Woods brings record crowds to L.A. Nissan Open
By Jim McCurdie
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
LOS ANGELES - They call it a gallery on a golf course. But
if you saw it anywhere else, you'd call it a crowd. A generally
well-behaved crowd, but a crowd nonetheless.
These days, it seems Tiger Woods can't change into his golf
spikes without a gallery forming to watch him tie the laces. And
the gathering that followed him around eucalyptus-lined fairways
of the Riviera Country Club course Thursday was three or four
times larger than average for the first round of the Nissan Open.
Tournament promoters listed Thursday's attendance at 16,738,
more than double the figure of 8,100 for the first round at Riviera
last year.
Many, if not most, came to see Woods, the 21-year-old former
Cypress resident who has knocked the sport of golf on its quiet-please,
hospitality-tent, titanium-shafted, burner-bubble ear.
They lined the fairway ropes, often five and six deep, rimmed
the greens and surrounded the tee boxes - kids skipping school,
adults ducking out of the office, some getting their first glimpse
of professional golf, all hoping for an up-close glimpse of golf's
swiftly rising star.
Getting close is easier said than done. Getting Woods' signature
on a program or golf cap requires a combination of luck and ingenuity.
"Tiger, I need your autograph for my social studies report,"
one creative young man said as Woods made his way up the hill
to the clubhouse after finishing his round.
It was a nice effort, but it went unrewarded. There was simply
too much competition.
Woods, playing with veteran touring pros Tom Watson and Fred
Funk, shot a 1-under-par 70, leaving him five shots behind co-leaders
Payne Stewart and Scott Hoch. Long Beach's Paul Goydos is one
shot off the lead after his opening-round 66.
Amid heightened security that included extra marshals and some
plain-clothes security types posing as spectators, Riviera and
Woods were able to coexist, although not without incident.
As Woods stood over a par putt on the 18th green, a photographer
snapped off a couple of frames, breaking the golf photography
rule that says you don't touch the shutter until the ball's off
the putter.
Woods backed away from his putt as his caddie, Mike "Fluff"
Cowan, scolded the offending photographer. Woods regrouped and
made the putt to save par. Greenside observers said Woods was
angered by the incident afterward. He declined a tournament official's
request to speak with the media after his round.
Call it part of the price of fame. Riviera is where Woods made
his first appearance in a PGA Tour event. As a 16-year-old high
school sophomore, he played in the Nissan Open as an amateur,
shot 72-75 and missed the cut.
Five years later, Woods is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour,
has a reported $43 million endorsement deal with Nike, and is
fast becoming one of the world's most recognizable sports figures.
So spectators and media alike flock to him, sometimes distracting
him while he works.
"There were a couple things that bothered Tiger out there,"
said Watson, Woods' 47-year-old playing partner. "But that's
part of the deal.
"There's just a lot of people out there," Watson
said. "It's hard to herd them around. This is a narrow golf
course. The fairways are tight."
Promoters anticipate that Woods' presence in the tournament
will generate a $100,000 increase in revenues, and that may be
a modest estimate. As he played, a limited-edition, black-and-white
Tiger lithograph was selling in the Riviera pro shop for $20.
It was right next to the display of "Go Tiger" Nike
golf shirts, which go for $39.50 and $65.
"The kid's a money-making machine," said a middle-aged
spectator who would identify himself only as Mike from Thousand
Oaks. "He makes more in endorsements than he'll ever make
on the golf course."
It is worth noting that Mike was wearing a Nike cap.
Woods struggled at times Thursday. He was erratic off the tees,
and inconsistent with his putter. But if his mind was elsewhere,
it was certainly understandable.
Woods' father, Earl, had triple-bypass heart surgery last Wednesday,
and is still recovering at nearby UCLA Medical Center. He was
in intensive care until Wednesday night.
|
