Woods ready to take second step in quest to
win golf's grand slam
The Orange County Register
(KRT)
BETHESDA, Md. - It is target golf of another sort, played across
the pages of time by a solitary figure operating at a higher plane.
Others aim at pins. Tiger Woods homes in on history.
History tells him no one has won the Masters, the U.S. and
British Opens and the PGA Championship in the same year, a quest
better known as the modern grand slam. You need not be privy to
his innermost thoughts to understand that the idea that he might
be the first appeals to him.
"Winning the grand slam is not easy," he said. "But
I kind of have an alternative way of looking at it. Granted, you're
playing against the best fields in the world under the most extreme
conditions, and obviously the butterflies are going to be going
crazy. But I've said this before, that Phil Mickelson won four
times last year. All you need to do is win the right four."
Woods, 21, already has completed a fourth of the journey, winning
the Masters in April. The second leg of the slam - the U.S. Open
- begins Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.
It was the dominating manner in which Woods won the Masters
- by a record 12 strokes - that has the golf world weighing the
possibility of a slam for the first time since Jack Nicklaus held
sway over the game a quarter-century ago. Although it is unlikely
anyone ever will win the modern slam ...
"Don't be saying that," prominent teaching pro and
CBS analyst Peter Kostis said, interrupting the sentence. "I
said it on the 10th hole of Augusta this year, when Tiger was
playing my hole. I said that with all the skills this young man
has, as difficult as the modern slam may be to accomplish, you
have to think he's going to reduce the odds. Personally, I think
he has a chance to do it."
Woods' play in his first full season as a professional has
rekindled interest in the pursuit of a grand slam. He already
has won three tournaments - the Mercedes Championships, the Masters
and the Byron Nelson Classic - and has established beyond any
doubt that he already is the best player in the world.
"He's on a pretty big high," Nicklaus said. "He's
playing awfully well. Congressional is a very good golf course
for him. I would say the chances of Tiger winning two of them
are very good. Beyond that I don't know. I think anybody winning
all four is a very, very difficult chore. But it's possible."
The final two legs are the British Open, July 17-20 at Royal
Troon, and the PGA Championship, Aug. 14-17 at Winged Foot Golf
Club at Mamaroneck, N.Y. Troon is a potential stumbling block
for Woods, according to Tom Watson, who won the Open there in
1982.
"The courses set up for him, with the exception of Troon,"
Watson said. "Troon is the equalizer. Winged Foot is a wonderful
course for him. Congressional is the same way. But Troon is the
equalizer. It's kind of like the way Colonial played (three weeks
ago). Very short, a lot of irons off the tee.
"But Tiger can use his length to an advantage at Congressional
and Winged Foot and can distance himself from the rest of the
field. Troon, he'll have to lay up a lot and that will bring him
back to the field as far as his length is concerned."
Nicklaus is prepared to concede him the U.S. Open but views
both Troon and Winged Foot as obstacles for Woods in his quest.
"Troon can be hard," Nicklaus said. "Troon can
be soft. When it's hard, Troon is really a difficult course to
manage a golf game, really tough that way. And Winged Foot, I
don't know. It's a strange golf course. You remember when (Billy)
Casper won there (in 1959)? What did he have, 104 putts or something?
I think the greens are really the factor at Winged Foot. You've
got to be on your putting game there. I would say the chances
of Tiger winning two of them are very good. Beyond that, I don't
know."
A pattern in Woods' schedule already has been detected. It
is apparent that, as Nicklaus did before him, he intends to focus
almost exclusively on major championships, the tournaments that
come to define a player's career. He will play a few tournaments
leading to a major, "to get tournament tough," he said,
then perhaps take a week off to prepare for the major, as he has
done for this Open.
"He's going to have to take the same approach that Hogan
did in '53," Kostis said. "Hogan only played in six
tournaments that year. If Tiger plays enough of a reduced schedule,
he can work on his game and have it ready for the majors. Then
I think he's more than capable of winning the slam. He has the
physical domination over his peers that Nicklaus had in his prime.
He has the mental capacities of at least a 35-year-old golfer,
so I would put him in Hogan's category there. And he has the tenacity
and desire of a Gary Player. All that and a great short game,
too."
Woods' teacher, Butch Harmon, suggested Congressional sets
up nearly as well for him as Augusta National does. Indeed, it
favors the long hitter, provided he avoids frequent forays into
the lethal U.S. Open rough. Woods is one of the two longest hitters
in professional golf.
"You need mental toughness and a great short game at Congressional,"
Kostis said. "Length is certainly a huge advantage at Congressional,
too. You also have to hit high shots with your irons. And you
have to putt the ball solidly and confidently.
"Sounds like Tiger Woods to me."
(c) 1997, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).
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