Wednesday, July 5, 2000
Woods' lead in points looks insurmountable
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune
(KRT)
CHICAGO — It only seems as if Tiger Woods has been winning
every golf tournament since the beginning of time. Actually, Woods
wasn't the No. 1 player a year ago at this time.
The Western Open marked a turning point for Woods in 1999. He
came into the tournament ranked second in the world behind David
Duval. Woods had won only two tournaments. On the strength of
four early-season victories, Duval had held the top spot for 14
weeks. Woods' victory at Cog Hill moved him to No. 1.
Duval regained the lead for one week in early August, but Woods'
run at the PGA Championship at Medinah started his runaway. Woods
now has been No. 1 for 44 straight weeks. He seems to be a virtual
lock to break Greg Norman's record of 96 straight weeks at No.
1, compiled from June 18, 1995 through April 13, 1997.
Woods holds an unprecedented 15-point lead over Duval in the world
rankings. He could miss 97 straight cuts and still be No. 1.
Ranked: With Woods, this year's Advil Western Open has only three
of the world's top 10 ranked players, and six of the top 20.
Western entrants in the top 20 are Woods at 1, Phil Mickelson
at 7, Vijay Singh at 8, Nick Price at 11, Tom Lehman at 14, and
Jim Furyk at 15.
The Western wasn't in line to get European players such as Colin
Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, and Darren Clarke. However, there are
some notable PGA Tour players who passed up Cog Hill: Duval (ranked
second), Ernie Els (fourth), Davis Love III (fifth), Hal Sutton
(ninth) and Justin Leonard (17th).
“We're happy with the field,” said tournament director
John Kaczkowski. “A lot of people who have been around longer
than I have said it is one of our best fields in years.”
It's the ball: Since switching from a Titleist ball to the Nike
Tour Accuracy, Woods has won two of three tournaments, including
the U.S. Open.
“It's different in a good way,” Woods said. “They
fly almost identical, but the Nike ball spins more around the
greens. I can be a little more aggressive. It's added another
dimension to my game.”
Tap-ins: Woods will try to become first back-to-back Western winner
since Nick Price in 1993-94... . Advil has raised the purse $500,000
to $3 million. The winner receives $540,000. Willie Smith, the
first Western winner, earned $50.
(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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