Wednesday, July 5, 2000
Plenty of challengers should
Woods falter at Western
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune
The advertisements for the Advil Western
Open have been billing the event as “Tiger Woods vs. 155
of the world's greatest golfers.” That should make the other
players feel pretty good about themselves.
Woods obviously will be the overwhelming
favorite this week. But the fact is, he doesn't win every tournament.
It just seems that way.
If Woods falters, here are some players
who easily can walk off with the championship Sunday.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson is having a superb season after
a downer in 1999, when he failed to win for the first time in
his career. Mickelson has posted three victories in the 2000 season.
However, only one of them came when Woods was in the field: the
Buick Invitational, which snapped Woods' winning streak at six.
Vijay Singh
Singh's victory at the Masters made him
an A-list player. However, he hasn't generated momentum since
then. A tie for eighth in the U.S. Open is his only top-10 finish
in his last six tournaments. Singh likes Cog Hill, having finished
second in 1998.
Tom Lehman
Lehman's year got off to a good start with
a victory in the Phoenix Open. He also finished sixth in the Masters.
He has struggled recently, failing to post a top 10 in his last
five tournaments.
Jim Furyk
Furyk had one of his career rounds with
a 65 to rally to win the Doral-Ryder Open. But since then he has
been relatively quiet. He finished 60th in this year's U.S. Open,
and that included an ugly 84 in the third round.
Nick Price
At 43, Price knows his better days are behind
him. He has only one top-10 finish for the season — a third
at Doral. Still, the two-time Western winner can't be discounted
at Cog Hill.
Fred Couples
Couples is having a lackluster year, with
nothing higher than a couple of fifth-place finishes. Still, he
remains a fan favorite, and if he plays well, he certainly is
capable of winning.
Lee Janzen
Janzen has fallen on lean times since winning
his second U.S. Open in 1998. He played well at the Players Championship,
finishing in a tie for ninth. But other than that, there hasn't
been much for him to cheer about. He missed the cut at the Masters
and tied for 37th at the U.S. Open this year.
Jeff Sluman
At least Sluman is out there trying. He
is playing in a lot of tournaments. However, the results haven't
been there. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open. Still, the Hinsdale
resident would be a popular choice if he managed to get into the
hunt this week.
Steve Stricker
The up-and-down Stricker has been down this
year. He had one stretch when he missed cuts in four of five tournaments.
His best finish is a tie for fourth in New Orleans. The 1996 Western
winner wouldn't mind rediscovering some of that magic at Cog Hill.
Mike Weir
The left-hander made a good run last year,
finishing second to Woods. He also had a good PGA Championship
at Medinah before fading on the final day. Chicago seems to bring
out the best in the Canadian's game.
John Daly
What can you say about Daly? Nobody hits
the ball farther, but nobody is capable of posting the biggest
number on a hole. He will have a large following, but you'd better
catch him Thursday and Friday since he hardly is a lock to make
the cut.
(c) 2000, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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