Tuesday, March 27, 2001
Woods wins Players and focus shifts to
Masters
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods got about five
minutes to savor his victory at the Tournament Players Championship.
Then the questions shifted from the crystal Players trophy on
the table in front of him to the possibility of another green
jacket at the Masters in two weeks.
“I figured that,” Woods said Monday after holding off
Vijay Singh for a one-stroke victory on the TPC at Sawgrass Stadium
Course.
The Masters has been golf's most anticipated tournament since
Woods defeated Bob May in a three-hole playoff at the PGA last
August for his third straight major triumph. Can Woods make it
four in a row?
Woods faces the question from fans, friends and himself almost
every day.
“In all honesty, I'm going to treat it just like I do every
major,” he said. “Just go in there with the same mindset,
the same game plan, play as hard as I can, try on every shot,
and hopefully, I will have a chance coming down the back nine
on Sunday.”
To win the Players, Woods took advantage of every chance on the
final nine holes.
He extended his lead to two shots with a birdie on the 10th hole.
When Singh birdied the 13th to tie it, Woods rolled in a birdie
on the 12th hole moments later.
Singh fought back, going eagle-birdie on the 16th and 17th holes
after a triple-bogey 7 on the 14th hole. But Woods responded with
a birdie on No. 16, showing he was not about to lose this title
as he did a year ago to Hal Sutton.
“Being two shots back from Tiger, he's not going to make
any mistakes,” Singh said. “He's too good of a player
to do that.”
Woods finished with a 67 for a 14-under 274. Bernhard Langer was
two shots behind after a 67, and Jerry Kelly was four shots off
the lead after a 73.
Woods, who ended all talk of a “slump” this year with
his second straight triumph, likes his game heading into the Masters.
Woods' remarkable 60-footer for birdie at the 17th on Saturday
proved his ability to read breaks and create the right amount
of pace on greens.
He said his 90-foot chip for eagle on the second hole Sunday was
the kind he was practicing this week with an eye on the Masters.
And his timely birdies Monday may have given Woods back the fear
factor that some players say was slipping this season.
“As everyone has always said, he has raised the bar and we
are going to try and climb” it, Kelly said.
Woods also showed the patience that's critical to all tournaments,
but especially important at Augusta, where low rounds early —
remember Greg Norman's 63 in 1996? — don't guarantee success.
Woods trailed Paul Azinger by six Thursday, and Kelly by the same
amount Friday. He gradually moved into contention with a 66 on
Saturday, tying his lowest round ever at the Stadium Course.
The Players, with its $1.08 million first prize, was about the
only important title the 25-year-old Woods hadn't won.
“He continues to astound and impress,” PGA Tour commissioner
Tim Finchem said. “Some of the things he did here will add
to his legend.”
Imagine what a victory at Augusta would do.
“I don't know how plainer I can say it,” Fred Couples
said this week. “It would be the Grand Slam.”
Woods knows his golf history. He always considered Grand Slam
to be winning all four — the Masters, U.S. Open, British
Open and PGA — in one year.
“But looking at the trophies that I have on my mantle, three
are lined up,” he said. “Put another one on there, it
looks pretty good.”
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