Woods still gets jitters on first tee
VALENCIA, Calif. (AP) -- Six years ago, he was a nervous 16-year-old
high school student playing in his first PGA tournament.
Yet, for all the staggering acclaim that has followed, one
thing remains for Tiger Woods. He still gets butterflies when
he steps to the first tee.
Woods made his tour debut as an amateur in the 1992 Nissan
Open, and missed the cut with rounds of 72-75.
"A lot has happened since then. I still get as nervous
as I did then," he said. "When I tee it up in any tournament,
I'm still pretty nervous.
"I remember swinging a 3-wood on the first tee. It felt
like it weighed two tons. Somehow, I got it down there and got
a birdie on the first hole."
And maybe that first hole was an omen.
Woods is coming off a year in which brought riveting changes
to golf while winning a tour record $2,066,833 and becoming the
youngest player to win the Masters. He was honored as The Associated
Press Male Athlete of the Year.
Making his fourth tour start of the year, Woods will be trying
for his first 1998 title when he faces a Nissan Open field that
includes defending champion Nick Faldo, 1990 and 1992 winner Fred
Couples and 1994 and 1995 winner Corey Pavin.
The tournament, normally at Riviera Country Club, is at Valencia
Country Club because of preparations at Riviera for the U.S. Senior
Open in July.
"I feel like I've played well this year," Woods said.
"The only time I got to play four rounds (in Thailand), I
won. Unfortunately, we've been playing the 'El Nino tour.' "
Storms have affected all this year's PGA events in California,
with the exception of last month's Hope Chrysler Classic in the
Palm Springs area.
Faldo also said he's ready to go.
"This is when the real season starts," he said. "I've
had a good rest since the Ryder Cup. This is the start of some
serious golf leading up to the Masters."
He said Valencia, a tour event for the first time, is a good
course, but wondered about the tricky putting surfaces.
"There's probably one too many dead elephants buried in
the greens," Faldo said. "When you hit it 40 feet from
the hole and have to putt over a ridge ... you won't make too
many of those. There's humps and bumps on a lot of the greens,
probably one or two too many."
|
