Friday, November 24, 2000
Woods' 2000 brilliance unequaled
in golf history
By GARY D'AMATO
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Tiger Woods' magical 2000 season, in which
he won three of the four major championships and 10 tournaments
worldwide, finished fifth or better in 85 percent of the PGA Tour
events he entered and obliterated the tour's all-time scoring
record, raises two interesting questions:
1) Was it the greatest single-season performance
in the history of golf?
2) Will he be able to top it?
The answers, in my opinion, are yes and
probably not.
Only three golfers have had years that are
even worth comparing with Woods' 2000 season: Byron Nelson in
1945, Ben Hogan in 1953 and Arnold Palmer in 1960.
Nelson won 11 consecutive tournaments and
18 total in 1945, records that probably never will be broken.
But the depth of talent on the PGA Tour in the 1940s, and particularly
during World War II, was laughable compared with the depth on
today's tour. Lord Byron has admitted as much.
Ben Hogan won three majors in 1953 but played
in only a handful of other tournaments (and won two of them),
a concession to the injuries he had suffered in a near-fatal car
accident in 1949. Hogan won his three majors by a combined 15
strokes; Woods won his three by 24.
Palmer won eight tournaments, including
the Masters and U.S. Open, in 1960. He also finished in the top
10 in 19 of the 24 tournaments he entered. But he didn't even
win the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average that year (Billy
Casper did, averaging 69.95).
For the record, Jack Nicklaus, regarded
as the greatest golfer in history, never won more than two majors
or seven total tournaments in a calendar year.
Now let's take a look at what Woods accomplished.
His dominant performances in the U.S. Open,
which he won by 15 strokes with a record 12-under-par total, and
in the British Open, which he won by eight shots with a record
19-under total, exhausted adjectives. His Sunday duel with Bob
May in the PGA Championship showcased his incredible will to win.
But what really set Woods' 2000 season apart
was his machine-like consistency. His actual scoring average of
68.17 shattered the PGA Tour record of 69.23 set by Sam Snead
in 1950, and his adjusted average of 67.79 broke his own record
of 68.43, which he set in 1999.
Even more impressive was the fact that Woods
played only three rounds all year that could be characterized
as poor.
His first-round 75 in the Masters probably
cost him an unprecedented sweep of the four majors (he finished
fifth). He also shot a first-round 73 in the GTE Byron Nelson
Classic and a final-round 76 in the season-opening Williams World
Challenge, a non-tour event.
Woods finished the year with a streak of
47 consecutive rounds at even-par or better.
So incredible was his record in 2000 that
it is unlikely Woods — or by extension anyone else —
will duplicate it any time soon.
Give Woods credit for his near-obsessive
desire to improve, but how much better can he get? He's unquestionably
the best driver in the world, and he may be the best ball-striker,
too. He led the tour in greens in regulation this year with a
record 75.2 percent. He also finished second in putting.
Realistically, Woods can't keep performing
at this level indefinitely. Despite his impeccable work ethic,
he's bound to suffer through a slump or an injury. Like all golfers,
he'll go through periods when the putts just won't fall.
The bottom line? Don't look for an encore
in 2001. Woods may have to “settle” for one or two majors
and a mere half-dozen victories.
After all, he's only human . . . isn't he?
(For news and information about
Milwaukee visit http://www.jsonline.com/
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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