Tuesday, August 22, 2000
Begay: Tiger's dominance has disheartened
many pros
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — Notah Begay III, who has two victories
in each of his two seasons on the PGA Tour, thinks Tiger Woods'
domination has left many fellow golf professionals disheartened
and feeling beaten from the start.
“I think for a lot of them it is” disheartening, Begay
said Monday at Kingsmill Golf Club, where he will defend the Michelob
Championship in October. “But there's a small percentage
that look at it as a challenge and inspiration.
“He's the pace-setter.”
Woods, a teammate of Begay's at Stanford, became only the second
player to win three majors in a year Sunday with a stirring comeback
victory in the PGA Championship. It was a rally that Begay said
highlights what makes Woods frighteningly good.
“What a lot of people don't understand about Tiger is that
when he gets in those situations, as opposed to a lot of other
players that start feeling the pressure and ... having doubts,
Tiger really enjoys it.
“Everybody wondered why he can make those putts,” Begay
said of Woods' 6-footer on the final hole of regulation to force
a playoff with Bob May.
“He's just testing himself. He's continually testing himself
and when he fails, he goes back and evaluates why he failed and
rebuilds it and comes back stronger the next time. That's why
it's so scary how good he is now because he's going to continually
try and improve and make himself a better player, which is going
to make the rest of us have to work even harder to bridge the
gap.”
For many, he said, the psychological game has already been won
— by Woods.
“I know for a fact that there's a percentage of guys that
know they can't beat him. It's a simple as that,” Begay said,
adding that he's beaten Woods two or three times head-to-head
over 10 years while coming up short five or six times.
Curtis Strange, a two-time U.S. Open champion, compared Woods'
dominance to that of superstars Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan
and Jack Nicklaus in their primes.
“He's winning all the tournaments,” Strange said flatly.
“I think we have to be careful and not expect him to win
every tournament he steps into, but when he gets fired up, with
his talent, with his intestinal fortitude, everything, when that
preparation meets the opportunity, he's there all the time.”
Woods has played just 15 events on tour this year, winning seven
times and finishing second in three. He's earned nearly $6.7 million,
more than twice what Phil Mickelson, a three-time winner this
year, has won. Begay is 12th at $1.65 million.
Woods also is making a liar of Lee Trevino, Strange said, partly
joking.
“Trevino said years ago `God didn't give one golfer everything.'
Well, that was before Tiger Woods came about,” Strange said.
“He's not only very good at everything, he's probably one
of the top three in every category right now.
“He's got the total, total package.”
It's a package Begay, who probably knows Woods as well as almost
any other player on tour, would relish a chance to duel with some
Sunday afternoon.
“I think that would be the most fun, just to be there with
him. We've played so much together in all these years. It'd just
be like two old friends going at each other, two brothers almost.
And once the gun goes off, it doesn't really matter who the guy
is. You just want to beat his brains in,” he said.
May's gutsy performance should give every golfer hope that they
would rise to the challenge if their time comes against Woods,
Begay said. But Strange doesn't expect anyone to come close to
the 24-year-old Woods on a consistent basis.
“Guys like Notah, as wonderful as he is, have no chance ever
to be number one in the world as long as Tiger's around,”
Strange said. “Mickelson and Ernie Els and guys you look
at as the top notch players. David Duval isn't going to be number
one. They're going to be wonderful players, maybe hall of fame
players one day, but they're not going to be number one as long
as Tiger's around.”
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