Just when Tiger thought the hype had reached
its limits ...
By Mike Kern
Knight-Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
BETHESDA, Md. - Not too long ago, Tiger Woods never imagined
his life could get any larger.
Ah, youth. Serves him right for winning the Masters, his first
professional major, by a preposterous 12 shots in April.
Last September, some people actually wondered whether the highly
touted new pro would earn enough money in seven season-ending
events to become exempt for this year's PGA Tour.
Now, they're talking seriously about the Grand Slam.
"It's changed," Woods said Tuesday in front of an
overflow crowd in the media tent at Congressional Country Club,
some 48 hours before he's scheduled to tee off in the first round
of the U.S. Open. "At the end of last year, I didn't think
(the hype) could get any worse. But you should never think that
way.
"The funny thing is, I've only been a pro for what, nine
months? People think I've been at this for 10, 20 years."
If Woods thinks his world already has become frenzied, just
imagine what will happen if he becomes the first man since Jack
Nicklaus in 1972 to win the first two legs of golf's holy grail.
No one has won all four modern majors (also the British Open
and PGA Championship) in the same season. Only Ben Hogan, in 1953,
won three. Just four men - the Mount Rushmore of Hogan, Nicklaus,
Gene Sarazen and Gary Player - managed a career slam.
That hasn't stopped Great Britain's legal bookmakers from lowering
the odds on a Tiger sweep to a ridiculously low 25-1. Of course,
they've already accepted a wager, at somewhat longer odds, that
Woods will one day be elected president. What a planet.
Yes, Tigermania has taken on a life of its own. Where it stops,
not even Tiger knows for certain.
"I was at home the other day and I went into Subway just
to pick up a sandwich," he said. "My best friend went
there after I did, and the whole talk of the shopping center was,
'Tiger Woods was in Subway.' I mean, I never had to deal with
that.
"I'm still 21 years old. What do I miss most? I guess
playing a practice round in peace, things like that, going out
to dinner and (not) have people bugging you while you eat. Where
I was raised, that was very rude. But, then again, there are some
perks to being who I am ... doing the things I like to do. I wouldn't
trade that."
Actually, there are about 75 million perks. Or is that 100
million? Not that it really matters, because at this point the
money already is moot. He's set for the duration, and then some.
Not too shabby for somebody who would be preparing for finals
at Stanford this week had he remained in school for his junior
year.
Into omens? The week before the Masters, Woods shot a 59 at
his home club near Orlando, Fla. It easily could have been a 57.
Last week, he carded a 63 on a course in Houston, where he was
working with his swing instructor, Butch Harmon. It could have
been a 61.
"I had a bogey and I missed a 3-footer for birdie,"
Woods said, matter-of-factly. "So I'm playing pretty good."
Just what the competition needs to hear.
At least Woods has shown he's almost human, just when you thought
he might win every time he showed up ... He was tied for the lead
on the back nine on the final day at Colonial (May 25) and finished
fourth. The following week at the Memorial, he barely made the
cut. He can't win them all. But he sure can be the automatic favorite.
If that's a burden, he isn't flinching.
"Well, I expect to win every tournament that I play because
that's what I go there to do," said Woods, who will head
out at noon with defending champion Steve Jones and 1996 British
Open champ Tom Lehman. "I figure there's no point in going
if you don't think you can win.
"I'm not going to rule out the possibility of anyone winning
the Grand Slam. (Phil) Mickelson won four times last year. If
he won the right four, he would've had it. That's kind of a simple
way of looking at it. But the practicality of someone doing it
is very unlikely. There's so many factors that go into winning
even just one leg. I've only won one.
"I think the only time I would think about it would be
if I won the first three legs, and then I had a lead going into
the last hole on Sunday at the PGA (Championship in August). Then
I would entertain it."
It's too huge to even contemplate.
For now, his only concern is Congressional, which at 7,213
yards is the longest Open layout ever. The members play it as
a par-72. But the U.S. Golf Association turned two par-5s into
mammoth par-4s for the Open.
Length is obviously Tiger's forte. He says he'll use his driver
only three times, at most. Instead, he'll tee off with a 3-wood
or 2-iron to try to keep the ball in the fairway. Unlike Augusta
National, Congressional's rough is unforgiving. Whereas he could
get away with some errant drives at the Masters, the mantra at
any Open is location, location, location.
Two years ago at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, N.Y., before
he won the second of his three U.S. Amateur titles, Woods withdrew
in the second round after injuring his wrist. Last June at Oakland
Hills just outside Detroit, he was 3-under through his first 13
holes. Then he put two balls in the water at No. 14, took a triple-bogey
7 and ended the day at 6-over 76. Despite a second-round 69, he
finished tied for 82nd.
Woods said he has learned to adjust to distractions.
"I've had to deal with a lot of things," Woods said,
"but I've noticed that once I start playing in a tournament,
I'm fine.
"I've learned how to handle distractions. Sometimes it's
not easy. Today at No. 5, as I took the club back, there were
a whole bunch of people on the other side of the tee box taking
pictures. All of a sudden, it was like strobe lights, all the
flashes going on; it looked like the club was moving in stages.
That's kind of interesting, when you play practice rounds that
way.
"But when the gun goes off, I'm in a zone."
Otherwise, he might notice the whole world watching.
(c) 1997, Philadelphia Daily News.
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