Monday, July 24, 2000
Tiger feasts next with golf
gods at Valhalla
By JOE DONATELLI
Scripps Howard News Service
Next up for Tiger Woods: the PGA Championship.
As the sports world catches its collective
breath following his even-Jordan-never-made-it-look-this-easy
U.S. and British Open victories, Valhalla looms less than a month
away, offering Woods another chance to make history.
Because, you know, he hasn't done much of
that lately.
All the 24-year-old did Sunday at the British
Open was become the youngest golfer ever to capture the modern
Grand Slam and the first to hold three major titles at once since
Jack Nicklaus in 1972. And should he successfully defend his PGA
Championship Aug. 17-20, he'd become the first player since Ben
Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year.
Says PGA Championship director of tournament
administration Tara Guenthner, “We're very excited to have
Tiger.”
For a number of reasons.
Woods has never played at Louisville's Valhalla
Golf Cub. The club's only other major was the PGA in 1996, which
he did not attend. Woods indicated during a pre-tournament conference
call that he'd like to take in some early practice, but as of
Monday had yet to schedule an appearance. The tournament is administrated
by the PGA of America, which is a different organization than
the PGA Tour.
The course setup? The front nine is comparable
to a links course and the back nine is wooded and hilly.
Personal swing coach Butch Harmon says Woods
is already focusing on the next major.
“Tiger has never played Valhalla, so
in relation to the first three majors this year, this will be
the one he's least familiar with,” Harmon wrote in Monday's
USA TODAY. “But by the time he gets there, he'll be just
as ready for the year's last major championship as he was for
the U.S. Open and British Open.”
Should Woods win the 2000 PGA title, he'd
become the first golfer to successfully defend that championship
since the tournament changed to a stroke play format in 1958.
The tournament's 33,000 tickets are sold
out.
“It was exciting to know that Tiger
was going to visit Valhalla for the first time in August anyway,”
Guenthner said Monday. “Then for him to win the U.S. Open,
that made it even more exciting. Then for him to win the British
Open ...
“I think the most exciting part for
the PGA Championship is that everyone would have been watching
anyway, but now — wow — to see, can he do it again?”
Woods has three weeks to prepare. He is
not in the field for this week's John Deere Classic in Silvas,
Ill., and has yet to commit to The International in Castle Rock,
Colo., next week. Unless he notifies The International's officials
by 5 p.m. Friday that he will attend, his next PGA Tour outing
will be the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich., Aug. 9-13.
The PGA Championship tune-up is already
a crush at the gate. With a chance to witness history every time
he steps to the tee, fans have responded enthusiastically. When
Woods committed to the Buick Open two weeks ago, advance ticket
sales doubled.
Tournament director Mike Mattucci laughs
when he talks about what it means to play host to the sport's
preeminent athlete at the height of his game on the cusp of what
could be another historical performance at the PGA.
“As soon as you announce that Tiger
Woods is coming, it changes the whole tournament,” Mattucci
said. “You've got to prepare for him to be there. You need
additional security. You have to order more food based on the
number of people that are going to be there. You have to have
more busses available for transportation. It almost doubles the
workload, but it is definitely worth it. He increases the gate.
He increases everything.
“The guy is playing better than anyone
ever.”
(Contact Joe Donatelli of Scripps Howard
News Service at donatellij@shns.com.)
Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
|
