in the final round and even
had the lead on the back nine until missing an 8-foot par putt
on the 16th hole.
Lee Trevino chipped
in for birdie from behind the 17th green, and beat Nicklaus by
one.
Next month's British
Open comes at a time when the careers of Woods and Nicklaus never
have been more parallel.
Woods went 1-up on
the Golden Bear by winning the U.S. Open. That gave him eight
majors in his first 22 as a professional; Nicklaus had only seven
at that point.
But consider the
similarities:
—Nicklaus won
the Masters by three strokes and the U.S. Open by three strokes
30 years ago. That was the same margin of victory for Woods in
both majors this year.
—Nicklaus didn't
win a major on a par-70 course until the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol,
his 22nd major championship. The Black Course at Bethpage was
the first time Woods had won a major on a par 70, which also was
his 22nd major as a pro.
—In both seasons,
the third leg of the Grand Slam was at Muirfield.
Woods never has seen
the Scottish links — a British Open hasn't been held there
since Nick Faldo won in 1992.
“He'll struggle
all the way,” Faldo cracked.
Then again, Woods
never saw Bethpage Black until two weeks before the U.S. Open,
and was the only player to break par (3-under 277).
“It's going
to be awhile before I start working on my links game,” Woods
said.
Woods is quick to
remind people that he already has one Grand Slam. He became the
first man to win four straight professional majors, culminating
with the 2001 Masters that was treated more like a straight flush
than a royal flush.
Either way, he had
all the hardware lined up on his mantle.
“Call it what
you want,” he said. “This will be a different type of
slam, I guess.”
The quest for a regular
Grand Slam comes with a lot of hype.
Woods has a youth
clinic scheduled this week at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., then
is expected to sneak off for a week before returning at the Western
Open in Chicago. After that, he won't be seen again until it's
almost time to tee it up at Muirfield.
And if it doesn't
happen this year, well, he's still only 26.
“There's no
telling what he can accomplish over the next 20 years,” Jeff
Maggert said after finishing third in the U.S. Open. “He
might be winning tournaments when he's 60.”
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