Tuesday, March 6, 2001
Tiger bleeding a little, which only proves
he's human
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
Mark Calcavecchia called him the chosen one.
Tom Watson didn't go that far, because he is older and wiser and
owns four more claret jugs than Tiger Woods. He only referred
to him as “something supernatural.”
And then there was Rocco Mediate, who said Woods was some sort
of bionic man.
“Cut him open and I'll tell you what you'll find,” Mediate
said last year during Woods' run into history. “A bunch of
wires and levers, and a big heart.”
Cut him open now and you'll find that Tiger Woods actually bleeds.
That Tiger Woods actually is human.
It only seemed otherwise last year, when he played golf like he
was from another solar system. No one shoots 12 under at a U.S.
Open and wins by 15 shots. No one wins three straight majors with
a combined score of 49-under par.
No one hits a wedge from 168 yards to 2 feet on the final hole
— in the dark. No one hits 6-iron from 218 yards out of a
fairway bunker, over the water, right at the pin with the tournament
on the line.
Every week, there was something new.
Just like now.
It seems like a phenomenon when Woods doesn't make a 15-foot eagle
putt on the 72nd hole with a chance to tie for the lead, which
is what happened at Torrey Pines.
It seems odd when Woods doesn't win after his first six tournaments
of a new season, maybe because it has never happened. The longest
he ever had to wait to win was his rookie year, when he was a
20-year-old fresh off his third U.S. Amateur who said, “Hello,
world,” then won in his fifth start as a pro and has been
waving goodbye ever since.
And no one ever had seen what took place Sunday in Dubai.
At least not from Tiger.
He was tied for the lead going to the final hole, a par 5, the
kind that almost always gives Woods the advantage. Thomas Bjorn
ripped his drive down the middle. Woods ripped his drive into
the trees, punched out across the fairway, then hit into the water,
taking double bogey.
It was the first time Woods had botched the 72nd hole to lose,
although he's in good company. Sam Snead took triple bogey on
the final hole to blow the 1939 U.S. Open. Arnold Palmer made
double bogey on the final hole to lose the '61 Masters. Ben Hogan
lost the '46 Masters with a three-putt bogey on the 18th. Jean
Van de Velde is in a league of his own.
They all lost majors.
Woods only lost a European event, although he might also have
lost some of his mystique. Perhaps the most unusual thing from
Dubai were the words that followed Bjorn's victory.
Appreciation, not awe.
Inspiration, not fear.
“The intimidation is disappearing,” Bjorn said. “People
are now starting to realize you can't get intimidated by him.
You have to beat him. I know I can go out with that guy and I
can look him in the eye and take him on.
“It doesn't make him anything else but the greatest player
in the world. He's by far better than anybody else. Don't forget
that. But he's going to lose tournaments.”
After all, he's human.
What Woods accomplished the past two years, winning four out of
five majors and 16 of 30 tournaments during one stretch, may have
done as much to strip some of the intimidation as any tournament
he has failed to win recently.
For some, there is no longer anything to lose. For others, the
surprise has worn off.
“A lot of players are getting used to him now,” Hal
Sutton said at the start of the year. “You know what to expect
out of him. You're not going to be caught by surprise by what
he does. To beat Tiger, you've got to expect him to do his best,
and not be surprised by it.”
It should be noted that Woods was about 4 feet away from being
perfect on the 72nd hole in Dubai, 4 feet away from possibly winning.
A year ago, the ball probably would have cleared the water and
stopped within a shadow of the hole at high noon.
So, what's wrong with Woods?
Nothing.
At least nothing that a few putts or a few feet won't cure.
If you're looking for a slump, check out David Duval. He's finished
out of the top 50 in his last two tournaments, and missed the
cut in his last two before that. Woods' sin is four top 10s and
two ties for 13th.
“If I went four years without winning, that's a slump,”
Woods said.
A slump is Davis Love III, who went 34 months and 62 tournaments
without winning.
Woods' game is not that far off. The intimidation factor will
not be far behind.
All he's doing now is suffering the consequences of this quirky
game called golf. It can be a humbling game that holds no allegiance
to any human being.
Yes, even Tiger Woods bleeds a little now and then.
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