Will youth be served at the PGA?
By RON SIRAK
Associated Press
MAMARONECK, N.Y. - When Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute
mile, he knocked down a barrier and others followed. Seems Tiger
Woods has done the same. Suddenly, players in their 20s can win
major championships.
Woods' shockingly easy victory at the Masters set off a year
in which players under 30 have won all three Grand Slam events.
They could add a fourth at the PGA Championship - a sweep never
accomplished since the Masters was created in 1934.
"It's time for a changing of the guard, so to speak,"
Woods said as he readied his game at the Buick Open. "Guys
like Tom Kite and Tom Watson were great players, but they're on
their way out."
While that might sound like the arrogance of youth, the numbers
back him up.
In the 40 major championships in the 10 years before 1997,
the average age of the winner was 33.1.
This year, the oldest winner of a major was 27-year-old Ernie
Els in the U.S. Open. With Woods, 21, and Justin Leonard, 25,
winning the British Open, the average age in 1997 is 24.3.
And when the 79th PGA starts at Winged Foot Golf Club on Thursday,
the chances of another under-30 winner will be boosted by their
talent, their numbers and the decline of several perennial contenders
in Grand Slam events.
Woods, Els and Leonard are joined by Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk,
David Duval, Paul Stankowski and Stewart Cink as players under
30 capable of winning the PGA. Those eight players have 12 victories
and 20 top-three finishes among them this year.
"There's definitely an influx of new, young players,"
Woods said. "It's good for the game."
At the same time, the final-round leaderboard in the major
championships this year has lacked some familiar names.
Nick Faldo and Nick Price, both 40, and 42-year-old Greg Norman
have won 11 major championships among them but have not contended
in any of the three this year.
Watson (47) hasn't won a major since 1983. Corey Pavin (37)
has virtually disappeared. And Mark O'Meara (40) hasn't finished
better than 30th in a major this year.
Throw in Tom Lehman (38) Fred Couples (37) Davis Love III (33)
and Lee Janzen (32) and those 10 players - eight of whom have
won major championships - have collectively missed almost as many
cuts in majors this year (6) as they have top-10 finishes (7).
"I'm not sure what the reason is," Leonard said about
the changing of the guard. "I think in my case, I see guys
like Tiger and Ernie, and see Phil Mickelson win his 11th tournament
last week. Seeing that maybe raises my expectations a little bit."
Expectations also were increased because the young players
came to the PGA Tour battle tested in a better level of college
golf, through tougher competition on the amateur circuit and -
most of all - by tournament experience on the Nike Tour.
"People don't realize how good the Nike Tour has been
for golf," Cink said about the 8-year-old minor-league circuit
where he was the leading money winner last year. "It seems
like we're seeing the results of it. We're more ready to win than
probably any other era in golf."
One young guy who seems ready for a breakthrough victory in
a major is Furyk. The 27-year-old with the distinctive looping
swing finished in the top-10 in eight consecutive events going
into the Buick Open, including fifth at the U.S. Open and fourth
at the British Open.
He's fourth on the tour in hitting fairways and eighth in putting,
a combination that will play well at Winged Foot, where the fairways
are lined with tall trees and the small, contoured greens are
protected by deep bunkers.
"If I stood here and told you I couldn't win the PGA,
I probably shouldn't be playing," Furyk said. "I've
been working real hard and practicing real hard and things are
coming around at the right time.
"And growing up in Pennsylvania, Winged Foot is the kind
of course I'm comfortable with," he added. "I'm comfortable
with that style."
If a fourth major is going to be won by a fourth different
guy in his 20s this year, Furyk is a sensible pick.
If one of the more veteran players is going to walk off with
the title, it could be an outsider like 41-year-old Scott Hoch,
who hits fairways and greens, makes putts and is a good bunker
player.
Lehman, who leads the tour in greens hit at 72.8 percent, can
contend if he can improve even marginally on his 170th-place ranking
on the tour in putting.
And a war of attrition with the winning score around even par
- as is likely - could let in the pure ball strikers like Faldo,
Watson and Colin Montgomerie.
But don't be surprised if Winged Foot is the final stamp on
the year the youngsters grabbed hold of the game.
"It's our generation," Woods said. "Our generation
is a little more flamboyant. Our generation isn't afraid to take
risks."
The next risk starts Thursday at Winged Foot.
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