Wednesday, May 24, 2000
A new look at Tiger and Golden Bear
By Jack Saylor
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
DUBLIN, Ohio — Seldom has the opportunity to make a golf
comparison been more appropriate than at the Memorial Tournament
this week.
The defending champion is the No. 1 golfer in the world, Tiger
Woods. The person being honored is the No. 1 golfer in history,
Jack Nicklaus.
Not since the early `60s when Nicklaus, in his early 20s, began
his meteroic rise, has another player emerged who might challenge
his career achievements.
But Woods, likewise in his early 20s, is setting golf on its heels,
perhaps even bidding to approach Nicklaus' staggering total of
major victories.
Nicklaus, 60 and often merely a ceremonial player, has 70 PGA
Tour victories, plus 14 international triumphs, including three
British Opens. Woods, 24, has 18 victories going into the Memorial,
plus three international titles.
Nicklaus' resume includes 20 majors — 18 of the professional
big four, plus two U.S. Amateurs. Woods has five — two pro
majors and three U.S. Amateurs.
Money? Everything is relative, and Nicklaus obviously got his
share. But Woods? Just consider that he has won enough ($3.59
million) this season to underwrite the Memorial Tournament ($3.1
million purse).
Tiger's run over the last season-and-a-half shows how capable
he is in his Quest for Best.
In 21 tournaments last season, he never missed a cut, won eight
times, including the PGA Championship, and had 16 top-10 finishes.
These are like Nicklaus' numbers of the mid-`60s. Woods has followed
this year with eight top-10s in nine outings, including three
victories and three seconds — and May is not yet history.
“I don't think anybody has ever played as well in a stretch
as he has the last year and a half,” Nicklaus said Tuesday.
“Whatever I had, I think Tiger might have more of it. I know
I've won with something besides the shots, but I don't know for
sure what that something is.”
Whatever it is, Woods seems sparked by the same drive.
A year ago, Nicklaus was impressed by Tiger's marvelous array
of pitches and chips from perilous positions as he won the Memorial
by two strokes.
“Most players at his age don't have that kind of imagination
and never have to have it,” Nicklaus said. “As far as
he hits it, there's no reason for him to practice his short game.”
Woods used his driver only seven times all week.
The Golden Bear and Tiger have used the same basic M.O.: Overpower
foes with unbelievably long driving, cut them up with precise
iron play and put them away with devastating putting. Only Woods'
occasionally spotty putting falls short of Nicklaus' consistency.
Tiger even does his scheduling Nicklaus-style, with an accent
on the majors and plenty of time off for other pursuits.
Nicklaus usually played 17 to 20 tour events in his prime. Woods
played 62 tournaments in his first three full seasons, and the
Memorial is his 10th this year.
“To me, what's so remarkable about Jack is the balance he
retained in his life while staying the best for so long,”
Woods said. “I can already see how difficult that's going
to be, but I have a wonderful balance in my life. I've learned
what's best for me.
“Jack and I have a relationship that is very interesting
and unique. It's amazing how two different people from two different
eras who don't have much contact can feel close, but we do. When
I talk to him I get a different feeling than with anyone else
— like he's handing something down.”
This is the Memorial's silver anniversary, and the decision to
make Nicklaus the honoree came from the Muirfield Village Captains
Club. The august group of 23 includes two former presidents (Gerald
Ford and George Bush), Sean Connery, Bob Hope, Arnold Palmer and
Gary Player.
Nicklaus completed the Muirfield Village course near his hometown
of Columbus in 1973, and preparations were quickly made for Nicklaus
to host a tour event that honored golf's past. His hero, Bobby
Jones, was the first Memorial honoree in `76, followed by virtually
every famous name from Old Tom Morris to Babe Zaharias.
Some of the loudest applause when Nicklaus is honored this afternoon
will come from Woods.
“I'm a big fan of Tiger's,” Nicklaus said. “When
it has to be done, he has the ability to make things happen. He's
consistent in that respect, and that's what makes champions.”
Who besides Jack Nicklaus would know better?
(c) 2000, Detroit Free Press.
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