Monday, November 13, 2000
Closing the book on an outstanding
season by Woods
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune
Chris Perry found himself paired with Tiger
Woods during the second round of the Tour Championship 10 days
ago. It was a big deal for him.
Perry, son of former major league pitcher
Jim Perry, is one of those consistent players on the PGA Tour
who plays mostly out of the limelight. He doesn't win tournaments,
but he regularly manages top-10 finishes, good enough to be among
the top 30 on the money list.
Perry, though, wasn't just the “other
guy” on this day. He shot a round of 65 to Woods' 66.
It should have been Perry's moment to shine.
But as is the case with practically everyone involved with golf
this year, all he could talk about was Woods.
Coming off the eighth green at East Lake
Golf Club in Atlanta, in the heat of competition, Perry took Woods
aside.
“I said, `I just want to tell you that
it has been an absolute pleasure to watch you play golf this year,'
“ Perry related. “`What you have done is mind-boggling.
You should be congratulated on what you are doing, because it
is absolutely fantastic.'”
When asked recently to assess his year in
two words, Woods smiled and said, “Not bad.”
That's as big a two-word understatement
as saying Bill Gates is “somewhat rich.”
Woods owned golf in 2000 as few have, ever.
With his tie for fifth place Sunday at the season-ending American
Express Championship in Spain, Woods closed the book on an incredible
season. It was highlighted by his victories in three majors as
he joined Ben Hogan as the only players to achieve that feat.
He earned $9,188,321 in official winnings, ahead of runner-up
Phil Mickelson, who took home $4,476, 457.
In 20 PGA Tour tournaments, Woods had nine
victories and finished second four times. His scoring average
of 68.24 is the lowest in PGA Tour history.
If it isn't the best season ever, it is
definitely in the ultimate foursome. Was Woods' 2000 performance
better than Bobby Jones' in 1930, the year he won his Grand Slam?
Back then the slam consisted of winning the U.S. and British Opens
and the U.S. and British Amateurs.
Was Woods better than Byron Nelson in 1945,
the year he won a record 11 straight tournaments and 18 overall?
Did Woods top Hogan's showing in 1953, when he won five of six
tournaments he entered, including three majors?
Woods' feats make a pretty compelling case.
“It's the best year in history,”
said NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller, who once won eight tournaments
in a season. “I don't know of anyone who had a better one.
Bobby Jones? Maybe, but he didn't have the competition.”
Indeed, there's no comparing the competition
Woods faces with that of Jones' era, or Nelson's or Hogan's.
“I don't want to take anything away
from Byron Nelson,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said,
“but to win three majors against this level of competition
— well, his overall performance is second to none.”
And none of those players ever competed
in the multimedia fish bowl in which Woods lives, and manages
to thrive. Television ratings go up more than 100 percent when
Woods leads or is in contention in a tournament.
“You can't compare the intensity and
the outside pressures he faces,” Finchem said. “It doesn't
seem to faze him. His intensity is about the game. He loves to
compete. It's amazing.”
Woods didn't just win, he obliterated the
competition, erasing records that had existed since Abraham Lincoln
was in the White House. His 15-shot victory in the U.S. Open beat
Old Tom Morris' 1860s mark for largest margin of victory in a
major. He won by eight shots in the British Open, shattering the
low total by coming in at 19-under.
Then, when little-known Bob May stayed with
him at the PGA Championship, Woods came through time and again
in the clutch in what many consider the most memorable major in
the past 30 years.
“I can't really look on those other
years and compare because I wasn't a player then,” Nick Price
said. “But if anyone beat this year, I'd love to have seen
it.”
Woods is about the only person who doesn't
bite on the best-year debate. He says he will think about that
later in his career.
Yet even by his standards, he has to acknowledge
it as an incredible season.
“I think there's an overwhelming sense
of joy and pride, and the fact that I was able to work on a lot
of things that all came together in the big events,” Woods
said. “I have kind of done it step by step. Hit the ball
well on the range. Go out and play it at home, prove to myself
that it works. Then I have to prove to myself that it works at
a tournament. And to see the results after all the hard work,
that to me is extremely satisfying.”
So what does he do for an encore? The ultimate
feat will be completing the modern Grand Slam. If Woods wins at
the Masters, he will hold all four major championships at the
same time.
In his mind, that qualifies as a Grand Slam.
Others contend a true Grand Slam has to be done in the same calendar
year.
“Whether it's in one year or not, all
four is all four,” Woods said.
Woods can make the point moot by winning
all four next year, giving him seven majors in a row.
The notion would be beyond impossible for
any other player. But after what Woods did in 2000, it would be
crazy to say he couldn't do it.
“You wouldn't think it could get any
better than 2000,” CBS Sports President Sean McManus said.
“He won the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship.
You'd say that's as good as it gets. But you're dealing with Tiger
here. After this year, everybody in golf is done underestimating
what Tiger can do.” It was a very good year
(c) 2000, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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