Tiger, Fuzzy and Colin all played nice this
day
By Ron Green / Knight-Ridder Newspapers
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It wasn't exactly Jerry Springer but in the
prim and proper world of golf, it was a gossip topic that was
worth a few muted snickers -- Tiger, Fuzzy and Mrs. Doubtfire,
grouped together to play the second round of the Masters on Friday.
This is as close as you can get to soap opera in the polite
world of par. Which is not close at all, as you will see, but
it beats reading yardages and talking about graphite shafts.
See, at the Masters last year, Fuzzy Zoeller said some stuff
about chicken and collards as they might relate to Tiger Woods
and Woods got mad and stayed mad for a long time, even after he
won the green coat, and the media whipped the tempest into a full-blown
tornado, which made Fuzzy mad, and he's still mad.
Mrs. Doubtfire, the rosy-cheeked Scot Colin Montgomery, said
after two rounds last year that he was looking forward to battling
young Tiger in the third round, that he felt his experience would
serve him well against the 21-year-old. What he was saying, basically,
was watch this kid wilt when I get him out there and turn the
heat up. When they walked off No. 18, it was Montgomery who was
toast. Woods shot a 65, Montgomery a bloody 74.
"Obviously, talent beats experience in these types of
situations," the wry Monty said on reflection.
And then before the Ryder Cup matches, Monty said any of the
European players could beat Woods, who had by that time achieved
god status around the world and beyond. Turned out Monty was just
about right on that count, but that's not the sort of comment
that endears one to one's fellow golfer.
And so there was a chill in the air Friday, and it wasn't just
the goose bump wind whipping around Augusta National.
It didn't help that while Zoeller and Woods were practicing
their putting a few feet apart before the round, Scott Hoch walked
by and said, loud enough for many in the gallery to hear, "Hey,
Fuzz, who's refereeing today?"
Zoeller ducked his head, covered his smiling face with his
hand, and said, "Oh, you beauty you. That is awful, is what
that is."
Hoch shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well?"
If Woods heard, he didn't react.
Zoeller was the first to move to the tee and drew the loudest
applause. Woods followed, moving across the tee to shake hands
with some Masters officials. Then he and Zoeller shook hands.
Until Zoeller bogeyed the tenth hole and drowned his ball on
the 11th, it was essentially a twosome -- Fuzzy and Monty, chatting
and laughing -- and a onesome, Tiger, lost in his game. After
the drowning, which resulted in a double bogey, even Zoeller went
quiet.
This pairing that seemed so awkward at the beginning turned
out to be a good thing. They went out there with a common adversary
and they had no time to worry about who said what.
The wind and the water and the hidden pins left no room for
such nonsense. David Duval and Fred Couples and Hoch were out
there making birdies, pulling away from them, and there was nothing
they could do about it, except try to hang on. Woods shot 72,
Zoeller 74, Montgomery 75.
When they were finished, all of them shook hands and said nice
things to each other. They had been to battle together and it
had not been each other that had been the problem.
"It was a gentleman's game," said Zoeller. "It
was a gentleman's round."
After two rounds, Woods has yet to show the form that won for
him last year. Club selection in the high winds swirling around
the place has been the thing that has kept him at bay. He has
missed half the greens. And he's still one under par.
He's four shots behind with two rounds to play, and there are
some tough guys ahead of him and all around him. He may have them
right where he wants them.
"I love my position," he said.
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(c) 1998, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).
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