Wednesday, September 6, 2000
Golf looks to create own fall classic as
Woods dominates
By Hunki Yun
The Orlando Sentinel
(KRT)
ORLANDO — Not even hockey can touch golf when it comes to
the length of its season.
But while much of hockey's uncomfortable duration comes from its
seemingly unending succession of best-of-seven playoff series,
there is no doubt who the champion of golf is, even with nearly
three months left in the schedule.
It seems so long ago that Tiger Woods began the season with a
win at the Mercedes Championships back in January.
Eight months later, all the majors—golf's version of the
playoffs—have been played, and the result is simple. Woods
is enjoying the best season in the history of the game. Ever.
Most of the significance is over. But the season is far from finished.
No doubt aware of the autumn doldrums, the PGA Tour, along with
sponsor PricewaterhouseCoopers, has created the Fall Finish, which
began last week.
It is a bonus pool that will award $200,000 to the player who
performs best in the final weeks of the season leading up to the
Tour Championship.
Finally, another reason to enjoy fall golf.
Sarcasm aside, here are some other topics to consider before we
turn our attention away from the links and toward football and
the Olympics, not to mention hockey season, which begins Oct.
4:
National classic
By winning the Bay Hill Invitational, Woods became the first player
to hold both Orlando titles at the same time. Now he will try
to defend his title and win his third title at Disney.
Should Woods win again—and he says he loves playing at home—the
big question will be whether Tiger will join him at the trophy
presentation. The character was absent from the ceremony last
year because he wasn't allowed outside the Magic Kingdom.
If anyone can work out some sort of compromise, it surely is Woods.
The Tiger effect
Sure, Woods proved he could do pretty much anything he wants on
the course, especially major-championship venues. All while carrying
the fortunes of an entire sport and attracting viewers who otherwise
probably wouldn't watch golf (unless it included cheerleaders).
The real test of his star power comes at this week's Bell Canadian
Open. There isn't a lot in Woods' favor. The tournament is a non-major,
although it is a national championship. It will be opposite regular-season
football and most likely one or both the Williams sisters at the
U.S. Open. It will be on ESPN rather than one of the networks.
More history
Woods now has four chances—Canadian Open, National Car Rental
Golf Classic, Tour Championship and American Express Championship—to
win two more tournaments, becoming just the fourth player to win
at least 10 wins in a season.
Byron Nelson (18 in 1945), Ben Hogan (13 in 1946,10 in `48) and
Sam Snead (11 in 1950) are the others.
Of course, given the way Woods is going, he could win them all.
Etc.
When 24-year-old Rory Sabbatini won the Air Canada Championship,
it ended an odd streak. Since Woods turned pro in 1996, it was
the first time a player younger than Woods has won on the PGA
Tour.
. . . Ty Tryon won his second consecutive event, shooting 6-under
210 to win the American Junior Golf Association Robert Trent Jones
Golf Trail Junior Classic in Alabama, following up his 10-stroke
victory at the PGA Junior Championship the previous week.
. . . The European tour has decided not to change the number of
captain's picks for next year's Ryder Cup team. This issue is
far from over.
. . . First, The Golf Channel showed Woods on tape delay at the
Buick Open instead of broadcasting live. Now, CBS has admitted
to taping birdcalls and playing them during broadcasts when local
birds aren't available. For once, it has nothing to do with the
Screen Actors Guild strike.
(c) 2000, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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