Woods gives golfers inspiration at MCI even
though he's not there
By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - Nick Price put together a Tiger
Woods-style run of five straight birdies and took a one-shot lead
in the MCI Classic on Thursday.
Price was four behind Brad Faxon, Tom Lehman and Rick Fehr
through 13 holes. But then he got it going like the Masters winner,
with on-target irons that left him putts of 20 feet or less.
He tapped in a 3-foot birdie putt on his last hole, the ninth,
and took the lead with a 65.
"You feel like if you hit it within 20 feet, you are going
to have a chance," Price said. "That's what I did when
I played so well in '92, '93 and '94. I never had any pressure
on myself to hit the ball close."
Price won five tour events, including the PGA, in 1994 and
has gone winless since.
Lehman and Faxon said they used Woods' double-digit Masters'
victory last week as motivation, drawing on the young superstar's
intensity and enthusiasm to shoot 66s.
Lennie Clements and Hal Sutton were two shots back and Phil
Mickelson and Tom Watson led a group at 68.
Price said coming to Harbour Town was a refreshing change from
the pressure cooker of Augusta National. That tournament, he says,
is like going 15 rounds with Mike Tyson and not landing a punch.
"But Tiger didn't think so," Price added.
Others up top said they were affected by Woods' amazing performance,
including Lehman, the 1996 PGA player of the year, and Faxon,
who won at New Orleans two weeks back.
"I think what he did at the Masters is going to help me
more than what I did at New Orleans," said Faxon, who won
the Freeport-McDermott Classic by three strokes. "You could
see his concentration, but at the same time you could see 'I want
to be here.' There's a lot of times I don't think everybody wants
to be there."
Lehman, who won The Tour Championship in a six-shot walkover
last year, says Woods teed off each day like he deserved the Masters'
green jacket.
"If you don't have the same mindset, he is just going
to kill you," Lehman said. "I am personally not ready
to get killed like that every time."
A nifty 12-foot birdie putt on his 10th hole got Price going.
He chipped to two feet to start his closing run, then canned birdie
putts of 12, 10, 20 and 3 feet.
Faxon had the death lock early, shooting a record 6-under 29
on his first nine holes. But he put his approach on the eighth
hole into the water and needed a closing birdie for 66.
Fehr had a chance for 64 and a two-stroke lead with a simple
par on the Lighthouse hole at No. 18. However, he drove the cart
path and took double bogey.
Lehman and Faxon weren't the only ones shaken by Woods. Nick
Faldo, who missed the cut at Augusta, spent the past week on the
putting green to rediscover his tempo. He shot 74.
Mickelson worked on his already deadly short game and was tied
for the lead until a double bogey on his 17th hole.
Price won't change his game for Woods because he'd never find
the length to match. "Maybe the younger guys are motivated
by that," he said. "For me it's like apples and oranges."
Woods is off the next month and will return for the Byron Nelson
Classic. Maybe by then, someone will have a way to beat him.
"If he keeps playing the way he is playing and you win
a tournament (and) he is not there, you need an asterisk next
to your name," Faxon said.
Divots: Clements is playing at Harbour Town for the first time
since 1989. He said his caddy was angry that Clements, who led
the PGA in greens hit in regulation two years ago, would always
miss the MCI. "You've got to keep your caddy happy,"
he said. "It's second to your wife." ... There have
been 18 players who scored 30 for nine holes here, the last being
defending champion Loren Roberts a year ago. Payne Stewart shot
29 on the front nine in 1989 when Harbour Town hosted the Nabisco
Championships. ... U.S. Open champion Steve Jones shot a 45 on
the front nine, including an eight on the par-3 fourth hole.
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