Monday, May 26, 1997

Do we really expect Tiger to win every week?

By TED DUNNAM / Abilene Reporter-News

FORT WORTH - When Tiger Woods didn't win Sunday, it seemed that everyone attending the MasterCard Colonial had lost a best friend.

That's what has become of the professional golf world these days.

It is totally ridiculous for us to expect Tiger Woods to win every week, but yet many of us do. Following him for 18 holes Sunday, as I did, confirmed that fact.

When he didn't hit it five feet from the pin, almost all questioned what was wrong. When he didn't make a 20-foot birdie putt, many couldn't believe it.

As great as Tiger Woods is, he has flaws. If he didn't, he would have won Sunday.

Yes, he hits the ball a very long way. Yes, he can hit great iron shots. Yes, he can sink putts. But he can't do it every Sunday to win every single golf tournament.

Yet many have come to expect it.

Tiger Woods probably had the worst conditions to play in Sunday. The wind kicked up at the midpoint of his round and the greens were the most spiked up when he played.

But that's no different for anybody else who has played in the last group on Sunday. Tiger Woods simply didn't hit the right shots and read putts correctly to win the Colonial.

And do we want to see Tiger Woods win every tournament, anyway? No doubt, tournament promoters would like to have him as their champion.

I like to see the best win. Steffi Graf, Pete Sampras, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Greg Maddux, Jeff Gordon and Jerry Rice for starters.

ut it's also refreshing to see the underdog prevail, to have their moment in the limelight.

Not that David Frost is an underdog. He's a world-class golfer who has played in the biggest tournaments in the world.

But now it seems as if everyone's chasing Tiger. And they probably will continue to do so, but Sunday's round proved Woods is beatable.

The suggestion has been made that courses need to be lengthened to give other golfers a chance to beat Tiger. A ludicrous suggestion.

A 520-yard par-4? All Tiger would do is hit a 340-yard drive and a 180-yard six-iron. Lengthening a course would only increase Woods' dominance because other players couldn't reach that par-4 in two shots.

Even if you had an 800-yard par-5, Woods could reach it. A 340-yard drive, a 250-yard 3-wood and a 210-yard five-iron.

If one were to do anything at all, he would shorten a course. Have a 340-yard par-4 with water fronting the green. Make doglegs out of those par-4s, also.

But why are people even thinking about this? Tiger Woods is only a first-year player on the PGA tour. Maybe he's redefining the game, but that shouldn't warrant a panic situation.

Yes, he's a talented golfer. But after winning the Masters, he's still 19 majors behind Jack Nicklaus.

Can he win more tournaments than anyone? Who knows?

Barring injury or some other unforeseen mishap, Tiger Woods will be one of the greatest golfers to play the game.

But even the greatest have their off days. Tiger had his Sunday.

Believe me, Tiger would rather lose this tournament and win the U.S. Open than vice versa.

The outcome Sunday gives all of us something to look forward to.