Wednesday, July 5, 2000
Woods grows, learns to handle pressure
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune
(KRT)
Tiger Woods had just finished his longest day at the U.S. Open.
He had awakened at 4 a.m., completed the second round of the tournament
and then played the third round later that afternoon.
By 8:30 p.m., Woods was exhausted, streaking toward a record victory
and ready for bed. But first ... the obligatory media session.
“Tiger, away from golf,” a reporter began, “when
is the last time you set out to accomplish something and then
had to admit to yourself afterward you weren't good enough to
accomplish it?”
It was a question more appropriate for a Tuesday of tournament
week, when writers are working on feature stories, not deadline
event coverage.
Woods, however, crinkled up his face and thought for a moment.
“Right before the Byron Nelson, I went out fly-fishing with
Mark O'Meara,” Woods said. “There was a lot of wind.
It's hard to shoot the line in the wind, and I just don't have
quite the experience yet.”
Woods smiled at his questioner and asked, “Is that what you
were looking for?”
A younger Tiger probably wouldn't have had the patience to answer
that question at that moment. The older, wiser Tiger does. It
was a moment straight out of Michael Jordan's book of giving them
what they want. Like Jordan, Woods is learning how to survive,
even thrive, in the media and fan vortex that surrounds him.
Few if any athletes can match Jordan's touch, but Woods at 24
has come a long way in making it work, having learned he can control
the environment. He understands he can waste more energy avoiding
a question than simply answering it.
“His evolution with the media has been similar to his game,”
said Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg of International Management
Group. “Everything has come around for him.”
That wasn't the case in 1997. When Woods burst onto the scene
with his record 12-stroke victory at the Masters, the aftermath
proved overwhelming. His next tournament, the Byron Nelson, was
a zoo on and off the course.
Then came the U.S. Open at Congressional, where Woods felt trapped.
After a poor round, he angrily blew past assembled reporters.
Having been told his status made his comments relevant even after
a bad round, Woods grudgingly conceded to talk to a pool reporter
at his car, where he gave terse answers.
Afterward Woods was criticized for his petulance. He also was
taken aside by people in his camp and told the facts of life in
the spotlight.
“Most guys get an acclimation period of three, four, five
years,” said Bev Norwood, who handles public relations for
IMG. “His acclimation period was five minutes, not five years.”
Woods got the message. After a poor round at the AT&T Pro-Am
at Pebble Beach in February, he headed for the practice green,
where he worked with coach Butch Harmon. Indications were that
he'd blow off a national press corps that had come to chronicle
his winning streak, but after about 10 minutes he walked over
and offered some comments.
Woods says he has become more comfortable dealing with reporters,
some of whom he has come to know better. He generally makes himself
available for a pre-tournament interview in a press conference
setting. He also talks after every round.
Still, he definitely calls the shots. Save for the occasional
golf publication, Woods rarely gives one-on-one interviews. At
group sessions he can display a sense of humor and will flash
a winning smile for the camera.
Like Jordan, however, he is extremely careful with his public
pronouncements and is shrewd enough to “say a lot without
saying anything,” in the words of one veteran golf observer.
Nevertheless, Steinberg said Woods gets more than 40 requests
for interviews per week, making it impossible for him to satisfy
everyone.
There's also an unspoken rule that Woods wants the people around
him to remain in the background. Some speculate his former IMG
agent, Hughes Norton, lost his job in part because he assumed
too high a profile for Woods' liking. Same with his former caddy,
Fluff Cowan.
By contrast, Steinberg, a Peoria native and a walk-on on Illinois'
1989 Final Four basketball team, has turned down repeated interview
requests from the Tribune for a story about him.
“Tiger's the story, not me,” Steinberg said.
Steinberg makes it clear a big part of his job is to make Woods
comfortable in what can be crazy surroundings. On the course,
tournament directors know the routine and have procedures in place
to help him get around. Woods is always accompanied by security
guards, but in general he moves rather easily.
The media component also seems to be under control, leaving Woods
free to concentrate on what he does best — play golf. He
hardly seems stressed or under pressure on the course. He may
operate in a fishbowl, but all he sees is fairways and greens.
“Everything is managed right now where he can deal with it
effectively,” Steinberg said. “He has a confidence about
himself and his surroundings. He understands his place in the
world of golf and sports.”
(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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