Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Tiger leaves world at a loss
for words
By Brad Townsend
The Dallas Morning News
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Quiet normalcy
returned to the streets of St. Andrews on Monday morning, but
wonderment remained in the air.
Tiger Woods' jet departed nearby Leuchars
air base at 10 p.m. Sunday, carrying golf's youngest grand slam
winner, his entourage, the claret jug and another cargo bin-full
of major championship achievements.
Fans in Scotland and the rest of the world
were left groping for a way to put Woods' recent feats in perspective.
During a five-week span, he has won the
U.S. Open and British Open by a combined 23 shots. In golf, that
is beyond compare.
It boggles the mind and piques imagination.
What would be the equivalent dominance by another athlete on his
or her sport's biggest stage?
Perhaps Michael Jordan averaging 60 points
in an NBA Finals.
Or Pedro Martinez pitching two no-hitters
in one World Series.
Or Emmitt Smith rushing for 350 yards in
the Super Bowl.
Or Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France
by two hours.
“The guy is simply in a different league,”
said six-time major champion Nick Faldo on Sunday, as Woods was
en route to breaking Faldo's major tournament record for score
in relation to par (18-under).
“He's thrown all these old myths out
the window, that you can't physically train for golf, that you
can't be strong or you are going to lose your touch. This has
happened through the `90s, through science.”
At St. Andrews on Sunday, there was a palpable
feeling among fans, media and even some of Woods' peers that a
once-in-a-generation phenomenon was occurring.
Steve Elkington, Mark Calcavecchia and Mark
O'Meara were among players who finished their rounds early, but
returned hours later to watch Woods play No. 18.
Why?
“It's history,” Elkington explained.
“I want to be able to say I was there.”
In reaction to Woods' eight-victory season
of 1999, many of the tour's top players made it a point to get
stronger and more physically fit.
David Duval, the No. 2 player in the world
until he lost that designation to Ernie Els on Sunday, became
a buffed workout freak. Now he admits his daily weightlifting
may have been the reason he strained a muscle in his back.
Peers have tried everything they can think
of to keep up with Woods, but they're still getting lapped, only
worse than before.
It was only five months ago that Woods ran
his string of consecutive victories in PGA Tour starts to six,
the longest run in 52 years. But that feat has been all but forgotten
in the wake of Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.
“He's certainly not going to get off
the next 15 years with a free run,” said Jack Nicklaus, the
legend whose record of 18 major championships looks more reachable
with every step Woods climbs. “But right now, he's the dominant
player. Everyone else has thrown up a white flag and surrendered.”
The scary thing about Woods, Faldo noted,
is he has Nicklaus' mental approach, but even more all-around
talent than the Golden Bear in his prime. It is an assessment
Nicklaus doesn't refute.
“He definitely has a better short game
than I had,” Nicklaus said. “But I think we grew up
a lot differently. I was a big kid when I grew up and he was not
a big kid. A lot of kids that are slight in stature have a good
short game.
“He grew up. Now he's a pretty good-sized
kid (6-2, 180). Now he has a big game and he's not going to forget
the short game.”
During a practice round with Woods last
Wednesday, Calcavecchia marveled at the way Woods and his coach
Butch Harmon had plotted their approach to St. Andrews. During
the practice round, Woods remarked to Calcavecchia that he thought
he would eventually win more British Opens than any major.
“I think you'll win more U.S. Opens
because the course setup requires all parts of the game,”
Calcavecchia told him. “I think it'll be in U.S. Opens that
you'll be able to show your superiority.”
So far, he has one win in each of the majors,
the most significant sign of all that he has the ability to win
— and dominate — on any course, any time.
Now it is on to next month's PGA Championship
in Valhalla and the opportunity to win three majors in a year
(accomplished only by Ben Hogan, in 1953). Which raises the question
of whether he can some day win all four in one year?
“I would have said `no chance,' “
Calcavecchia said. “But he's the only guy who can do it,
if it happens. It's hard to put anything past this kid.”
The funny or not-so-funny part about it
is the more Woods dominates, the more his peers get to know him,
and the more they like him.
“I sometimes sit around and wonder
how in the world a guy who has signed $100 million worth of contracts
and has won as much as he has can still come out and be a pretty
likable guy,” veteran Hal Sutton said. “Tiger handles
himself well.”
(c) 2000, The Dallas Morning
News.
Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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