Wednesday, August 30, 2000
Woods ready for some time off after tiring
against Garcia
By TIM DAHLBERG
AP Sports Writer
PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Tiger Woods stretched himself
to the limit, and lost.
Not just to Sergio Garcia in Monday night's made-for-television
event. He also surrendered to a body that finally caught up with
the stress of three straight weeks of being Tiger.
The result was not so evident on the course, where Woods shot
a 67 to lose to Garcia by one hole, but later as he wearily answered
a few questions before finally calling it a night.
“I've had three pretty good weeks. The last few months have
been good to me,” Woods said. “It builds up. My body
just broke down a couple days short.”
Woods headed for some much-deserved time off after a whirlwind
nine days that saw him win the PGA Championship in a thriller,
the NEC Invitational in a walk and fail by a hole to win $1.1
million against Garcia.
He may play next month in the Canadian Open, though that's not
certain. After that, nothing until the Presidents Cup in mid-October.
Woods battled flu-like symptoms the last day of the NEC and against
Garcia, complaining to his caddie on the 17th hole Monday night
at Bighorn Golf Club that he was freezing on a warm desert evening.
He had won in darkness in Akron, Ohio Sunday night, and given
a golf clinic the next morning. Then he hopped on his jet to the
desert, three hours behind Akron and the East Coast prime time
for ABC.
“I wish I could have felt just a bit better,” Woods
said.
While Woods was not successful against Garcia, golf's return to
prime time proved a winner once again.
Overnight ratings for the event, which stretched beyond its allotted
time as the two went to the final hole, were 8.6, compared with
6.9 for Woods' match against David Duval last year. That was almost
a point above the average for ABC's three “Monday Night Football”
preseason games with Dennis Miller in the booth.
Even though the win was not official, Garcia reacted as if he
had won a major championship himself.
After sinking the 10-footer for birdie to close Woods out on the
final hole, he raised his arms in victory and his mother ran onto
the green to hug him. For a player who has struggled all year
after a promising rookie season, it was a special moment indeed.
“It was very exciting,” Garcia said. “I think we
both played very well. He's by far the best golfer in the world
right now.”
Garcia's win came under the lights, which were set up on the final
four holes, lending the affair an almost surreal aura.
Because of cloud cover and a late start, the 14th hole was played
almost in darkness, with Garcia making a putt from off the green
using light from the nearby 15th to try and see the hole.
“It felt like a good putt, but I couldn't see the hole,”
Garcia said.
Garcia made a 35-footer on 16 to take the lead for good, and withstood
a near chip-in by Woods on 18 to make the winning birdie putt.
“I don't know if it's good for golf or not, but we had a
wonderful atmosphere,” Woods said. “We got to the 15th
hole and there were six flag shadows. It was interesting to see.”
Woods pocketed $400,000 for the loss, bringing his total in nine
days to $2.3 million. Garcia, meanwhile, more than doubled his
season earnings on the PGA Tour.
More important, perhaps, was that it was good enough television
to hold the interest of casual viewers who may have tuned in just
to see Woods.
“We made it to the 18th, which I'm sure the producer of the
show wasn't against,” Woods said.
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