Thursday, October
31, 2002
Woods' success a
mixed bag
By Steve Elling
The Orlando Sentinel
ATLANTA – It
might prove downright fortuitous that Tiger Woods has been experimenting
with graphite shafts in his driver this fall_both for professional
and personal reasons.
Woods cracks self-effacingly
that he's lost a step off the tee in his old age, but in terms
of his place among the bombers in the game, he remains on solid
ground. Graphite has another property that could prove handy,
given the way things have gone of late.
Since mid-summer,
Woods has been a veritable ground wire for all things electric
and controversial, be they related to sport, style or society.
Unlike metal, lightning wouldn't strike graphite if he waved his
driver overhead, right? Probably.
"I think he
is a lightning rod," Charles Howell III said Tuesday. "Anything
he says and does, everybody wants to know what Tiger does."
As Woods makes his
last official start of 2002 this week at The Tour Championship
at East Lake Golf Club, he is putting to bed one of his most satisfying
years. He has nailed down the top spot on the money list for an
unprecedented fourth straight year, won two majors, five PGA Tour
events in all and six tournaments worldwide. Yet like the variety
of steel and graphite shafts slung under his caddie's shoulder,
the rest has been a mixed bag.
Rewarding is one
thing. Enjoyable is another.
"That's different,"
Woods said. "You have to look at two different things:
"What I do on
the golf course, performance-wise_that's me and what I do for
a living. That's my passion. The other stuff is my opinion. I
get crushed for giving my opinion when asked."
Yep, the graphite
shaft in those poison pencils has been pointed his way many times
in 2002. On the par-3 of public opinion, he's dunked a couple
of tee shots, pumped a pitch into a bunker and three-jacked the
green. In fact, the first half of the year was great, the second
half, grating, ranking as Woods' roughest period off the course.
Over the past few
weeks, he's been hammered for a million reasons, from everything
from his stance on the Augusta National affair to his practice
routine at the Ryder Cup. It has reduced his play to an afterthought.
"You forget
all too quickly that he won the Masters and U.S. Open," Howell
said. "It seems like forever ago."
Woods was first player
since 1972 to claim the first two legs of the Grand Slam in the
same year. Had he managed one more birdie at the PGA Championship
and not played through the middle of a third-round gale at the
British Open, they'd likely have held a parade down Orange Avenue
by now.
"I've had a
great year. Are you kidding me?" Woods said at Disney. "I
was telling buddies how good of a year I've had since Doral. There
have only been three tournaments when I finished outside the top
four. In eight months, that's pretty good playing."
For the math-minded,
that's five firsts, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth in 13
events since March_including a victory at the Bay Hill Invitational
and a third at the Disney Golf Classic.
He also came in last
on Augusta National_the club's gender issue, that is. Woods has
been buried for not championing the cause of women at the all-male
club.
That changed on Tuesday
when Woods said he expects Augusta National to have a female member
by the next Masters because "it's the right thing to do."
Woods expects club
chairman Hootie Johnson to change his initial stance before the
major tournament in April.
"He might be
forced to have to do it, which is a shame because it's not how
you want to do things," Woods said. "I'm sure he would
have done it the right way, but now it's not going to be a good
situation."
The club has not
issued a comment since Johnson said in late August he was dropping
TV sponsors to keep them out of controversy.
Months ago, Woods
said he supported the addition of a female member, but he has
stopped short of backing a boycott or using his leverage to effect
change. Thus, he has become evil incarnate to those who expect
him to crusade for their cause du jour.
"I stick by
what I said," Woods said. "Everybody has a right to
do what they want. Is it unfair? Yes. Do I want to see a female
member? Yes. But it's our right 1/8in this country3/8 to have
any club set up the way we want to."
There is no right
answer, as Johnson and National Council of Women's Organizations
leader Martha Burk are learning.
"Everyone wants
to have someone say what they believe in. That's human nature,"
Woods said. "Everybody wants you to support their cause.
I'm a pretty mellow guy. It's one of the reasons I answer the
way I do because I'm pretty mellow."
Some say yellow.
"If others had
taken that view," Burk said last week, "he'd be a caddie
at Augusta. He wouldn't be a player."
Burk told the Orlando
Sentinel on Monday: "Augusta, for a long time, had policies
that all the players were white men and all the caddies were black.
When I said that, I wasn't fooling around. I meant it. Where does
Tiger fall in that group?"
Woods didn't bat
an eye when Burk's latest missive was broached.
"I certainly
understand her opinion," said Woods evenly. "I don't
necessarily agree with it, but I respect it. I would hope she
would feel the same way about my opinion."
Last month Woods
several times questioned the bureaucratic strings attached to
participating in the Ryder Cup, joking that he had "a million
reasons" to win the American Express World Golf Championship
over the Ryder Cup, a sarcastic reference to the prize money differential
at the events.
Woods' appetite for
the competition prompted 2004 U.S. captain Hal Sutton to politely
call him out last week.
"Tiger parallels
his career to Jack Nicklaus," Sutton said. "Most everything
that we see, he's got Jack Nicklaus' records right in sight. Jack
Nicklaus had a pretty sterling career in the Ryder Cup and if
Tiger was sitting right here_I guess he'll read what I have to
say, anyway_I would challenge Tiger to look at Jack Nicklaus'
Ryder Cup record and say, `Let's go after that one too.' `'
Fairly or not, Woods
is expected to be all things to all people, which is a heavy load
for a 26-year-old to shoulder. He explained his untenable political
situation best at the PGA Championship.
"It just seems
like the more putts I've holed and the lower my scores have become,
the more knowledgeable I'm supposed to have become," he said.
"It's kind of funny, if you think about it.
"I'm the same
person. I have my goals, my aspirations for what I want to be
able to do in this game, and I try to do that with my 1/8charitable3/8
foundation.
"I can't be
the leader in all causes. I'm still 26, and obviously, I can probably
do more as I get older and understand what I can and cannot give
and dedicate my time to."
Woods was shredded
in the U.K. papers during the Ryder Cup for practicing in the
morning before most fans had arrived, continuing his traditional
pre-tournament ritual. The tabloids later carped at him for not
wearing the same uniform combination as his teammates. Even without
opening his mouth, he made folks mad.
"If you are
one of the top players, you're going to get criticized a little
more than the other guys," Woods said. "That's what's
transpired this year."
After this week,
maybe it'll all be over.
___
© 2002, The
Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
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