Sunday, June 18, 2000
Tiger playing like a man among
boys
By John Harper
New York Daily News
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Made to look
like weekend hackers by Comparison, The Best players in the world
who aren't named Tiger Woods don't want to believe what they're
seeing.
Not here. Not at the U.S. Open. It was one
thing for Tiger to lap the field at the Masters as a 21-year-old
phenom three years ago, when there was no penalty for bombing
the ball anywhere he pleased.
But the Open is all about precision and
patience and punishment. Or as Jack Nicklaus put it on Friday
in his farewell address of sorts:
“The U.S. Open probably does more to
make a man out of you than any other tournament.”
In that case, Tiger was a man among boys
on Saturday, as Pebble Beach humiliated world class players up
and down the scoreboard. Consider that Vijay Singh, Hal Sutton,
Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke, the Irishman who tamed
Tiger at the World Match Play Tournament this year, were among
the 16 players who shot 80 or higher.
Tiger, meanwhile, shot 71 to open a 10-shot
lead over Ernie Els and turn this tournament into the most stunning
showcase yet for his dominance in golf.
Never mind that he'd won 11 out his last
20 tournaments since June of `99; in golf circles the U.S. Open
was regarded as something of a final frontier for him. The tight
fairways, punishing rough, and tiny greens here at Pebble all
figured to balance the scales for the field against Tiger.
Yet here he is, playing against nothing
but the record book in today's final round. His play has been
so spectacular that other players obviously don't know what to
make of it. No one in golf is more laid back than Ernie Els, yet
he felt compelled to argue yesterday that Tiger's dominance this
week was not quite what it seemed.
“I feel Tiger has had the best end
of the draw,” Els said. “I don't want to sound like
a crybaby, but . . .”
Els did have a point. The weather has played
favorites this week, depending on a player's designated tee times
for Thursday and Friday, and Tiger truly did have the best of
it for two days.
He shot his 65 in the calm of Thursday morning,
before fog suspended play for half the field. And by the time
he finally played on Friday, his afternoon tee time pushed back
to 4:20 p.m. because of Thursday's suspension, a windy day had
turned remarkably calm.
So Els, fresh off a brilliant 68 yesterday
that jumped him from a tie for 36th all the way to second place,
wasn't ready to give the tournament to Tiger just yet. As Els
spoke after his round, Tiger was finishing up his front nine,
and, well, Els was just hoping the 30 mile-per-hour wind gusts
wouldn't die this time.
“He's played in no wind until this
point,” said Els. “So let's see now.”
Actually, Tiger seemed to be controlling
the weather as well as the tournament yesterday, because the wind
again subsided significantly, especially over his back nine.
Still, there enough wind to be a factor
along the cliffs of doom, Nos. 8, 9, and 10, and for that matter,
the wind probably cost him a triple-bogey early, when his approach
on No. 3 wound up buried in heavy grass on the edge of a bunker.
Yet Tiger carried on, seemingly unaffected
by the kind of bad break that was ruining so many other rounds
on this cool, sunny afternoon. He played the rest of the round
in 2-under par, pulling off a couple of fabulous recovery shots
from gnarly lies in the rough.
So much for Els' belief that the conditions
would finally spill some of Tiger's blood on Pebble Beach. Had
he been asked a couple of hours later, Els may well have crowned
Tiger king.
At the time, however, Els represented the
last hope among all the big-name players who are being trampled
by Tiger.
“Who knows around this place?”
Els said. “I played with one of the best players in the world
(Colin Montgomerie), and he just had two or three bad holes and
shot 79. Anything can happen here. Some of the holes coming in
are very, very difficult right now.”
IT'S NOT AS if Els wasn't willing to give
Tiger his due. Though some players still grumble about all the
media attention Tiger receives - “People act like he's the
only player in the tournament,” Miguel Angel Jimenez complained
this week - Els knows what Tiger means to golf.
“He's probably the most recognized
sportsman on the planet right now,” Els said. “That's
good for golf and good for me. But it would be even better for
golf if somebody could step up and play with him.”
Els thought he'd done just that on Saturday.
He seemed sure Tiger would back up enough to make a game of it.
Instead Tiger played a round that made everyone believe, once
and for all: He really is this good.
(c) 2000, New York Daily News.
Visit the Daily News online at http://www.nydailynews.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
|
