Tiger lived the impossible dream
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- The child curled in his bed searching
for sleep would never dare to dream it, partly because it is so
improbable, mostly because it would just be no fun.
When the child imagines being a hero, it is always the shot
at the buzzer, the home run in the bottom of the ninth or the
putt on the final green.
It is never winning by 12 strokes.
Not even Tiger Woods ever dreamed of a performance like the
one he put on last year in the Masters at Augusta National Golf
Club.
"I never thought I would have the lead like I did,"
Woods said after his tearful hug with his father on the 18th green
last April to become the first black man to put on the green jacket
of the Masters champion.
"You envision dueling it out with Faldo, or Nicklaus or
Watson, someone who is always tough to beat down the stretch,
or birdieing 16, 17 and 18 to get into a playoff," Woods
said. "But never in the fashion I did. That's something you
never dream of. It's kind of nice that it became a reality."
What Woods did in the 1997 Masters was beyond anyone's wildest
dreams. Think of it, just think of it.
A record 18 under par. A record 12-stroke victory. The youngest
person ever to win the Masters. The first person of color to win
a major championship.
Good looking, intelligent, dynamic.
No one in Hollywood would buy the idea. It was preposterous.
That is just part of the enormous burden Woods carries into
this Masters. Not only is he expected to win, he is expected to
win big, especially by that large group of new fans he brought
to the sport for the first time last year.
Woods has set the impossible as his standard.
If he feels the weight of that expectation, he masked it brilliantly
when he entered the interview room at Augusta for the first time
since his victory last year.
"Can I better it?" he asked Tuesday about the effort
in which he played the final 63 holes 22 under par after opening
with a 40 on the first nine holes. "Yeah. Take away that
40."
Last year, Woods caught people by surprise with his shocking
declaration of greatness. This year, greatness is expected, seemingly
even by himself.
"Was last year perfect?" Woods asked. "Far from
it. We all make mistakes."
Woods has made his share of mistakes lately. Since winning
five of his first 16 starts on the PGA Tour, Woods is 1-for-19
and has gone winless in 14 consecutive tour events covering nearly
10 months.
He was a serious contender in none of the three major championships
after the Masters.
For many, particularly those casual fans, anything short of
victory by Woods in this year's Masters will be considered a failure
-- perhaps even by Woods himself.
"This is a big tournament and all," Woods' coach
Butch Harmon said two weeks ago at The Players Championship where
Woods finished 35th. "And it is a lot of money, but it is
hard for him not to have his mind on Augusta."
Woods all but admitted that.
"Winning major championships is what it's all about,"
Woods said. "The majors are what I aim for."
This is the first major of the year. No one can win the Grand
Slam unless he wins the Masters.
Dozens of TV crews jammed the interview room and hundreds of
reporters from all over the world tried to get Woods to say the
Masters was Tiger Woods against the field.
It was a game he would not play.
"Anyone who tees it up this week can win," Woods
said diplomatically.
In separate corners of the interview room, Earl and Tida Woods
watched with pride in their eyes as their son deftly handled the
role of Masters champion.
It was a role he seemed born to play.
"I think this year is much easier because I know how to
win here," Woods said. "I'm definitely growing as a
player. Every year I keep growing as a player."
After the last question was answered, Woods, who had played
the front nine in the morning, said: "Perfect," nodded
his head and made his way to the 10th tee to play the back nine.
Perfect. Just like his performance last year, a performance
so perfect not even a child would dare dream it.
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