Tiger wins for history's sake
By Dave Sheinin
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The evening sun was creeping towards the tips
of the majestic Georgia pines when Tiger Woods came striding up
the 18th fairway of Augusta National Golf Club, the gallery standing
and giving forth its best Palmer ovation, the tournament long
over now, the green jacket, 42-long, being readied for him somewhere
in the bowels of the old clubhouse.
And here is what Woods was thinking as he made that triumphant
walk:
Boy, do I have a tough putt.
Right there, you have all you need to know about Eldrick "Tiger"
Woods.
Even with a 12-shot lead, even as quiet tears were being shed
by the black club employees gathered under the oak tree on the
clubhouse lawn and scattered among the galleries, Woods was trying
to figure out how he could get down in two from 20 feet.
He needed that two-putt for history's sake. And of course,
he got it - how could he not? - center-cutting a 4 1/2-footer
for par.
That last putt on 18 wrapped up a closing round of three-under-par
69 and gave Woods a new Masters scoring record, 18-under 270 -
one shot better than Jack Nicklaus (1965) and Raymond Floyd (1976).
The 12-stroke victory over Tom Kite (70-282) set another tournament
record and was one stroke less than Old Tom Morris' major-championship
record 13-stroke win in the 1862 British Open.
At 21 years old, Woods also becomes the youngest Masters champion
ever - two years younger than Seve Ballesteros (1980).
It was simply the most dominant performance in a major golf
tournament this century, and the most monumental - because it
came at this place, in this tournament, which didn't invite its
first black player until 1975, and which didn't accept its first
black member until 1991.
When Woods was introduced as the new champion in the traditional
ceremony on the putting green, it was Augusta National chairman
Jack Stephens who was the first to rise. And soon it became a
rousing standing ovation, the jillionth of this week for Woods.
At this point, as per tradition, he turned his back to 1996
champ Nick Faldo and slipped one arm then the other into the green
jacket. The scene was chilling: The dark orange sunlight on Woods'
Hollywood-white teeth. The blood-red sweater (his color of choice
on Sundays) beneath that jacket - once a symbol of ugliness, but
now gleaming and beautiful.
"Woooooo," Woods sighed, trying to gather himself.
"I guess this is an amazing day. I'm at a loss for words.
I've always dreamt of winning The Masters. But I've never thought
it through to the ceremony."
This victory was monumental and dominant and extraordinary
- but it wasn't astonishing.
See, this is what Woods does. When he gets locked into an important
tournament - his father, Earl, calls it Tiger's "major mode"
- he is practically unbeatable. We saw it in his three straight
U.S. Junior titles and his three straight U.S. Amateur titles.
But because of the way he lapped the field this week, the question
must be asked: Is Woods this much better than the rest of the
world?
The answer: On this course, yes.
Augusta National was made for Woods, and he for it.
Two years ago, after seeing Woods' game firsthand, Jack Nicklaus
predicted that Woods would win more than 10 green jackets. Sunday,
he admitted he may have underestimated that number.
"Tiger is out there playing another game," Nicklaus
said Sunday. "He's playing a golf course he'll own for a
long time." "Tiger," said fourth-place finisher
Tom Watson, "plays the course completely different than the
rest of us."
Said third-place finisher Tommy Tolles: "I'm in awe of
how far he hits it. . . He can probably win for the next 20 years.
If he's on top of game, we're all teeing it up for silver medals."
They say The Masters isn't decided until the back nine on Sunday.
This week, it was decided on the back nine on Thursday. That's
where Woods, rebounding from a four-over-par 40 on his first nine
holes, shot a 30 that was an omen of what would come.
Woods started Sunday with a nine-shot lead, but went about
his business in the same no-blink, cold-hearted way he always
does.
He went to the driving range exactly one hour before his tee
time, hit balls, then chipped. As he left the chipping green,
he was approached by an older black man.
It was Lee Elder, who in 1975 became the first black man to
play in The Masters. He wished Woods well. Woods' grin was so
wide it split his face in two.
"That meant a lot to me," Woods told the crowd during
the green jacket presentation later, "because if it wasn't
for him, I don't know if I'd be playing here - or anywhere. That
did it for me. From then on, I knew what i had to do."
His lead was never in jeopardy - he bogeyed twice in a three-hole
stretch on the front side, but no one mounted a charge from below
- and yet Woods played with the same bloodthirsty passion he did
when he first took the lead on Friday, slamming clubs into the
ground when he mishit a shot, and pumping his fist when he nailed
one.
And in the end, he had his green jacket and he had his record.
He had everything.
When Woods was a boy he used to dream of winning The Masters.
But reality has exceeded those dreams.
"This is not what I envisioned," Woods said. "I
never thought I would have a lead like I did. I envisioned dueling
it out with Faldo or Watson down the stretch, birdieing 16, 17
and 18 to get into playoff. But this is something I could have
never dreamt."
(c) 1997, The Miami Herald.
|
