Tiger chases Nicklaus through raindrops of
history
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
DUBLIN, Ohio, (AP) - As the rain piled on the greens at Muirfield
Village during Saturday's third round of the Memorial Tournament
perhaps the most glaring numbers reflecting in the lazy puddles
were these:
Nicklaus -5.
Woods +3.
Years ago, a tiny Tiger Woods taped a list of all of Nicklaus'
accomplishment on the wall in his bedroom and made it his goal
to surpass each one.
As the 57-year-old Nicklaus and the 21-year-old Woods crossed
paths this week at the Memorial, there was no more appropriate
place to ponder the comparisons.
And the way Woods stumbled on the back nine Friday, shooting
a 42 and nearly missing the cut for the first time in his brief
career, was a reminder of the difficulty of the task.
Perhaps the most awesome of Nicklaus' numbers is the 24 years
between his first professional victory - the 1962 U.S. Open -
and his last - the 1986 Masters.
Surpassing all of Nicklaus' records will require more than
just the incredible skill Woods possesses. It will take the desire
to sustain greatness over a long period of time.
Nicklaus won 70 PGA Tour events and 20 major championships,
including six Masters, five PGAs, four U.S. Opens, three British
Opens and two U.S. Amateurs.
"He is going to have to have a discipline which all champions
have," Nicklaus said this week at Muirfield. "Arnold
had it, I had it, Hogan had it, Nelson had it."
Nicklaus clearly thinks Woods has the talent to break all his
records. Longevity is the question.
"I think the young man has the ability to do that,"
Nicklaus said. "Whether he can maintain that for 24 years,
I don't know."
Wood won five of his first 17 events as a pro coming into the
Memorial. That's impressive, but still 65 shy of Nicklaus. He
won the first major championship he played as a pro. That's impressive,
but still 17 behind Nicklaus record for professional major titles.
His three U.S. Amateur titles does surpass the two by Nicklaus.
The other obstacle for Woods - perhaps, next to injury, the
most threatening to his goal to break all of Nicklaus' records
- is that it is a different era.
Coming along with the nearly $100 million in endorsement deals
Woods has signed are a crazy world of distractions and temptations.
Woods was playing in his third consecutive tournament at the Memorial
then will take next week off before playing the U.S. Open.
But during those three weeks, he played in the Byron Nelson
then flew from Dallas to New York to announce a deal with American
Express then returned to Texas for the Colonial.
The Monday after the Colonial he played in a pro-am near Pittsburgh,
receiving a $350,000 appearance fee, announced an endorsement
deal with Rolex watches, flew to his home in Orlando, Fla., and
showed up in Ohio for the Memorial on Wednesday.
"I think he's tired," fellow pro Tommy Tolles said
about Woods. "Three weeks of fame and fortune, I think it
wears on you after a while."
Noting the distractions and recalling that list of accomplishments
Woods desires to surpass, Nicklaus articulated what could keep
Woods from becoming the greatest player ever.
"If he puts any financial thing in front of him ahead
of what he put on his closet door 10 years ago - my record I guess
- if he deviates from that, he'll have a hard time," Nicklaus
said.
"So whether he can maintain that for 24 years, I don't
know," he said. "You're going to have to find that out."
The incredible performance at the Masters - winning by 12 strokes
- made it seem like nothing is impossible for Woods. The two double
bogeys on the final 10 holes at Colonial and another duo of doubles
on the back nine Friday were reminders that golf is a game never
perfected.
"Any time a great player is on a roll he is going to do
some great things," British Open champion Tom Lehman said.
"You look at Nick Price for about three years, and look at
Greg Norman, or Steve Elkington at the Players Championship this
year, what he did."
An uneasy impatience swept over Lehman when he was asked if
Woods will break all of Nicklaus' record and he encouraged fans
to let time take care of itself.
"You know," Lehman said, "the record will speak
for itself when it's all said and done."
That piece of paper detailing Nicklaus' accomplishments taped
to Tiger Woods closet door all those years ago certainly speaks
loud and clear.
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