Wednesday, February 28, 2001
Lowering a boom
By LEW PRICE
The Press-Enterprise
It had been coming, slowly but surely, for a while now.
The extreme game, golf on the edge.
It may have had its roots in Arnold Palmer, been advanced by a
wild child named Mark Calcavecchia. But it has been mandated by
Tiger Woods.
Forget evolution. This is a revolution.
Woods has altered the way the game is played on the professional
level. He has forced his peers to reassess the way they play,
the way they prepare, the way they think.
He has forced everyone — at every level — to reconsider
what is possible on the golf course. And the proof is on the scorecard.
Five PGA Tour tournament scoring records were equaled or bettered
in 1999, 10 a year ago. Already this year, seven weeks into the
season, three more have been eclipsed.
And this isn't the sole work of the Chosen One.
Six times in the tour's past 11 events, the scoring record has
been equaled or bettered, and not one of those going low has been
Woods.
He hasn't won a tour event since the Canadian Open in September.
He is winless in 2001, even though his scoring average nearly
mirrors last year's when he won nearly half of the tournaments
he entered.
“The style of play has changed,” Phil Mickelson said.
“I think we're going to see some really low scoring, much
lower than in the past. I think we're going to see a lot of tournament
records broken this year.
“Certainly Tiger has done that on his own, but I think we'll
see a lot of guys partaking in that.”
The numbers don't lie.
Sure, the equipment industry is pushing the bounds of technology,
engineering products superior to any before. Clubs manufactured
with space-age alloys help the ball travel farther and straighter.
Sure, the balls are livelier and softer, easier to control even
as they soar greater distances.
Sure, the agronomy has made the bad lie almost obsolete.
But the players are simply better, the depth of talent greater.
And behind the advance is the looming presence of Woods.
“Guys are practicing more, trying to work on their game and
get all aspects better,” Bob May said. “They see Tiger
do it and figure, `You know what? We should be able to do that,
too.' “
Woods has almost single-handedly changed the perception of golfers
as athletes. He spends more time on the range and more time in
the gym, and anyone hoping to compete has no choice but to follow.
“Look at Tiger,” Corey Pavin said. “He's big. He's
thin in the waist and has thick shoulders. He has worked to get
that.
“What is happening now is more guys like Tiger are playing
golf younger. The athletic ability of golfers is better than ever
because more guys are coming to the game.”
The emphasis on fitness has increased to such a level the tour
now provides two fitness trailers at each stop instead of one.
Status quo these days is akin to retreat. If you're not riding
the new wave, you're getting swept away by it.
Consider the just-concluded West Coast swing.
Of the eight tournaments, six were won with a score better than
last year's, three with a record. The demand for contention was
an average round of 67, 5 under par.
Brad Faxon set a tournament record at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Calcavecchia played 72 holes in 256 strokes, a tour record, at
Phoenix. At Pebble Beach, Davis Love III played the front nine
on Sunday in 28.
Then, at the Bob Hope Classic, Joe Durant redefined the concept
of hot as it applied to par, establishing tournament scoring records
for 36, 54, 72 and 90 holes. His 72-hole total of 28 under par
and his 90-hole total of 36 under set PGA Tour records.
“Tiger had one of the five best years ever last year,”
Love said. “That raises the bar for this era just like Jack
Nicklaus raised it in his era or Byron Nelson raised it in his.
The tour, the players, tournaments and purses, are all reaching
for higher goals.
Woods downplays his impact on scoring even though the evidence
is overwhelming.
“I don't think it's just because of my performance,”
he said. “I think there is an overall feeling that once you
get into a tour event, anyone can win. It's been proven that anyone
can go low. The guys out here are just so talented
“And I don't think it's because we have the better athletes
just yet. The better athletes are coming 10 to 15 years down the
road. Right now the technology is so much better.”
Those offering a counterpoint, however, may outnumber Woods.
“Say what you want about the equipment,” Paul Stankowski
said. “The players are getting better. Sure, technology has
gotten better, but guys are more physically fit than ever. We're
seeing the fruits of Tiger being on tour.”
The revolution has begun.
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