Tuesday, July 18, 2000
Golf's past and present converge at St.
Andrew's
By HUBERT MIZELL
St. Petersburg Times
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — As his conquests mount, and his Stanford
mind inhales history, the Tiger Woods package is extraordinary
at age 24 as golf's still-escalating dominator alights at St.
Andrews with a dynamic opportunity.
His sport was invented centuries ago on these lumpy, treeless,
seaside Scottish acres. None of golf's grand arenas, even Augusta
or Pebble Beach, equals the Old Course for deep-rooted ambiance.
Again, the game's supreme contemporaries gather for the British
Open, a tournament born in 1860 whose impact in 2000 is globally
unsurpassed, challenging a grassy cathedral that is longer than
ever at 7,115 yards.
Woods amply comprehends.
“What a magnificent chance I have,” he said the other
day in Ireland, “knowing that four days of solid golf, in
the game's ultimate setting, can complete the Grand Slam.”
He could be Sir Tiger.
Woods won a Masters by 12 strokes at Augusta National in 1997,
gutted out a PGA Championship by the most trembling of margins
at Chicago's Medinah in 1999, then last month made it a Three-Quarters
Slam, annihilating all comers in the U.S. Open to win by 15 at
Pebble Beach.
After his artistry on the Monterey Peninsula, there was considerable
surrender in the voices of humbled Tiger chasers. Grit will be
reaffirmed, at least until Thursday when the British Open cranks.
“We're not a pack of quitters,” Masters champion Vijay
Singh said in a BBC radio interview. “Nobody has ever been
a lock in a major championship. Nobody. Jack Nicklaus, never.
Not Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Gary Player or Tom Watson. What we
saw at the U.S. Open was indeed incredible. But people shouldn't
be so silly, no matter how good Tiger can be, to think that every
major championship will now be his private party.”
Woods knows that.
“My only real concern is me,” said Woods. “Nobody
ever truly dominates golf. But, yes, I'm trying as hard as I can
to do just that.
“If my swing is solid, which it appears to be, it will come
down to two factors: putting those enormous Old Course greens
and the Scottish weather. Only one of those I have any chance
to control.”
Ah, an admission of mortality.
Tiger's routine is to not play competitive golf the week before
a major championship.
“I've been working for two or three weeks on tactics for
St. Andrews,” he said in an interview with Irish television.
“Especially some shots with a shorter backswing and less
follow through, seeking lower ball flight for use in the wind.”
Golf has been Woods-kicked into a higher gear. An all-time buzz.
Wider interest than ever for Bobby Jones, Nelson, Arnold Palmer
or even Nicklaus. Tigermania rocks.
It goes well beyond pure golf fanatics. Interest has mushroomed
among fringe followers, even some with next-to-zero interest in
golf, all due to this intriguing young man with explosive talents.
During his Ireland stopover, there was a Tiger charity auction.
Joseph Lewis, 65, a British billionaire who lives in the Bahamas,
vowed $2.3-million to play 18 holes of golf this year with Tiger
and his Orlando pal, former Masters and U.S. Open champion Mark
O'Meara.
They will tee it up at Isleworth near Orlando, where Woods and
O'Meara live, an exclusive enclave owned by Lewis' daughter, 40-year-old
Vivian Silverton. He ranks as the sixth-richest Brit with $3-billion-plus.
Among the international currency dealer's playthings is a $100-million
yacht.
Can I be their fourth?
Tiger value is mercurial.
What if he rules St. Andrews?
Imagine the next gear.
Weather will have considerable impact. It's been a cool July in
Britain. Scotland can be a daily adventure. Players can experience
four seasons in four hours. Old Course gear should include wool
cap, sweater, jacket, rain suit, extra golf gloves, cozy mittens
and a bagful of patience.
“I'm hoping there will be significant wind,” Woods said,
“although nobody wants a hurricane. In the heart of the course,
there are seemingly docile holes. Places where you can make lots
of birdies, maybe even eagles on short par fours.
“To balance the scales, there are some really severe ones,
topped by the Road Hole (17th). There is new length to the Old
Course. It's a huge mistake to cruise around St. Andrews during
a tranquil practice round and assume we will eat up this place.”
Smart fellow.
During the golfing century just past, a few memorable Americans
have indelibly endeared themselves to knowledgeable, discerning
British galleries. Crowds at the Open are loaded with locals whose
feelings are deep for the game's history, principles and traditions.
They adored Jones. They wept while hurrahing Palmer when, to complete
a generation of British Open importance, he waved goodbye from
the Swilcan Bridge at the Old Course's concluding hole.
Brits were enthralled by the unparalleled excellence of Nicklaus.
They knew of his caring grasp of Old World golf. Much the same
with Tom Watson, a smiling redhead from Kansas City whose best
body of work was flying the Atlantic five times and winning the
Open.
Icons held dear.
Woods has a sweet shot this week to nudge his Nikes into a considerable
British door, carrying himself in exemplary St. Andrews style,
then by winning this Open, allowing such a young bloke to homestead
with a small and elite Grand Slam colony: Nicklaus, Hogan, Player
and Gene Sarazen.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com.)
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