If Tiger can win the right 4 tournaments, he
could have a Grand Slam
By Mike Kern
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The question was certainly premature.
It was also inevitable.
It was Sunday evening. Less than an hour earlier, 21-year-old
Tiger Woods, playing in his first major as a professional, had
won the Masters by a record 12 strokes, with a record score of
18-under-par 270.
One minute, he was trying to explain what it felt like to be
atop the golf world. The next, someone asked him to assess his
chances of winning the grand slam, something no one has done in
the modern era.
Not Ben Hogan. Not Arnold Palmer. Not Jack Nicklaus.
Hogan won all three majors he played in 1953. The Triple Crown,
they called it. He didn't enter the PGA that year, because his
legs - injured in an car accident five years earlier - couldn't
withstand the rigors of the two-a-day match-play format. So we'll
never know.
In 1930, Bobby Jones won all four tournaments considered majors
at the time - the U.S. and British Opens, and U.S. and British
Amateurs.
No one's even managed to win the first two legs of the slam
since Nicklaus in 1972.
But now, along comes Tiger. And suddenly, the impossible doesn't
seem quite so unattainable any longer.
"Whether it's realistic or not, I couldn't really tell
you," Woods said. "But I think it can be done. Last
year, for example, I think Phil Mickelson won four times. Well,
if you win the right four tournaments, then you'll have it.
"It's difficult, because these are the majors. These are
the best players in the world under the most extreme conditions,
circumstances. But I think you just peak at the right times, a
lot like what Nicklaus used to do. If you can do that, and have
a lot of luck on your side ... then who knows?"
Before, Woods always had the distraction of schoolwork to factor
into his preparation. Now, that is no longer an obstacle.
"When a person has the time and ability to correctly get
ready for a tournament, works on all the right things, a person
can win that tournament," Woods explained. "When I was
in college, it's tough to come off of finals. I know I've had
sleepless nights (cramming for exams). And it's awfully tough
to prepare for tournaments of this magnitude (under those circumstances)."
Augusta National is a course made for long hitters. And nobody
hits it longer than Woods. But he also showed superior touch in
taming some of the world's most treacherous putting surfaces.
The U.S. Open, June 12 to 15 at Congressional in Bethesda,
Md., is another ballgame. Whereas Augusta has no rough, accuracy
is critical when the U.S. Golf Association is in charge.
"It's very difficult to overwhelm the field at a U.S.
Open, because if you have one bad tee shot you're making bogey,"
Woods said. "Here, you can still make birdie or eagle. The
conditions are so different. I think a person can run away more
with a tournament at the British."
A year ago at Detroit's Oakland Hills, Tiger was 3-under after
13 holes in the first round. He played the last five in 9-over
and eventually finished tied for 82nd.
The British Open will be contested July 17 to 20 at Royal Troon,
on Scotland's western coast. Last year at Royal Lytham and St.
Annes, he finished tied for 22nd. His 5-under 66 in the second
round convinced him it was time to turn pro. Woods likes links
golf, and Troon fits the description. There's a lot of room for
creative shotmaking. Over there, his drives might roll 400 yards.
From Aug. 14 to 17, the PGA Championship heads to Winged Foot
in suburban New York City. More than anything, this course is
noted for its endless par-4s. Long irons are a key. If Tiger can
keep his tee shot in the fairways, he might not have to use nearly
as much club into the greens as the rest of the field.
"Certainly, (a grand slam) is something that has to be
considered (with Woods)," said veteran Tom Kite, who beat
everyone not named Tiger over the weekend. "Look at who wins
the Masters and the British Open. They're similar. You can drive
it long pretty much and have some fun. Except for watching Nicklaus,
there hasn't been anyone who's won the Masters and British Open
and also won the U.S. Open and PGA. You guys know that.
"Certainly, this tournament is right up his alley. This
probably won't be his only green jacket. He may win this numerous
times. If he can keep it under control on those other golf courses,
the length, as long as it's straight, will always have an advantage.
"I think it's too soon to tell, but he certainly has the
length that he's able to lap the field in terms similar to what
Nicklaus did in the early '60s."
That was awesome then. Woods appears to be just as lethal in
today's game.
Perhaps Tiger's most amazing attribute is his will. He never
sells himself short. That won't change. He seems to get the most
satisfaction out of doing things he's not supposed to.
Like obliterating the competition at Augusta. Or making a legitimate
run at golf's Holy Grail.
"I know my goal is to be the best," he said, firmly.
"I know that's a very lofty goal. If I accomplish that goal,
great. If I don't, I tried. I expect nothing but the best for
myself. And I think that as time goes along, hopefully that will
happen.
"I have to understand that I am now a public figure. People
are going to write about me, and look at me and say things. ...
But if it intensifies, I don't know how, but we'll see."
Someone wanted to know if, off his Masters performance, Woods
had created any kind of psychological edge over his peers. Sometimes
that's key in the equation.
"I think that's a question you'll have to ask them,"
Woods said, diplomatically. "I can't answer that. I'm not
in their shoes."
It wasn't meant as a slam. Merely an assessment.
(c) 1997, Philadelphia Daily News.
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