Masters victory haunts Woods
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
Perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to Tiger Woods
was winning the Masters by 12 strokes. Maybe if he had won by
only one or two shots expectations wouldn't have been so high.
For the truly great, there sometimes can be nothing as heavy
to lug around as their own accomplishments.
Orson Welles had to live with the fact that he was 26 years
old when he wrote, directed and acted in "Citizen Kane,"
generally considered the greatest American film.
Nothing Welles could do could top that accomplishment, just
as nothing Woods can do will top what he did at the Masters last
year.
And maybe that is something everyone just has to learn to live
with.
Woods will win more major championships, that seems certain.
But it also seems certain he will never win another one as impressively
as he did at Augusta National.
Time will put into perspective the magnitude of that performance.
And as time passes, people will appreciate the accomplishment
rather than focus on what it possibly foreshadowed -- an era of
domination by Woods.
Woods, however, must live with the fact that he has not seriously
contended in the five majors since his victory at Augusta National
in 1997.
"It's just one of those weeks when I haven't been able
to put all the pieces together," Woods said after he finished
10 strokes behind winner Lee Janzen in the U.S. Open.
There are three ways to look at the matter:
--Woods is as good as ever, but other players have raised the
level of their games.
--Woods' flaws pop up more during the grueling test of a major.
--Everything is fine; it's just that unrealistic expectations
follow Woods.
Let's look at each.
Yes, other players have improved. David Duval and Justin Leonard
emerged as among the best players in the last year, while others
like Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Tom Lehman, Payne Stewart and Janzen
have found new enthusiasm.
In the meantime, Woods still has the best record on the PGA
Tour since he turned pro in Augusta in 1996. Woods has seven victories,
a major championship and 13 top-three finishes in less than two
years.
The next best in that period is Duval, who has five wins and
10 top-10 finishes but no majors. Els, Leonard, Davis Love III
and Mark O'Meara have three victories each and a major championship.
Woods' record holds up against anyone.
Yes, Woods has battled his flaws more this year. While he is
more consistent this year and his bad shots are better than his
bad shots last year, he still has three chronic problems: missed
fairways, distance control with irons, erratic short putter.
His statistics in two of those three categories have gotten
worse and the third has remained mediocre.
Woods puts his drive in the fairway 69.6 percent of the time
this year compared to 68.6 percent last year, barely in the top
100 among PGA Tour players.
The number of greens he hits in regulation with his irons has
dropped from 70.3 percent last year to 67.4 percent this year,
falling from fourth on tour to 22nd. That could mean he is still
adjusting to the switch from Mizuno irons last year to Titleist
this year.
And Woods' average number of putts when he is on a green in
regulation has risen from 1.776 (60th place) last year to 1.797
(101st place) this year.
That means that while being in the fairway about the same amount
of time as last year, Woods hit fewer greens and made fewer putts
this year.
The result is that his scoring average has risen from 69.10
to 69.56. That's .46 more strokes per round and 1.84 more strokes
per four-round tournament.
Are the expectations too great for Woods? Probably, especially
from the casual fans whose interest in the game increased after
Woods' victory in the Masters.
But that is a burden he likely will always carry.
"Most people forget how young he is," said Butch
Harmon, who coaches Woods. "He is still developing, still
maturing, still getting better."
And if that is the case, Woods might still realize those wild
expectations and rise above the crowd. But right now, he is one
of a handful of golfers who are among the best in the world.
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