Thursday, February 8, 2001
Woods hasn't won because of his putting
By DAVE ANDERSON
c.2001 New York Times News Service
Of all the dazzling golf shots Tiger Woods
hit last year, the most memorable for most people occurred on
the final hole of the Bell Canadian Open. Hitting out of a fairway
bunker from 213 yards, he faded a 6-iron over a pond to within
15 feet of the cup to assure a birdie 4 for a 65 and a one-stroke
victory.
But he hasn't won a PGA Tour event since that September afternoon
outside Toronto.
What this “slump” proves is that, in the most human
game of all, Woods is human. And that, in a game with the most
elusive elements of all, his putting stroke has been elusive.
It also proves that this is, at least so far, a new year. Maybe
a different year.
This time last year, Woods was about to tee off in the Buick Invitational
near San Diego with a streak of six consecutive PGA Tour victories.
Even though he tied for second, four strokes behind Phil Mickelson,
the television ratings were higher than for the NBA All-Star Game.
Woods would go on to win 10 tournaments worldwide last year, including
three majors — the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA
Championship.
Counting the Masters, he was a total of 53-under par in the four
majors; Ernie Els was next with at 18 under.
In type almost as big as his golf bag, Woods was sports' man of
the year in 2000.
But so far this year, Woods, who will tee off in the Buick Invitational
Thursday at Torrey Pines, has been just another name in tiny type
— a tie for eighth at the Mercedes Championship, a tie for
fifth at the Phoenix Open, a tie for 13th at the AT&T Pebble
Beach National Pro-Am. Not that he's in a panic.
“I'm not that far off,” Woods told reporters on Sunday
after a final-round par 72 at Pebble Beach. “I just need
to get in a good round of putting.”
The greens for his two rounds at Pebble Beach this year were nowhere
near as true or as fast as they were there for last year's U.S.
Open, when he won by a record 15 strokes with laser-like putting
for a record total of 12 under. At the AT&T he also played
at Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills.
“You put it in the general area of the hole,” he said,
“and hope it goes in.”
Whatever the reason, Woods has putted nowhere near as well as
he did last year. In the PGA Tour's overall stats last year his
1.717 putts per hole ranked second to Brad Faxon's 1.704. This
year his average ranks 129th.
His percentage of greens in regulation is 76.9, even higher than
his 75.2 that ranked first overall last year. So he's either not
hitting his irons close enough to the pin or he's missing too
many makable putts. Or both.
“I'm not concerned,” he said Sunday of not having won
yet this year. “All you want to do is peak for four weeks
a year.”
Woods meant the four weeks of the majors. With five pro major
titles before he turned 25 on Dec. 30, he has the time and the
talent to threaten, if not surpass, Jack Nicklaus' record total
of 18 pro majors — six Masters, four U.S. Opens, three British
Opens and 5 PGA Championships.
But instead of last year's streak of six consecutive PGA Tour
victories, he now has a streak of six consecutive PGA Tour events
without a victory, after last year's third-place finish at the
National Car Rental Classic, second at the Tour Championship and
fifth at the American Express Championships.
Woods' losing streak, so to speak, also proves that chants of
“dee-fense, dee-fense” don't exist in golf, that one
golfer can't prevent another from going low — as Davis Love
III did with a 63 at Pebble Beach last Sunday that included a
front-nine 28, as Mark Calcavecchia did with a 60 at the Phoenix
Open.
Calcavecchia, incidentally, had been struggling until he phoned
his guru, Butch Harmon, who is better known as Woods' guru.
“Butch told me, `You're probably straightening your right
leg and overswinging,'” Calcavecchia said. “That's all
it took.”
Even though Calcavecchia missed the 36-hole cut at the AT&T,
he is the Vardon Trophy leader with the lowest-average score,
68.48.
Woods, who had a record 68.17 average last year in winning the
Vardon Trophy for the second straight year, ranks 29th in the
current Vardon standings with a 70.07 average. But sooner or later,
Harmon will cure whatever's wrong with that putting stroke.
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