Thursday, November 30, 2000
This really is Tiger's tournament
By LEW PRICE
The Press-Enterprise
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The second Williams World Challenge
is underway at scenic Sherwood Country Club, where the best player
in the world will attempt to win another $1 million.
Ho hum, same old, same old. Death, taxes and another tournament
disguised as a Tiger Woods clinic.
Woods won or nearly won almost every event he played in 2000,
so there is little reason to expect the script will change this
week in a tournament that could be subtitled “The Tiger Woods
Invitational.”
The Challenge is the product of Woods' imagination, a small-field,
high-stakes event reserved for only the richest and most successful.
The field is restricted to 12 players: the nine highest-ranked
players available after Woods, and two at-large berths.
A purse of $3.5 million is at stake, with $1 million reserved
for the champion.
That's why the Challenge, the newest and suddenly most attractive
entry into golf's silly season, has managed to gather five of
the top nine players in the world and 10 of the top 19 at a time
when most would be in hibernation.
“It's a small field,” said Tom Lehman, the defending
champion. “It's an elite field. It's a big purse. But you
really need to earn your way into it and I think that's the appeal
to the players. You don't sneak your way into it.”
The Challenge benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, Target House
and the PGA Tour's First Tee.
It is Woods' baby, and because he is so closely involved and because
it is played as a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament, that makes
it arguably the silly season's most significant event.
There may not be much prestige on the line, but there is a huge
payoff and a charity windfall at stake.
“When I was younger, my dad encouraged me to change the world,”
Woods said. “He taught me that anything is possible and he
showed me how to use talents to reach my goal. Now I am in position
to pass these invaluable lessons on and to show kids how they
can be applied to every aspect of life.
“If I play well, the Foundation will, obviously, have a better
platform to speak from and we'll reach more people. I truly believe
we have enhanced the game at the junior level.”
On the surface, the event is nothing more than another rich exhibition
on the off-season schedule.
But Woods' involvement and his continuing march on history provide
it an added lure.
“We talked of making it a regular tour event,” Woods
said. “But I've shot that down because I believe we have
a better chance of getting a better field in a small group of
players. It's just plain, easy finances.”
And the bottom line is something Woods knows well.
He just completed one of the best seasons in golf history and
is using his leverage as one of sports' most powerful figures
to force a restructure of PGA Tour policies, a move that has gained
him the support of most of his would-be rivals.
“I think we're all benefiting from Tiger, there's no doubt
about that,” Fred Couples said. “If he stays healthy
for 10 to 15 years, he's going to go down as the greatest player
to ever play.
“If Tiger wasn't on tour, we'd be looking at Phil Mickelson
as the number one player. He's an incredible player. But I don't
think the tour would be what it is today. Tiger comes along and
everyone says it has been tenfold what he's done for the PGA Tour.
“I would say it's been 10,000-fold what he's done. Tiger
is making us all a lot of money. He's bringing the tour gravy.
He makes every tournament he plays a lot stronger and lot better.”
Woods' 2000 season was arguably the greatest ever, equal to any
singular sensation engineered before — Bobby Jones in 1930,
Byron Nelson in 1945, Ben Hogan in 1953.
Woods won nine official titles in 2000, the most since Sam Snead
won 11 in 1950.
Woods won a record $9.1 million. He became the first player since
Hogan in '53 to win three consecutive majors and won all three
with record lows, becoming the youngest player to win all four
majors in a career.
He finished among the top three in 14 of his 19 starts and became
the first player to finish every tournament he played during a
year under par.
His dominance, though, is best reflected in a too-often overlooked
stat: scoring average.
Woods' average of 68.17 was a record, a stunning 1.46 strokes
per round better than second-place Mickelson's.
“I'm pleased with the progress I'm making, with the changes
I'm going through,” Woods said. “I just need to fine-tune
them and I'm sure something else will crop up where I need to
fix it. But I haven't thought about changing anything.”
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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