Tuesday, August 22, 2000
Natural Slam is Tiger's next
quarry
By Jack Saylor
Knight Ridder Newspapers
It's eight months away, but golf observers
already are awaiting the 2001 Masters, itching to see what the
side effects will be from Tiger Woods' latest victory, the dramatic
three-hole PGA playoff win over Bob May.
First, the Tiger side. You have to know
he'll be the lopsided favorite to win the Masters, and if he does
comes controversy.
That will make him the first ever to win
four straight majors, but will it, indeed, constitute a natural
Grand Slam? Can it be when three of the titles were won in 2000
and the other in 2001?
There are no written rules to cover this,
but purists will say all four should be won in the same season.
My spin: Slap an asterisk on it, if you
must, because it still will be an incomparable, unprecedented
achievement. Anyway, the question could become academic. If Woods
does win the 2001 Masters, would you bet much he won't win all
three other majors again?
A more interesting question: What will the
performance of May, a virtual unknown, do to the psyche of the
regular PGA Tour members in dealing with Tiger?
May, a refugee from the European Tour, showed
the world that if you work hard and put your mind to it, you can
beat Tiger — or at least take him to the brink.
Maybe veterans like Davis Love and Phil
Mickelson, who seem to fire but fall back when they draw near
Tiger, can take inspiration from May. Then again, maybe not.
Thing is, Woods not only is the best, but
he has the work ethic to keep getting better.
Tiger stayed on the range Friday night until
dark to iron out kinks in his driver — or maybe it was to
drive out kinks in his irons. Whichever, he quickly followed that
by heading to the fitness trailer for a workout.
Then, after his 70 on Saturday (that's two
OVER par for Tiger at Valhalla), he stayed until 9 p.m. under
floodlights on the putting green to get the flat stick going properly.
He spotted May a two-shot lead, but his
putter kicked in — just in time, as May was red-hot. Woods'
15-footer for par at the 15th was a game saver when May, already
leading by one, looked ready to enjoy a two-stroke swing. Then
there was the five-footer on top of May's 15-footer to force the
playoff, then the 20-footer on the first playoff hole for his
winning margin.
Of all his talents, maybe the best is Tiger's
seeming ability to make whatever putt there is if it's absolutely
needed.
Woods has won his fifth major at age 24,
nearly two years younger than Jack Nicklaus was when he won his
fifth. In his quest to better the Golden Bear's total of 18 majors,
Tiger has become the Bear Apparent.
Nicklaus put it into perspective after being
paired with Woods for two days at Valhalla. “He makes it
look very easy so often, and does it with so much left in him,”
Nicklaus said. “I knew he was good, obviously. And now I
think he is better than I thought he was.”
When asked what advice he might offer Woods,
Nicklaus responded: “I wouldn't offer any. I'd ask him for
a lesson.”
DIVOT DIGGINGS:
Inspired by Tiger? Test your prowess in
the ReMax regional Long Drive Contest Saturday (noon to 5 p.m.)
at Mulligan's of South Lyon. Entrants get six whacks for $30.
Junior competition also will be held, so as not to affect high
school eligibility. Information at 248-437-0011. . . .
Curtis Strange and Sam Torrance, rival 2001
Ryder Cup captains, looked ahead to the meeting at The Belfry
in chats at last week's PGA. Strange thinks most of the criticism
of U.S. players' celebration came through then-captain Mark James'
book. “We acknowledged at the time we crossed the line a
little bit, but how do you hold back the reins on spontaneous
emotion?” Strange said. “Sam and I are on the same page.
We have been friends for many years, and we're 1-1 in Cup competition.
So it starts with us and filters down to teams and fans. Do I
expect them (the Europeans) to retaliate? No. Absolutely not.”
. . .
With the exception of Nicklaus' absence,
next week's Foremost Insurance Senior Classic at Grand Rapids
will look like a reunion of PGA champions of 20 years past. On
hand will be Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Dave Stockton, Larry Nelson,
Lanny Wadkins and David Graham — PGA titlists all. Other
notables teeing it up will be defending champion Christy O'Connor,
two-time Grand Rapids winner George Archer, Michigan native Tom
Wargo, Gary McCord and John Jacobs. Tom Kite is still considering
entering.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE:
Woods, on fans getting unruly: “At
times, yes. It depends on if the tournament is selling beverages
of their choice and hopefully they don't consume too many of them
in the hot sun.”
(c) 2000, Detroit Free Press.
Visit the Freep, the World Wide Web site of the Detroit Free Press,
at http://www.freep.com.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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